Celestara: VR can be a doorway, a first glimpse of the cosmos when the sky is cloudy or you’re far from an observatory, but it can’t fully replace the quiet awe of watching a real telescope swing into a star field. The texture of a star’s light, the way the atmosphere shifts the view, that subtle hum of a telescope’s motor—those are sensory experiences that VR can only mimic. In the classroom, VR is a great tool to bring concepts alive, to let students feel a galaxy’s spiral arms or a black hole’s event horizon without leaving their seat. But for genuine learning, especially for those who want to understand the subtleties of data, calibration, and the joy of discovery, hands‑on telescope nights remain irreplaceable. VR should be the companion, not the replacement, a bridge to the sky that keeps the dream alive even when the stars are hidden.