Unistellar
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Unistellar is a French manufacturer of computer-connected telescopes that allow non-professional skywatchers to observe astronomical objects at relatively low cost. The first product launched was named the eVscope, and used digital astrophotographic techniques.[1][2] SETI Institute has partnered with Unistellar and will be able to send requests for information and notifications to users, and receive information about transient astronomical events.
The eVscope is a 114 mm (4.5 in)-diameter Prime focus reflector, focal length 450 mm. It projects its image onto a 4.8 mm × 3.6 mm (0.19 in × 0.14 in) CMOS color sensor with 1.3 million pixels.[2] The image is transmitted to a small screen in an eyepiece also mounted on the telescope. An electronic connection to a computer (smartphone, pad, or laptop) is required to make astronomical observations from the telescope. The digital technology allows multiple images to be stacked while subtracting the noise component of the observation producing images of Messier objects and faint stars as dim as an apparent magnitude of 15 with consumer-grade equipment.
History
[edit]The company was founded in Marseille, France,[3] in 2015, with incubator investment from Incubateur Impulse and Pépinières d'Entreprises Innovantes with subsequent VC round capital from private investors and a VC firm named Brighteye Ventures.[4] Unistellar unveiled their electronic telescope technology prototype in 2017 at CES2017 in Las Vegas[5] and at IFA Next in Berlin.[1]
The company experienced difficulties bringing the product to market. The consumer-grade electronic telescope was originally planned to be available in the "fall 2018"[1] which subsequently shifted to "early 2019,"[6] then later in 2019.
By January 2020, the telescope was expected to be shipped worldwide between May and August 2020.[7] As of December 2021, over 5000 telescopes had been delivered to customers [8] The kit included a custom tripod and mount, a Bahtinov mask and a protective cap.[9] Later, Unistellar introduced two new telescopes, eVscope 2 with bigger FOV and better monitor which won the T3 Platinum Award,[10] and eQuinox with longer battery life and no monitor.[11]
Science
[edit]As presented in AGU 2021 Fall Meeting, the eVscope had observed many astronomical objects up to December 2021, including the detection by 79 observers of 85 transits by Jupiter-sized exoplanets, 281 asteroid occultations (including forty-five positive ones), and three shape and spin solutions for near-Earth asteroids. The network also supported NASA's TESS mission by making transatlantic observations of an exoplanet transit, and NASA's Lucy mission by profiling Trojan asteroids this spacecraft will visit. These data are collected by observers in Europe, North America, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Unistellar aims to expand the network to the rest of Asia and to South America.[8]
The Unistellar Exoplanet (UE) campaign helped to improve the measurement accuracy of the orbital period of TOI 3799.01. The UE campaign also helps to refine the orbit of long-period exoplanets, such as the Jupiter-analog Kepler-167e and the eccentric planet HD 80606b, which have transit durations longer than 10 hours. This refinement will help with follow-up observations, such as JWST observation of HD 80606b.[12]
Competitive offerings
[edit]The Stellina astrophotography telescope by Vaonis is a similar technology-facilitated telescope that uses a digital display in lieu of an eyepiece and stacks images to get high-resolution images of deep-sky objects.[13]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Billings, Lee (13 September 2018). "New Telescope 'Gives Back the Sky' to City-Dwellers". Scientific American. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Les télescopes connectés débarquent. Episode 2/2 : l'eVscope" [The connected telescopes land. Episode 2/2: the eVscope]. Ciel & espace (in French). L'Association Française d'Astronomie. November 2018. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
- ^ "Unistellar" [Unistellar]. Documents Officiels (in French). Infogreffe Entreprendre en confiance. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
- ^ "Profile Preview of Unistellar Optics". PitchBook. PitchBook Data, Inc. 2019. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
- ^ New 'Enhanced Vision Telescope' Amplifies Cosmic Light for Skywatchers Archived 19 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine, space.com, Mike Wall, 5 January 2017, accessed 19 August 2019.
- ^ Scoles, Sarah (13 September 2018). "Franck Marchis is connecting amateur astronomers to extraterrestrial researchers". Popular Science. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
- ^ Ludwig, Léo. "Unistellar eVscope | A Revolutionary Telescope to Explore the Universe". shop.unistellaroptics.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- ^ a b Marchis, Franck; Esposito, Thomas; Blaclard, Guillaume; Asencio, Joe; Klavans, Valerie; Peluso, Daniel O.; Megowan-Romanowicz, Colleen; Pennypacker, Carl; Carter, Brad (29 November 2021). "Citizen Science and Scientific Results from the World's Largest Network of Backyard Astronomers". Ess Open Archive ePrints. 105. ESSOAr. Bibcode:2021esoar.10508938M. doi:10.1002/essoar.10508938.1. S2CID 244735902. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- ^ Grelin, Antoine & Dalia (12 February 2020). "EVscope Review: Is Unistellar's Smart Telescope worth the money?". galactichunter. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ Carter, Jamie (23 September 2021). "Unistellar eVscope 2 digital telescope review: a souped-up smart scope that's great for polluted skies". t3.com. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- ^ Carter, Jamie. "Unistellar eVscope 2 digital telescope review: a souped-up smart scope that's great for polluted skies". skyatnightmagazine.com. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- ^ Peluso, Daniel O'Conner; Esposito, Thomas M.; Marchis, Franck; Dalba, Paul A.; Sgro, Lauren; Megowan-Romanowicz, Colleen; Pennypacker, Carl; Carter, Bradley; Wright, Duncan; Avsar, Arin M.; Perrocheau, Amaury; Unistellar Citizen Scientists (163) (1 January 2023). "The Unistellar Exoplanet Campaign: Citizen Science Results and Inherent Education Opportunities". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 135 (1043): 015001. Bibcode:2023PASP..135a5001P. doi:10.1088/1538-3873/acaa58. ISSN 0004-6280.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Stellina Smart Telescope Makes Astrophotography a Breeze Archived 10 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine, space.com, 2 October 2019, accessed 10 October 2019.