National Geographic Astro Planetarium Multimedia

Brand: Bresser

A teaching device more than a mood light. Two projection discs hold over 8,000 stars and 61 named constellations, and the date and time dials set the sky as it looked on a chosen evening between 8 pm and 2 am. A motor rotates the field and adds shooting stars, the automatic shutoff can be set to 30, 60 or 120 minutes, and the multimedia version adds audio commentary. The unit measures about 16 by 16 by 19 cm, weighs 618 g and runs on three AA batteries.

Best suited to families with school age children and to anyone who wants to learn constellation names rather than just watch pretty light. The plastic body and toy styling do not match a designer bedroom, and projection covers roughly 1.8 by 2.2 metres at two metres, so a low ceiling is an advantage. The motor is audible in a quiet room.