Unistellar

thumb|Evscope telescope {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

'''Unistellar''' is a French manufacturer of computer-connected telescopes that allow non-professional skywatchers to observe astronomical objects at relatively low cost. The first product launched was named the eVscope, and used digital astrophotographic techniques.<ref name="sa20171010">{{cite news|last=Billings|first=Lee |date=13 September 2018 |title=New Telescope 'Gives Back the Sky' to City-Dwellers|work=Scientific American |url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/new-telescope-gives-back-the-sky-to-city-dwellers/|url-status=live |accessdate=29 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327183819/https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/new-telescope-gives-back-the-sky-to-city-dwellers/|archive-date=27 March 2019}}</ref><ref name="ciel201811">{{cite news|date=November 2018 |title=Les télescopes connectés débarquent. Episode 2/2 : l'eVscope |language=French |trans-title=The connected telescopes land. Episode 2/2: the eVscope |work=Ciel & espace|publisher=L'Association Française d'Astronomie |url=https://www.cieletespace.fr/actualites/les-telescopes-connectes-debarquent-episode-2-2-l-evscope |url-status=live|accessdate=29 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629153752/https://www.cieletespace.fr/actualites/les-telescopes-connectes-debarquent-episode-2-2-l-evscope |archive-date=29 June 2019}}</ref> SETI Institute has partnered with Unistellar and will be able to send requests for information and notifications to users, and receive information about transient astronomical events.

== History ==

The company was founded in Marseille, France,<ref name=infogreffe2019>{{cite web |url=https://mobile.infogreffe.fr/entreprise-societe/812339356-unistellar-130318B055350000.html |title=Unistellar |language=French |trans-title=Unistellar |work=Documents Officiels |publisher=Infogreffe Entreprendre en confiance |accessdate=29 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629175451/https://mobile.infogreffe.fr/entreprise-societe/812339356-unistellar-130318B055350000.html |archive-date=29 June 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> in 2015, with incubator investment from Incubateur Impulse and Pépinières d'Entreprises Innovantes with subsequent VC round capital from private investors and a VC firm named Brighteye Ventures.<ref name="pb20190629">{{cite web |url=https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/154275-22 |title=Profile Preview of Unistellar Optics |work=PitchBook |publisher=PitchBook Data, Inc. |year=2019 |accessdate=29 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629170333/https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/154275-22 |archive-date=29 June 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Unistellar unveiled their electronic telescope technology prototype in 2017 at CES2017 in Las Vegas<ref>[https://www.space.com/35236-evscope-enhanced-vision-telescope-ces2017.html New 'Enhanced Vision Telescope' Amplifies Cosmic Light for Skywatchers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819113748/https://www.space.com/35236-evscope-enhanced-vision-telescope-ces2017.html|date=19 August 2019}}, space.com, Mike Wall, 5 January 2017, accessed 19 August 2019.</ref> and at IFA Next in Berlin.<ref name="sa20171010" />

The company experienced difficulties bringing the product to market. The consumer-grade electronic telescope was originally planned to be available in the "fall 2018"<ref name="sa20171010" /> which subsequently shifted to "early 2019,"<ref name="ps20180913">{{cite news|last=Scoles|first=Sarah|date=13 September 2018|title=Franck Marchis is connecting amateur astronomers to extraterrestrial researchers|work=Popular Science|url=https://www.popsci.com/amateur-astronomers-help-extraterrestrial-researchers/|url-status=live|accessdate=29 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629153749/https://www.popsci.com/amateur-astronomers-help-extraterrestrial-researchers/|archive-date=29 June 2019}}</ref> then later in 2019.

