A new generation of telescopes

At our recent observation evening in early January, member Paul Maunders brought along his Unistellar eVscope to view the night sky and demonstrate to fellow members this example of a next generation intelligent telescope.

The telescope and its dedicated tripod fit into a backpack. You can unpacked and assemble it and be viewing images within 10 minutes of arriving at a location. The telescope uses GPS and takes an image of the stars to work out exactly where it is so no manual alignment is required before use.

There is no visual pathway so images can only be displayed in electronic form either via the small eyepiece or on to an app running on tablets or smartphones. The app displays a list of the notable objects available to view in the sky, depending on your location and the time and date, and it will automatically point the telescope at any selected object to begin viewing.

In its “Enhanced Vision” mode the telescope automatically “live stacks” a series of 4 second exposure photographs. The combined image shows the object becoming clearer and clearer over time as more light is collected from the target.

For the full description of the hardware, see the manufacturers website here.

The product is not cheap and it is claimed not to compete in the astrophotography market where experienced photographers would want more control over the system and the ability to upgrade sensors and filters. However there may well be a market for this kind of portable, quick to setup, easy to use technology to attract people into astronomy, or to generate interest at star parties and social events.

Many thanks to Paul for bringing along his telescope and for very kindly allowing his images to be included in the gallery below.