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Unistellar is making a significant stride in backyard astronomy with the introduction of its second generation of AI-powered telescopes, named the Odyssey Smart Telescope. This new lineup, from the company based in both Marseille, France, and San Francisco, is set to debut at CES 2024 in Las Vegas. This new telescope promises to bring space closer than ever before, offering a unique star-gazing experience right from your home, regardless of city light pollution.
In a previous review, I discussed how Unistellar’s telescopes have made backyard astronomy more accessible. The company has leveraged citizen science and crowdfunding to ship its initial products, allowing users to observe galaxies, star clusters, and nebulae despite city lights.
Unistellar’s chief science officer, Franck Marchis, mentioned, “Now we are ready to unveil generation two.” This new generation includes two models: the Odyssey and the Odyssey Pro, both of which have been developed over more than two years.
Marchis stated, “For the second generation, we learned a lot from the first one. We discovered that to truly democratize astronomy, we needed a telescope that you can use right out of the box.” The original work began in 2017, and a Kickstarter campaign raised $2.5 million that same year. Initially, they aimed to complete the project in eight months, but it took about two years to deliver the first model, the $4,899 eVscope 2, which debuted in 2020. The eQuinox 2 followed in early 2023.
With these products, Unistellar users can see remarkable celestial objects. From urban settings, viewers have observed stars like Arcturus and star clusters like M3. Using the eQuinox 2, I recently viewed the Hercules Globular Star Cluster, which is 22,000 light-years away.
Marchis emphasized the company’s commitment to making astronomy accessible, viewing space as the next frontier for human development. He explained that while not everyone can go to space or build rockets, having a telescope allows us to witness and understand space advancements.
One key difference between the Odyssey and eQuinox 2 is the eyepiece. The Odyssey Pro includes an eyepiece for direct viewing, whereas the base models display imagery on a smartphone. Both versions are controlled via a smartphone app.
The Odyssey represents a new era of smart telescopes, making space exploration accessible and exciting. This telescope features innovations like Nikon High Precision Optics for flawless celestial observations and Stellar Autofocus for maintaining image sharpness.
The Odyssey Pro has a Nikon eyepiece with a slightly better resolution of 4.1 megapixels. This telescope is also more compact and lightweight, making it easier to set up in a backyard or transport to another location.
Marchis highlighted the goal of creating a telescope that allows people to enjoy observing from wherever they are, thanks to technologies that ensure the telescope is perfectly aligned right out of the box.
Unistellar’s Odyssey models are now available for purchase. The Odyssey is priced at $2,500, while the Odyssey Pro costs $4,000. There is also a special Odyssey Pro Red Edition for $4,500. Unistellar will showcase these at CES Las Vegas 2024.
Unistellar has also partnered with NASA and the SETI Institute to develop a citizen science program, allowing users to contribute to scientific discoveries. According to Marchis, “The goal is to enjoy the dark sky without having to do fine tuning. Our onboard computer performs the necessary analyses.”
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