Whether you're a beginner or an experienced stargazer, with or without a telescope, you'll get more out of the night sky with a Miller Planisphere. This 10" rotating double disc is a map of the planets, stars and constellations, useful across a large range of the northern latitudes, although most accurate in the range of 35° to 45° north. It can be aligned to the time and date in your location to display a detailed map, and includes tips on finding the planets, suggestions for telescope projects, and more. It's an invaluable learning tool that makes stargazing a lot more fun.

This 10X folding loupe in black plastic and aluminum has a pair of very bright white LEDs next to the 25mm lens. Runs on (3) button-cell batteries, included, and has a tiny wrench to help you replace them. Loupe and wrench stow snuggly in a foam lined plastic case. When folded, it looks like a standard coach's whistle, or a really big apostrophe.

This green, rubber-coated 4X binocular from Celestron® is kid-sized but otherwise very high quality with coated lenses, an 18" neck cord, belt-mount carrying pouch and lens cloth. Has 30mm objective lens diameter and a 4.3 degree X 225-foot field of view at 1,000 yards.

For students or professionals, this Celestron® Deluxe Handheld Digital Microscope that captures still images and videos is a terrific computer accessory. Plug the USB 2.0 cable into your computer's port and take advantage of the built-in, upgraded 2MP CMOS sensor, 10X to 200X magnification, and 8-LED illumination. It features a 1 sec. to 1/1000 sec shutter speed, 1920x1080, 1280x720 and 640x480 resolutions, max 30fps videos, 10mm to 150mm manual focus and a 2 element glass lens with IR Cut and EFL 158mm. The 4-oz, 4-1/4" x 1-1/4" dia scope may be handheld, or slipped into its metal stand for steadier viewing. Includes CD-ROM software with measurement function and note-taking and a calibration tool. Works with Windows 7/8/10 and MAC OSX 10.12 and up. Very cool.

Work like a watchmaker with this extremely steampunkish clip-on triple loupe. In brass-plated steel, it clips on the temple of a pair of glasses with the three 15/16” dia lenses (2X, 2.5X and 3X) on 1-1/2” long arms that swing in and out and are adjustable via set screws. The spring clip for the glasses opens to 5/16”. Working distance is short like all loupes, but you’ll look extremely cool.

Our best jeweler's loupe, this has a professional-quality, full 10X triplet lens. A ring of (6) white LEDs around the 13/16" glass lens ensures an even distribution of light. Housing is an angular, 7-sided teardrop shape 1-3/4" x 1-1/8" that folds out of a metal case with a strap hook. Tucked into the small leather pouch it comes in is a spanner wrench, in case you ever need to replace the (3) button-cell batteries.

Well, okay, glass, because rubber is hard to see through, but the handle and frame are covered in black rubber. Approx 2" square lens magnifies to 4X. Has a 4-3/4" handle and a frame with (5) white LEDs and (1) UV LED on the business side, the better to see that tiny print, or to check out money, stamps, insects, etc. Uses (4) included AG10 button-cell batteries.

When you peer through your magnifying glass at this specimen, or focus your microscope on it, even at the lower magnifications which work best, you're looking at one big bug. Make that (4) big bugs. The insects are real, encased in clear acrylic blocks 1-3/4" x 1-1/4" x up to 11/16" thick, and ready for inspection. Set 1 includes a scorpion, giant ant, wasp and a flower bug. Set 2 is a cricket, locust, yellow leaf beetle, and crab. No, not a crab louse or a crab spider, but definitely a crab ugly.

This monster magnifier on a gooseneck stand doubles as a reading lamp. The 3-1/2” dia, 3.5X magnifying glass is surrounded by a bright 12W 1200 lumen LED ring of lights, all on a 12” gooseneck rising from a 6-1/4” x 5-1/4” x 1-1/2” thick base with a 4-foot power cord. The magnifying lens has a flip-down cover, which converts it to a reading lamp. Comes in mysterious black and inquisitive white; we'll choose the one that's best for your feng shui.

