Unisteller’s latest telescope makes stargazing as easy as flipping through your phone

Winter nights can be long, but they don’t have to be dreary, even for those who live in small apartments and don’t have room for an extra large telescope. Unistellar’s latest telescope, the Odyssey, is less than half the size and weight of the company’s last large telescope released in 2023. Still, it’s easier than ever to zoom in on your favorite planet, star, nebula, or distant galaxy with just a few taps on your phone.

Last year’s Unistellar model, Equinox 2, also contains a long telescope that connects to the user’s phone.Despite this, its The biggest selling point is the light pollution filter This should make it easier for people to see beyond the blank night sky in suburban or semi-urban environments. This model is also geared toward beginners, and in Gizmodo’s own testing it performed well in that regard, but Unistellar is promoting this latest telescope as being better than ever at helping amateur astronomers get started with stargazing.

You see, the company’s previous telescopes were digital reflector telescopes, and the $2,500 Odyssey uses a mirror optics system co-developed with lens maker Nikon, which still uses the company’s same auto-adjustment feature that works by inputting Enter the celestial objects needed to find planets and stars into the Unistellar app. Mirror telescopes often require readjustment after use. However, Unistellar co-founder and CEO Laurent Marfisi told Gizmodo that Odyssey changes that by including sealed mirrors that won’t lose optimization.

Mafisi said the eQuinox is designed in such a way that foreign objects such as distant galaxies or nebulae become clear, while closer objects such as planets are slightly out of focus. A big push for Odyssey was to have the same clarity for both distant and near objects. The company calls it “Multi-Depth Technology,” but it essentially automatically runs different light sensitivity and pixel resolution settings depending on what you’re looking at. Autofocus should make it a hands-off experience, with optimal focus settings whether the telescope is focused on Mars or the Dumbbell Nebula.

Another big update this year is the Unistellar app itself. Unistellar’s CEO said the company tweaked it to provide more context and history about the moon, planet or star they’re looking at.

The $2,500 Odyssey doesn’t have an eyepiece, so you need to connect a tablet or phone to view those distant objects. If you want to see something in person, you’ll have to spend $4,000 for the Odyssey Pro, which includes a Nikon digital eyepiece for personal optics.

If you’re really craving something special, a fire-engine red version of the Odyssey Pro will set you back $4,500. It should be available from Sunday on the Unistellar website or other online retailers.

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