Starwaders is a small, private business which provides an opportunity and venue for promoting astronomy as a science. The Starwaders website is not only a shop for astronomy goodies, but also a source of interesting astronomy information and a venue for astronomers to share and discuss ideas. Back to Top
Starwaders is owned by Neville Young who is based in Pretoria South Africa. I have been actively involved in astronomy for 24 years since when I have been a member, committee member and Chairman of my local astronomy club. My enjoyment has been seeing the mists of puzzlement lift when I am able to explain what the viewer is seeing. Of course, there is always the thrill when hearing the gasp as an excited visitor sees Saturn or Jupiter for the first time. I have given talks at game ranches for Astronomy Africa and at schools, pensioner societies and many others.
I have been lucky to experience two Total Solar Eclipses- Zambia in June 2001 and in Tshipse (northern South Africa) in December 2002.
Being a bit of a tinkerer, I have built several models to help people understand astronomy concepts, the Portable Solar System Model on this website being one of them. Constellation puzzles was an idea for the past five years - I am excited that they are now a reality. Back to Top
Starwaders is self-funded. Maintaining a website requires funding. The products that are for sale will hopefully provide the funds to sustain Starwaders and give it the chance to grow. Every purchase you make is much appreciated.
Even though the website generates a small income from the Google Ads on each page, Starwaders has to pay Google for the small Starwaders ads that are clicked on when doing Google searches. Back to Top
The oceans are infinitely large when compared to a human being wading in the waves along the shoreline.
Similarly, Earth is tiny when compared to its nearest star – The Sun.
We experience all but one of the billions and billions of stars as tiny points of light. Our sense of them is limited to what our eyes can see.
Humanity is so close to its star that it is awash in a flood of radiation which cannot help but be sensed as daylight, warmth and life-giving energy. Venturing any deeper into this hostile environment will shrivel and swallow any creature.
We spend our lifetimes wading carefully in the shallow waters of our Sun's vast ocean of radiation. Back to Top
According to the explanation of the Starwaders name, anyone living on planet Earth is a Starwader. More uniquely however, a Starwader is anyone who can complete a Starwaders constellation puzzle. :-) Back to Top
The constellation puzzles can be used by anyone purely for entertainment, or by novice astronomers to become familiar with the arrangement of the constellations, or even by experienced astronomers who wish to embed the memory of the night sky more firmly in their memory. Back to Top
Starwaders is only interested in communicating with you and not in using your email address for any other marketing purpose. If you email Starwaders, your contact details will only be used to reply to you. Starwaders may one day have a newsletter which you would only receive on an opt-in basis. Back to Top
The puzzles are not licensed. This means that once you have downloaded the puzzle you bought, you can use it on any computer. Share it with your friends, but in the interests of keeping Starwaders funded, don't spread it too far. Back to Top
The instruction manual for the Portable Solar System Model PSSM) is a password protected PDF. You receive the password immediately on completing your purchase. As with the puzzles, share it with your friends, but in the interests of keeping Starwaders funded, don't spread it too far. Back to Top
