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Astronomy Gifts for Christmas
From beginner’s telescopes and accessories to stargazing experience vouchers and getaways, here we offer some of the best astronomy gifts to give to enthusiastic stargazers, both young and older, for Christmas 2023.
Telescopes
Telescopes make an ideal Christmas present, particularly for younger astronomers. However, choosing a telescope that is easy to move and gives good views of the skies is important.
For more comprehensive advice on what to look for when buying a telescope, see our Which is the best telescope for beginners? guide.
We recommend buying through a reputable dealer such as First Light Optics who frequently have telescopes come up in their list of sale offers!
Skywatcher Heritage 150p
A perfect telescope for beginners, including children from around the age of 8, this tabletop “Dobsonian” collapsible-design telescope is portable, very easy to setup and use and comes with a 6″ diameter mirror giving fantastic views of the Moon, planets and the brighter deep sky objects including galaxies, nebulae and clusters. It’s sure to be a big Christmas seller so early purchase is recommended!
Sky-Watcher Evostar-90
This great grab-and-go telescope is easy to set up and operate. It comes with a solid tripod and fine adjusters, which help you keep objects in the field of view as they move across the sky due to Earth’s rotation. It has a 90mm lens which gathers a good amount of light resulting in great views of the Moon, planets and the brighter deep sky objects.
Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian
This full size Dobsonian telescope is another ideal beginners telescope, its larger 8″ mirror collects more light and therefore offers better views of deep sky objects. The below-mentioned book “Turn Left at Orion” is a perfect combination.
Buy this telescope from First Light Optics, or see their range of Dobsonian telescopes here.
Celestron NeXYZ SmartPhone Adapter
This cool device makes it easy to attach a mobile phone to a telescope eyepiece and is absolutely fantastic for taking photos of the Moon! The perfect accessory for any telescope!
Binoculars
Binoculars are ideal for beginners, especially children. They are perfect for observing the Moon, star clusters such as the Pleiades and even deep-sky objects including the Orion Nebulae and Andromeda Galaxy, and make for a great gift when combined with the book Binocular Astronomy (Amazon) by Steve Tonkin.
Helios 10×50 binoculars
These entry level binoculars perform extremely well for their price and are a perfect introduction to visual astronomy, escpecially children.
Helios Stellar-II 10×50 binoculars
These excellent quality binoculars feature BAK-4 prisms and fully coated optics.
Binocular tripod adapter
This heavy duty adapter enables you to connect a pair of binoculars to a standard tripod, making viewing much easier.
Stargazing Experience Vouchers
Stargazing experience vouchers make for a fantastic gift for anyone interested in astronomy! Vouchers are redeemable against events which take place in some of the UK’s best stargazing locations such as the North East, North West and central Wales.
Astrophotography
Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer
For those interested in night time photography this amazing gadget gives newcomers a head-start! This device enables long-exposure photos by tracking objects as they move across the sky, effectively countering the Earth’s rotation, and enabling the camera to capture more light without blurring the image. Perfect for anyone who already has a DSLR camera and lenses, Star Adventurer’s are the best way for anyone to get started in astrophotography and would make a great gift for any keen photographer.
Solarcan pinhole camera
This is a great present for anyone interested in photography or even abstract art! Place a Solarcan facing Southwards and let it capture the path of the Sun’s light as our closest star moves across the sky! Excellent stocking filler!
Home Planetarium
This incredible home planetarium projects 60,000 stars on to a ceiling or wall and comes with two discs for the Northern and Southern hemispheres (additional discs available).
Science-inspired gifts
The parachute that helped the Perseverance Rover land on mars had a secret message “Dare Mighty Things” encoded into it’s pattern. Now you can share the geekiness whilst walking the street with this umbrella!
The iconic hexagon pattern of mirrors that make up the primary mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope can now be worn on your ears! A beautiful science gift idea for astronomers and space enthusiasts.
The historical moment that the Perseverance rover landed on Mars is captured elegantly in these wonderful socks!
Astronomy books for children and adults
Turn Left at Orion
Ask any astronomer which book they might recommend as to how to find objects in the sky and the majority will suggest Turn Left at Orion. With easy to use guides covering all of the constellations in the Northern hemisphere this book is the perfect accompaniment to any telescope helping beginners learn their way around the constellations, identifying the brightest and most interesting deep sky objects and observing them through their telescope. Much better than any phone or tablet app!
A Cat’s Guide to the Night Sky
Aimed at astronomers aged from about 7 to 12 this book is a wonderful introduction to the practical side of astronomy. Follow Felicity the Cat as she guides you around the constellations learning everything from the moon’s phases to how to see the Northern Lights. A perfect Christmas gift for any child interested in space! Also available in bookshops.
Observing our Solar System
Fantastic guide with advice on observing the Moon, planets, comets and meteor showers.
The Secret World of Stargazing
This book goes hand in hand with any new telescope! Ideal for children and novices the book covers the best stargazing objects to see each season.
101 Facts you didn’t know about Space
Mark Thompson’s excellent fact book will amaze anyone with an interest in astronomy, including stargazers both young and old!
Philip’s 2023 Stargazing Guide
This is our favourite guidebook and an ideal stocking filler!
Online Beginner’s Astrophysics Course
Give the gift of knowledge! Do you know someone who wants to learn their black holes from their Big Bang? Learn the basics of astrophysics with an award-winning astronomy author & experienced tutor, Colin Stuart
Online Stargazing for Beginner’s Course
Join Mark Thompson from BBC Stargazing Live as he guides you around the Universe in his ‘Stargazing for Beginners’ course. You will learn about the objects in the Universe and how to observe them. Pre-Order now and content available Feb 2023.
Please note that (in some but not all cases) Go Stargazing may receive a commission when purchases are made using the above links, this is at no cost to you. All monies are re-invested in our not-for-profit venture. Thank you for being so supportive! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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