Space Documentaries

Professor Brian Cox, physics extraordinaire, brings his BBC programming to mobile in Wonders of the Universe ($6) for iPhone and iPad. Explore subatomic particles, distant galaxies, and everything in between with detailed, interactive articles that include 3D renderings, video footage from the series, infographics, and tons of images.

— Nicole Nguyen, editorial assistant

Red rover, red rover, send Curiosity right over! The artistic take on the little rover that could makes for a perfect iPhone/iPod Touch/Samsung Galaxy S4 case ($35). Fingers crossed Curiosity would take notice of a tiny Martian village in its path, though.

— Kelly Schwarze, associate editor

Like a space shuttle, Incase's Cosmos Campus Pack ($80) protects its precious cargo in high-risk environments (e.g. campus). The stars-inspired backpack can fit a MacBook Pro up to 15 inches and has a quick-access smartphone pocket.

Fleece lining keeps nicks and scratches away, and 360-degree padding will defend your laptop during bumpy rides.

— NN

Sport classic STEM pride with a NASA Logo T-Shirt ($10). It's every space geek's dream to work at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the shirt at least lets us pretend we're part of NASA's Summer softball league.

— KS

Slow Factory takes fashion to new heights with its silk squares featuring galaxies and nebulas captured by NASA's Hubble Telescope — and best of all, they're all 40 percent off for a limited time. Our favorites are the colliding Antannae Galaxies ($100 for 54-by-54-inch square) and Crab Nebula Supernova ($100 for 54-by-54-inch square), which is the remains of a massive star explosion.

— NN

Newbie astronomers can quickly move up to pro status with the Orion Stargazer's Toolkit ($47). Included is a Star Target Planisphere, which shows constellations in the sky based on the date you dial in; Discover the Stars, a book that will help you do just that; a moon map to identify lunar craters when looking through a telescope; and the RedBeam Mini LED Flashlight, which emits red light so you can use the books in the kit without spoiling the darkness.

— KS

Carl Sagan first opened audiences' eyes to the mysteries of the universe in PBS's Cosmos ($100), which first aired in 1980. Sagan's guided tour went beyond space — he deepened our understanding of simple science, exploring everything from microbes to the field's relationship with religion.

Before Neil deGrasse Tyson's sequel Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey airs on Fox in February 2014, revisit Sagan's wonder-inducing original series.

— NN

The Martians depicted in this original painting ($50) by Donna Mibus must not be in the Gale Crater, otherwise our fearsome warrior, Curiosity, surely would've spotted them. An ode to midcentury sci-fi pulp, the 11-by-14-inch painting is the right blend of geek artistry.

— KS