18 Tools for Astronomy at Home

Mars One Mission, NASA's Curiosity rover, space tourism and companies launching products into space are inspiring a new interest astronomy at home.

Equipment for gazing into space is large and should seem inaccessible to most consumers since mobility is often not an option. However, as the technology that's quite literally at our fingertips becomes smaller and more powerful, people are now able to explore space from their backyards better with smartphone-controlled telescopes, pop-up planetariums and watches.

Using technology that's already at hand, apps are now making it easy to spot stars, comets and planets from a distance. Whether the tools for at-home astronomy are for space exploration that's authentic or part of a simulation, these both serve as ways to make outer space seem a little closer to home.