By January 2020, the telescope was expected to be shipped worldwide between May and August 2020.<ref name="unistellar20200122">{{Cite web|url=https://shop.unistellaroptics.com/evscope-usappc-landing-1|title=Unistellar eVscope {{!}} A Revolutionary Telescope to Explore the Universe|last=Ludwig|first=Léo|website=shop.unistellaroptics.com|language=en|access-date=2020-01-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428115315/https://shop.unistellaroptics.com/evscope-usappc-landing-1|archive-date=28 April 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> As of December 2021, over 5000 telescopes had been delivered to customers <ref name="essoar20220322">{{cite journal|title=Citizen Science and Scientific Results from the World's Largest Network of Backyard Astronomers|url=https://www.essoar.org/doi/10.1002/essoar.10508938.1|accessdate=22 March 2022|publisher=ESSOAr|doi=10.1002/essoar.10508938.1 |last1=Marchis |first1=Franck |last2=Esposito |first2=Thomas |last3=Blaclard |first3=Guillaume |last4=Asencio |first4=Joe |last5=Klavans |first5=Valerie |last6=Peluso |first6=Daniel O. |last7=Megowan-Romanowicz |first7=Colleen |last8=Pennypacker |first8=Carl |last9=Carter |first9=Brad |journal=Ess Open Archive ePrints |date=29 November 2021 |volume=105 |bibcode=2021esoar.10508938M |s2cid=244735902 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The kit included a custom tripod and mount, a Bahtinov mask and a protective cap.<ref name="galactichunter20210227">{{Cite web|last=Grelin|first=Antoine & Dalia|date=2020-02-12|title=EVscope Review: Is Unistellar's Smart Telescope worth the money?|url=https://www.galactic-hunter.com/post/evscope-review|access-date=2021-02-27|website=galactichunter|language=en}}</ref> Later, Unistellar introduced two new telescopes, eVscope 2 with bigger FOV and better monitor which won the T3 Platinum Award,<ref name="t320211117">{{Cite web|url=https://www.t3.com/reviews/unistellar-evscope-2-smart-telescope-review|title=Unistellar eVscope 2 digital telescope review: a souped-up smart scope that's great for polluted skies|last=Carter|first=Jamie|website=t3.com|date=23 September 2021 |language=en|access-date=2022-03-22}}</ref> and eQuinox with longer battery life and no monitor.<ref name="skyatnight20210824">{{Cite web|url=https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/reviews/telescopes/unistellar-evscope-equinox/|title=Unistellar eVscope 2 digital telescope review: a souped-up smart scope that's great for polluted skies|last=Carter|first=Jamie|website=skyatnightmagazine.com|language=en|access-date=2022-03-22}}</ref>

== Evscope == The eVscope is a {{cvt|114|mm|adj=on}}-diameter Prime focus reflector, focal length 450 mm. It projects its image onto a {{cvt|4.8|x|3.6|mm}} CMOS color sensor with 1.3 million pixels.<ref name="ciel201811" /> The image is transmitted to a small screen in an eyepiece also mounted on the telescope. An electronic connection to a computer (smartphone, pad, or laptop) can be required to make astronomical observations from the telescope. The digital technology allows multiple images to be stacked while subtracting the noise component of the observation producing images of Messier objects and faint stars as dim as an apparent magnitude of 15 with consumer-grade equipment. As of 2024, 25,000 units were sold.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-05 |title=Unistellar upgrades smart telescopes to show the true colors of the universe |url=https://tech.yahoo.com/science/articles/unistellar-upgrades-smart-telescopes-show-163434242.html |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=Yahoo Tech |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Science == As presented in American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2021 Fall Meeting, the eVscope had observed many astronomical objects up to December 2021, including the detection by 79 observers of 85 transits by Jupiter-sized exoplanets, 281 asteroid occultations (including forty-five positive ones), and three shape and spin solutions for near-Earth asteroids. The network also supported NASA's TESS mission by making transatlantic observations of an exoplanet transit, and NASA's Lucy mission by profiling Trojan asteroids this spacecraft will visit. These data are collected by observers in Europe, North America, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Unistellar aims to expand the network to the rest of Asia and to South America.<ref name="essoar20220322" />

The Unistellar Exoplanet (UE) campaign helped to improve the measurement accuracy of the orbital period of TOI 3799.01. The UE campaign also helps to refine the orbit of long-period exoplanets, such as the Jupiter-analog Kepler-167e and the eccentric planet HD 80606b, which have transit durations longer than 10 hours. This refinement will help with follow-up observations, such as JWST observation of HD 80606b.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Peluso |first1=Daniel O'Conner |last2=Esposito |first2=Thomas M. |last3=Marchis |first3=Franck |last4=Dalba |first4=Paul A. |last5=Sgro |first5=Lauren |last6=Megowan-Romanowicz |first6=Colleen |last7=Pennypacker |first7=Carl |last8=Carter |first8=Bradley |last9=Wright |first9=Duncan |last10=Avsar |first10=Arin M. |last11=Perrocheau |first11=Amaury |author12=((Unistellar Citizen Scientists (163) )) |date=2023-02-06 |title=The Unistellar Exoplanet Campaign: Citizen Science Results and Inherent Education Opportunities |journal=Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific |volume=135 |issue=1043 |pages=015001 |doi=10.1088/1538-3873/acaa58 |bibcode=2023PASP..135a5001P |issn=0004-6280|doi-access=free |hdl=10150/674602 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

In July 2025, a community of smart telescope users have captured and shared images of the interstellar comet that had entered our Solar System.<ref>https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/unistellar-comet-3i-atlas</ref>

Unistellar citizen science projects include asteroid occultations, exoplanet transits, planetary defense (Near-Earth asteroids and main-belt lightcurves), cometary activity, and cosmic cataclysms (supernova, recurrent nova, gamma-ray bursts, and variable stars).

== See also == * Digiscoping

== References == {{Reflist|30em}}

Category:Telescope manufacturers Category:French companies established in 2015 Category:Telescopes