smartscope Archives

October 18, 2024October 19, 2024 by David Dickinson

Review: Unistellar’s New Odyssey Pro Smart Telescope

Unistellar’s new Odyssey Pro telescope offers access to deep-sky astrophotography in a small portable package.

Access to the night sky has never been simpler. The last half decade has seen a revolution in backyard astronomy, as ‘smartscopes’—telescopes controlled by smartphone applications—have come to the fore. These offer an easy entry into basic deep sky astrophotography even from bright urban skies, albeit at a higher price point versus traditional telescopes on the market. We’ve reviewed units from Vaonis and Unistellar before, as well as wrote commentary on the rise of the whole smartscope movement. Now, Unistellar has a new entry on the market in 2024: the Odyssey Pro.

November 16, 2023November 16, 2023 by David Dickinson

Vaonis Introduces Limited Edition Vespera Passengers Smartscope

A top name in smartscope technology releases an exciting new limited edition unit.

A great product just got better. France-based telescope maker Vaonis announced this week the release of an upgraded version of their Vespera smartscope telescope. Dubbed Vespera: Passengers, the telescope promises users will “embark on a cosmic odyssey, unveiling the Universe’s best kept secrets.” But you have to act soon to reserve yours, as only 70 of the 222 limited edition units are left.

September 3, 2021September 3, 2021 by David Dickinson

Review: Unistellar’s New eQuinox Telescope

A leader in the ‘smartscope’ industry releases its exciting new eQuinox telescope.

It’s every amateur astronomer’s dilemma. If you’re like me, the basic equation of ‘should I observe tonight?’ is always up against the same basic equation: is the time and effort worth it? Living under bright downtown urban skies, my options are to either head to the parking garage rooftop (and be restricted to bright targets), or load up, drive for several hours, setup at a remote dark sky site, observe, then repeat the reverse process and head home in the early AM hours…

October 9, 2020October 9, 2020 by David Dickinson

An Amazing Sky Mosaic Courtesy of Stellina…and a New Telescope from Vaonis

Check out this stunning new deep-sky panoramic, and a new light-weight ‘smartscope,’ courtesy of Vaonis.

Smartscopes are coming into their own as a viable and exciting new facet of amateur astronomy. We’ve recently reviewed Unistellar’s evScope, and Vaonis’s Stellina telescope. Both are compact, smartphone-controlled telescopes that put simple deep-sky imaging within the user’s grasp.

Now, Vaonis is upping their game. The company recently released a sneak peek at a new upgrade to Stellina’s capabilities, and a new Kickstarter for a compact, lightweight version of the telescope, known as Vespera.

July 22, 2020 by David Dickinson

Review: Unistellar’s New eVscope

There’s no finder, and often no eyepiece… and ‘goto’ is as simple as the push of a virtual button. Welcome to the new generation of smartscopes. This new crop of telescopes promises to put the Universe and the night sky at your fingertips, or at least, on your smartphone screen.