Exploring the World of Smart Telescopes - Time to Get SMART?

Looking to get into astrophotography but not sure how to get started, or what equipment to buy? Looking for something relatively inexpensive and portable? Or perhaps you’re an experienced astrophotographer who’s fed up with spending all that time setting up your imaging rig, polar aligning, only to find the clouds have come rolling in and you’ve missed the imaging opportunity of a lifetime? If so, then perhaps it’s time to think about investing in a smart telescope!

This was the message I took away from the Smart Telescope Masterclass held at the RMG Lecture Theatre and presented by Mike Meynell, with help from a number of smart telescope owners from the Flamsteed. This was the first of our special interest talks held at the lecture theatre, allowing presenters and attendees to enjoy the excellent seating and IT it has to offer. The masterclass was attended by over 60 members of the Flamsteed and Royal Museums Greenwich.

A few smart telescopes lined up and ready for action before the Masterclass began. Pictures by Bobby Manoo

The presentation started with a short video, a collection of amazing images taken by members with their smart scopes and shown at their best by the lecture theatre’s new 4K projection system.

Mike started his talk by explaining that, in his view, “smart telescopes are not a replacement for traditional observing, but a different branch of the same tree”. He then went on to explain how today’s smart telescopes have evolved into the compact systems on sale today as a result of technical developments in amateur astronomy over recent years.

He then listed the components which need to be included in the design of a smart telescope, such as fast optics, an integrated imaging sensor, a motorised alt-azimuth mount, and an onboard computer to control the system and handle image capture, stacking, and storage.

A busy lecture theatre for the Flamsteed Masterclass: Exploring the World of Smart Telescopes at the National Maritime Museum. Pictures by Bobby Manoo.

Mike explained that smart telescopes are best suited to imaging expansive deep-sky objects such as nebulae, some galaxies, and the Sun and Moon. These require relatively low magnification and, in the case of faint deep-sky objects, benefit from the smart telescope’s ability to stack in real time a large number of short exposures, allowing these objects to be captured even in light-polluted skies.

However, achieving the advantages of compactness and ease of operation results in some limitations. The small apertures and fixed optics required for compactness limit their resolution and magnification, making them unsuitable for imaging objects requiring high magnification, such as planets. Frequent firmware updates can enhance the performance of the scope and extend its life, but can also introduce software bugs, limiting the scope’s operation until the next software fix.

Following on from this discussion, there was an opportunity for a number of Flamsteed members who had brought their smart telescopes along to share their hands-on experience with the audience. The smart scopes discussed included the ZWO Seestar S50 and S30, Vaonis Vespera Pro, Unistellar eVscope, Celestron Origin, DWARF 2, 3 and Mini, and the PegasusAstro SmartEye.

Owner perspectives in action – Flamsteed members sharing hands-on experience of their smart telescopes during the Showcase section. Pictures by Bobby Manoo.

Mike finished the masterclass with some practical tips on observing with smart telescopes and for processing the captured images.

Many thanks to Mike for his excellent presentation, and to Alec, Adrian, Paul M, Paul M II, Richard, and Yvonne for bringing along their smart scopes and passing on their invaluable experiences. Not to forget Simon and the RMG staff for their IT support.

A recording of the masterclass is accessible using the link in the Weekly Newsletter.

Pictures from the evening (by Bobby Manoo):