While I enjoy stargazing as much as the next person, I also love to know how things work – to get under the hood. French smart telescope pioneer Vaonis helps quench my thirst with a special edition of its flagship that puts the inner workings on view.
Normally you'd have to break open the outer housing of gadgetry to see what's going on inside – satisfying your curiously while simultaneously voiding your warranty.
Vaonis is offering users of its flagship telescope a look inside courtesy of the "milky transparent shell" of the Vespera II X_Edition. This limited model works exactly the same as the regular model launched early in 2024, but now you get to marvel at the 200+ components that are pieced together to make this digital window into the universe work.
"This edition showcases the fusion of mechanical precision and optical excellence that makes Vespera the most reliable smart telescope on the market, and a true jewel of French engineering," explained the company.
So if you look around the shell, you'll see the altitude motor, camera module, quadruplet apochromatic lens array, motorized focuser, circuit board and azimuth motor, among other things. Each unit goes through 50 QC checkpoints during assembly to "ensure that the instrument remains consistent and accurate over time."
The company says that the telescope's drive system is based on a worm screw paired with a gear wheel, with a pressure spring applying controlled force – "thereby guaranteeing smooth tracking and precise pointing under all conditions." In fact, the device is built to withstand humidity, wind, temperature variations and the rigors of frequent transport.
It's one-piece aluminum chassis helps protect critical components like the motors, the computer system and batteries. A cast iron counterweight helps maintain balance, while a clutch system allows for manual movement of the lens housing without putting strain on the motors or gears. The use of metals like bronze, brass and steel to fashion components is also said to help with long-term durability.
Like its regular counterpart, the X-Edition measures 15.7 x 7.9 x 3.5 in (48 x 20 x 9 cm) when folded, and tips the scales at 11 lb (5 kg). It's designed for deep sky astrophotography, while also being well suited to image capture of the Sun and Moon – with its camera system built around a Sony IMX585 sensor and 50-mm aperture. Native resolution is 8.3 megapixels, though that can be boosted to 24 MP in Mosaic Mode (where multiple fields of view are stitched together to form a wide cosmic panorama).
The telescope works with a mobile app to align and track celestial objects, through which imagery can be viewed as exposures are stacked in real-time. If you don't fancy staying out all night to capture your targets, observation windows can be scheduled. There's on-the-fly focus correction, and data collected over several nights can be combined to reveal "stunning deep-sky details." The setup even boasts an AI companion that can answer queries about the cosmos.
Elsewhere, the unit includes 25 GB of storage space, a battery that's reckoned good for 4 hours per charge, onboard Wi-Fi and a built-in hygrometer (which monitors humidity levels) plus a heating element to prevent lens fogging. The X-Edition also ships with a protective hard case and lightweight carbon-fiber tripod. Filters for safely observing our star, revealing fine details in emission nebulae and countering urban light pollution are optionally available too.
At launch, the standard Vespera II came in at US$1,590, with all accessories costing extra. The limited X-Edition is priced $2,490, which is quite a hike even if some accessories are included.
Product page: Vaonis Vespera II X_Edition
