Star Analyser 200 review: star spectra from a 1.25 inch filter
Where does it rank on our leaderboard
| Rank | Accessory | Stars for Your Buck | Recorded UK price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GEMINI EAF | 100 out of 100 | £42 |
| 2 | Generic Dew Heater | 93 out of 100 | £9 |
| 5 | Generic 0.63x Reducer | 88 out of 100 | £54 |
| 20 | ToupTek EAF | 75 out of 100 | £170 |
| 28 | ASIAIR Mini | 64 out of 100 | £215 |
| 29 | Star Analyser 200 | 63 out of 100 | £137 |
| 36 | Celestron 2x Barlow | 46 out of 100 | £135 |
| 45 | SKY ROVER 2x54 Binoculars | 28 out of 100 | £139 |
| 46 | 365 Solar Telescope Cover | 5 out of 100 | £73 |
Contents
- 01 Where does it rank on our leaderboard
- 02 Specifications and features
- 03 In use
- 04 From the video
- 05 In my words
- 06 Watch it in my videos
- 07 Should you buy it?
- 08 Questions and more about this review
In 30 seconds
Stars for Your Buck 63/100
Reviewed 13 Dec 2023 Updated 26 Sep 2026
- Rank
- #29 of 46 accessories
- Verdict
- Worth a look
Written by Damon Scotting 2 min read
Buy it if
- You want to see what the stars are made of with the camera you already own
- You image with a larger sensor or want the grating inside a filter wheel
- You want a first step into spectroscopy
Skip it if
- Your camera has a small sensor: the maker recommends the Star Analyser 100 for it
- You want pretty pictures rather than data
I like that a specialised piece of kit like this does not cost the earth.
Specifications and features
| Star Analyser 200 reviewed #29 of 46 | |
|---|---|
| Recorded UK price | £137 |
| Grating | 200 lines per mm |
| Grating type | Blazed transmission diffraction grating |
| Cell | 1.25 inch low-profile filter cell |
| Height above the thread | 5.2 mm |
| Cell thickness | 7.75 mm, 11.25 mm with the thread |
| Protection | Anti-reflection coated glass over the grating |
| Marking | Spectrum direction marked on the cell |
| Made for | Larger apertures, longer focal lengths and larger sensors |
| Filter wheels | Fits; optional mounting kit for unmounted-filter wheels |
In use
The Star Analyser 200 case
Held up beside the telescope
Mine, on camera
From the video
Three frames from my video
Betelgeuse and its spectrum
The Pleiades, a spectrum per star
Sirius and its spectra
In my words
“It is a spectroscopic grating which splits up the light coming from the star.”
From my coolest accessories video
“What we're looking out for are the absorption lines. These represent the composition of the star itself.”
From my coolest accessories video
“I've always wished there was a way that I could be more scientific with the observations I was recording.”
From my coolest accessories video
Watch it in my videos
The 9 COOLEST Accessories for ASTRONOMY! · published 13 December 2023 · 17:00 · Watch on YouTube · 19,597 views, 974 likes on 2 Oct 2026
Jump to
- 13:56 Number 9
- 15:22 What a grating shows: the absorption lines
- 16:04 The spectra: Betelgeuse, the Pleiades and Sirius
Should you buy it?
63/100 Stars for Your Buck
Pros
- It turns a star into a spectrum on an ordinary astronomy camera: Betelgeuse, the Pleiades and Sirius in my video
- The star and its spectrum land in the same frame, which helps identify and calibrate it
- A 1.25 inch cell only 5.2 mm above the thread, so it fits in a filter wheel
- Anti-reflection coated glass protects the grating, and the spectrum direction is marked on the cell
Cons
- It records spectra, not pictures: reading a star's make-up from one needs software on top
- For small-sensor cameras the maker recommends the Star Analyser 100 instead
- The right model depends on the spacing between grating and sensor, which the maker's calculator works out
Unique and rather cool for what it is; there is little else in its field to compare it against.
Questions and more about this review
Reviewed by
Damon Scotting
The Telescope Man Verified
BSc (Hons) Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology, Loughborough University PGCE / QTS, University of Nottingham
About Damon About Damon Damon Scotting is The Telescope Man. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology from Loughborough University and a PGCE with QTS from the University of Nottingham, and taught physics in secondary schools before becoming an astronomy creator. He is a contributing writer for BBC Sky at Night Magazine and the author of 42 Wonders of Our Night Sky, and his photograph of the galaxy M100 with the dwarf planet Ceres was Highly Commended in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 competition run by Royal Observatory Greenwich. He has appeared on the BBC's Blue Peter. More than 750,000 people follow his astronomy channels on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, and he has reviewed more than 140 telescopes, mounts, cameras, filters and accessories hands-on for this site. More about Damon · How I test · Damon's book
I review all kinds of gear: most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way. How this site is funded
Five questions, answered
Questions about the Star Analyser 200
Reviewed 13 December 2023 ·Updated 26 September 2026
I review all kinds of gear. Most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way: no company sees or approves a review before it is published. Shop links marked Ad are affiliate links: I earn a commission when you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. How this site is funded
- What does the Star Analyser 200 do? It is a 200 lines per mm transmission grating in a 1.25 inch filter cell. Screwed onto the camera it spreads each star's light into a spectrum beside the star, as in my frames of Betelgeuse, the Pleiades and Sirius. From the video ↓
- Star Analyser 100 or 200? Paton Hawksley recommends the SA100 for small-sensor cameras and makes the SA200 for larger apertures, longer focal lengths and larger sensors. The SA200 gives the same length of spectrum at half the spacing, which suits a grating mounted inside a filter wheel. The specifications ↓
- Does it fit in a filter wheel? Yes: its cell stands 5.2 mm above the thread, and Paton Hawksley sells a mounting kit for wheels that take unmounted filters. The specifications ↓
- Where can I buy the Star Analyser 200? The prices I recorded: £137 at First Light Optics (UK), in stock; $244 at Field Tested Systems (US), in stock; £133 at Paton Hawksley (Global), listed. A record, not a live price The verdict, the readers and the sellers ↓
- What have I not tested on the Star Analyser 200? I have not calibrated a spectrum or measured its resolution.