Star Explorer from The Hayden Planetarium

Isn't this a lovely wheel? It's a star finder produced for the Junior Astronomy Club at New York's Hayden Planetarium. The copyright date is 1952. The wheel is 8.75 inches square and is in very good condition. It's one of my favorites.

It's all here: Aries, Cygnus, Draco, Vulpecula! I like how the instructions tell you the stars are shown as they appear at 9 pm on any date. Kids need to be in bed and not up later than 9 o'clock! The back has a chart showing the position of the bright planets for 1954 and most of 1955. I wonder how often they updated this wheel?

​All in all, a very handsome and useful wheel for the budding astronomer!