The centuries-old hobby of stargazing serves to remind us both of how massive our existence is and how small of a spec we are in the greater universe. For wistful evenings spent pondering the enormity of the galaxy, the UNISTELLAR eVoscope Telescope offers a front row seat that is millions of light years in the making.
Designed in partnership with the SETI Institute, the eVscope is 100 times more powerful than a classic telescope. The telescope incorporates Unistellar’s Enhanced Vision patented technology that uses accumulated light of a low light sensor along with the proprietary algorithms of image processing that run an onboard calculation module for an intensified view. The image that results is then projected in an infinite focus in the eye of the observer with a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio to create a fully immersive observation.
The telescope’s Autonomous Field Detection (AFD) software also offers another bonus of patented technology with its sky recognition and telescope orientation features. It scans the field of view to automatically detect stars and identifies their pointing direction by comparing them with a database of more than 20 million star coordinates. When combined with its magneto-accelerometers and motorized mount, AFD allows the eVscope to align with celestial coordinates that pinpoint and identify any object in the sky and send the information to a smartphone.
With the input of the SETI Institute, the eVscope is intended to make users citizen scientists. When a fleeting event such as asteroids, a supernova, comets, or others is on the horizon, users will receive observation requests from scientists straight on their smartphones. The coordinates and directions are then transmitted wireless to the telescope which goes to work to showcase the event.