[ExI] New Telescope design promises to revolutionize amateur astronomy

[BillK]

July 20, 2017

The SETI Institute and French startup Unistellar announced a
partnership today to commercialize a new telescope that promises to
deliver an unparalleled view of the cosmos to amateur astronomers, and
provide the opportunity to contribute directly to cutting-edge
science.

<https://phys.org/news/2017-07-telescope-revolutionize-amateur-astronomy.html>

Quote:
"Classical high-end telescopes are wonderful tools for observing the
four main planets. But they are generally disappointing for viewing
fainter and more distant objects, which remain inaccessible to amateur
astronomers," said Laurent Marfisi, Unistellar CEO. "Our telescope
will revolutionize amateur astronomy by allowing people to see in real
time, celestial objects that until now have only been available as
images in books or online. Our compact 4.5-inch telescope allows
observers to see objects fainter than Pluto and achieve sensitivity
equivalent to a one-meter telescope!"

A prototype of the Unistellar telescope has been delivered to the SETI
Institute for testing and development of the Campaign Mode data
network. Amateur astronomers will have a chance to help fund further
development of the device by purchasing it for less than $1000 in a
crowdfunding campaign set to launch in the Fall of 2017.
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There is a video at the link that demonstrates the image
intensification feature.


BillK