Most telescopes are more pleasing to look through than to look at, but the sleek, $2,999 Stellina from French startup Vaonis revolutionizes on both fronts. Not only does it resemble a prop from 2001, it also comes without the traditional eyepiece. Here, the goal is less searching, more finding: Select, say, the Andromeda Galaxy from one of 150 preloaded options on the app, and the motorized telescope—less than 20 inches tall and powered by a battery good for about 10 hours—focuses itself on the star system and sends a close-up view to your phone or tablet.
The Competition
The ETX 125 Observer ($699) from Meade Instruments Corp. has quality optics coupled with the ability to guide itself to any object in its 30,000-item database. But to save images of your interplanetary wanderings, swap out the eyepiece for its $380 LPI-G advanced-camera module. Unistellar’s eVscope will make its debut this fall, but it’s already gaining traction with devoted stargazers. The $1,999 telescope uses a digital eyepiece and sends back high-quality images by stacking multiple exposures of objects in its view, similar to how high-dynamic-range technology works.
by Matthew Kronsberg, Bloomberg | Read more:
Image: Hannah Whitaker for Bloomberg Businessweek; Prop stylist: Heather Greene
[ed. See also: Vaonis Stellina Smart Telescope, MoMA Design Store (more pictures).]
