Introducing Unistellar Odyssey and Odyssey Pro Smart Telescopes

Unistellar describes its new Odyssey and Odyssey Pro with the tagline, “The Telescope, Reinvented.” This simple but intriguing introduction to the brand’s latest smart telescopes captures the essence of these devices that mesh the worlds of high-end optics, astronomy, and technology in a form that makes them more accessible than ever. Both telescopes let anyone view and photograph celestial wonders from the universe without the bulky or complicated gear one would traditionally expect.

Odyssey

As a telescope built for anyone to use, the Odyssey is designed to be simple and intuitive for observation and astrophotography. It is compact and lightweight, and works in conjunction with an iOS/Android app for finding different celestial objects from anywhere in the world, even from light-polluted cities. These telescopes do not require manual adjustments; rather, you can simply search and tap to discover planets like Jupiter or Saturn, or even more distant objects like the Orion Nebula, and the Odyssey will use its systems of Stellar Autofocus, Multi-Depth Technology, and Deep Dark Technology to render the desired subject clearly.

At its core, the Odyssey smart telescope is built upon a Nikon High Precision Optics mirror system that employs a reflector-style optical tube with a 3.35" primary mirror, 0.95" secondary mirror, and 320mm focal length. Stellar Autofocus, developed by Unistellar, is then employed to deliver sharp views and constant refocusing—as needed. For more versatility, Multi-Depth Technology avoids filtration restrictions, allowing you to shift quickly between different objects without needing to change equipment: you can transition seamlessly from viewing Jupiter to the Triangulum Galaxy to the Orion Nebula while maintaining the same image quality. And, for the city dwellers, Deep Dark Technology uses a proprietary noise and light-pollution filtering model to cut through haze and restore a cleaner black background to the night sky.

With the two models being announced, the key differentiator is the eyepiece. The Odyssey does not use a traditional eyepiece for viewing. Instead, the unique design of the telescope substitutes a low-light detector sensor for viewing (and recording) directly from your paired computer, tablet, or phone. This Smart Star Finder app also enables autonomous targeting of a huge variety of celestial objects, including 5,000 unique entries, all with further object recommendations, information, and other stats, plus a database of 37 million stars.

As initially mentioned, one of the other distinguishing features of this telescope is its size and form: it weighs just 14.3 lb fully assembled with an integrated motorized alt-azimuth mount and an included tripod. For power, there’s an included USB-C-rechargeable battery pack, consisting of three 18650 lithium-ion cells, for an average run time of five hours.

Odyssey Pro

Unlike the Odyssey, the Odyssey Pro includes an eyepiece, allowing for eye-level viewing from the device along with device-based monitoring through the app. The electronic eyepiece has been developed in collaboration with Nikon and features a specialized optical system along with an OLED micro-display for high clarity, brightness, and contrast.

Compared to viewing from a phone or tablet, this viewing system offers improved visual comfort and more isolation for clearer sighting of the objects, deeper black backgrounds, and more vibrancy in the colors of various objects.

For more information about the new smart telescopes, including additional features, specs, and highlights, be sure to check out the detailed product page for the Odyssey and Odyssey Pro. Or drop us a line below, and we’ll do our best to reply to your comments and questions.