Microscope glassware for examination of blood, pond water, mold, and other minutiae. All of the microscope slides are optically clear glass 26mm x 76mm (about 1" x 3"), between 1mm and 1.2mm thick. The well slides, of course, have a concave well to hold a drop of liquid. Our each is a package of (12) well slides, or a box of (72) standard slides with ground or beveled edges. Cover glasses are the smaller and very thin pieces of glass used as the top of the glass slide sandwich. They are often used temporarily by simply dropping them onto a drop of liquid to flatten and spread it and to minimize evaporation. More confident microscopists will cement them in place to permanently preserve a specimen. Our each is a package of (100) cover glasses 18 mm square, #1 thickness (0.13mm to 0.17mm). If you need one, you need both.

How about three extra hands? This multi-purpose workstation tool has a large 3X, 3-1/2" dia LED-lighted magnifier on a 10" gooseneck (you add 4 "AA" batteries), a soldering-iron stand, cleaning sponge plus steel wool, a canister of flux paste, a pair of  alligator clips with ball-socket mounts on the ends of a 4" rod  plus an extra hand with a third alligator clip on a 10" gooseneck. It all weighs in at a stable 3+ lbs and has a 7-1/4" x 6-3/4" base so you won't need fourth hand to hold it upright.

These flexible, clear acrylic magnifiers are the same size and thickness as a standard credit card at 3-3/8" wide x 2-1/4" tall x 017". They magnify 1.25X via a magnifying window that is just a tad smaller than the entire thing. Keep a few in your wallet and pass them around to your AARP friends. As for you, you’ll never squint again when you’re on the phone ordering bargains from us and can’t read your credit card number.

Our newest Celestron® compound (biological) microscope is even better than the last one we offered. This one comes with a 3.5" color LCD viewing screen that rotates 180° for easy sharing in a lab, classroom or at home. It has an upgraded 5-megapixel camera that can record 625 hi-res photos or 20 minutes of 30fps video to the included 1GB SD card. The 4X, 10X and 40X objectives provide 40X, 100X and 400X optical magnifications, and the digital zoom raises it up to 1600X. On-screen, button controlled settings allow you to easily adjust exposure, image effects, a digital measuring reticle and other visual tweaks. Top and bottom independently adjustable LED illumination and a built-in 6 position filter wheel allow complete light adjustability. Also included are an AC adapter with 3 extra European adapters for those who travel, (5) prepared slides, USB and video out cables and a rigid lined 15" x 7" x 8.5" OA carrying case with a suitcase-handle and shoulder strap, for storage, field work or classroom visits. Carries a 2-year manufacturer's warranty.

Frees up your hands while you examine whatever you’re examining. The approx 2-1/2" dia acrylic lens is 2X (ignore the surplussing 2.5X on box) and is mounted in a black fold-out frame with a pair of white LEDs underneath the lens for your examining pleasure. Measures 4-1/4” long and includes 2 replaceable AG7 batteries.

Thick, but very desirable, like a nice fat slice of salami, these negative meniscus glass lenses are 55mm dia with a focal length of -169mm (think: reduction). Great for artists and crafters. Edges might have some slight chips, but that's surplus for you.

Polished glass equilateral prisms. Equilateral because each edge of the end is the same length, 32mm. Thus, as all you geometry students know, each of the angles is also the same, 60 degrees. These are school grade and are fine for decorative and demonstration. They do a nice job of refracting light to produce a nice rainbow-like spectrum, but are definitely not up to instrumentation standards. The missing dimension, length, is shown below.

This 20-200X digital microscope from Celestron® has a built-in 5-megapixel digital camera that will take still photos and video of any scientist's discoveries. It's easy to use--perfect for looking at stamps, bugs, coins, rocks, circuit boards, plants and tons of other tiny things. Good for professionals but completely appropriate for curious kids, too. Has a manual trigger on the USB power cord, plus an 8-LED illuminator and a 6" adjustable stand on a 6-5/8" x 4-3/4" base. Comes with Celestron® Micro CapturePro software for Windows XP/Vista/7/8 and Mac OSX 10.6-10.7. USB 2.0.

Begin their microscopic education here, with this 40-640X student microscope from Levenhuk®. Featuring an adjustable eyepiece, variable white LED illuminator, and adjustable iris. Comes with a cover; (5) blank and (5) prepared slides; pipette; brine shrimp, yeast, sea salt and glue samples; forceps; a microtome; 58-page user guide; and a 23-page manual. Includes (2) “AA” batteries and a lifetime warranty through the manufacturer.