The world of amateur astronomy is changing. In fact, there just might be a revolution going on. We might be at a watershed moment!
The era of the smart telescopes has arrived. These are fully automated telescopes that connect through your smart phone or tablet. They have all the information necessary to find and observe objects in the night sky. And … they take images! Yes, no more squinting through a small eyepiece. You can now sit back and see the cosmos in full living color! Note, however, that these telescopes are not good for imaging the planets. Their focus is on the Sun (with an appropriate filter), the Moon, and deep-sky objects.
FAS member Bill Rankin introduced us to the ZWO Seestar S50 at our April 2024 meeting. Just recently, ZWO launched the smaller and more compact Seestar S30. Dwarf labs has their Dwarf III, which is an alternative to the Seestar. These small compact telescopes are priced in the $350 to $500 range.
Seestar S50 images, Credit: Bruce Gavett
There are several more sophisticated and expensive smart telescopes on the market to choose from as well.
- For more information on smart telescopes in general, see Smart Telescopes for Astrophotography.
- For more information on the ZWO Seestar S50 and S30, see our previous article.
- To learn more about deep-sky objects, see our webpage.
- See Purchase a Telescope for information about more traditional telescopes.
Please note that FAS does not necessarily endorse or recommend these or any other specific telescopes or accessory. We simply provide information that might be interesting and useful for the public.
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