Celestron announced today what they’re billing as “the word’s first intelligent home observatory.” Building off of their 60+ years of experience in telescopes and premier optical consumer goods, Celestron has developed the Origin. This technologically-advanced telescope is an all-in-one system for astronomical observation and imaging.
Celestron Origin
The Celestron Origin uses a customized version of their RASA optical system, providing a wide field of view and ultra-fast telescope technology. RASA is the choice of professional researchers and government institutions around the world. Combined with a 6.4 MP color CMOS sensor and integrated onboard computer, the Origin is able to not just capture but process images of celestial objects, and wirelessly send them to your phone or tablet. The Origin’s imaging is able to gather much more light than a similarly-sized traditional telescope, and should be a boon for urban stargazers.
Here’s what the CEO of Celestron, Corey Lee, has to say about the Origin:
Viewing the night sky has traditionally been complicated for amateur astronomers, often requiring extensive product knowledge and time-consuming setup and navigation. Likewise, the communal experience of visiting an observatory leaves little flexibility in choosing what to see and when to see it. Celestron Origin removes all these barriers, offering beginners, experts, and anyone in between an easy-to-use and state-of-the-art home observatory experience.
The Celestron Origin is controlled via a dedicated smartphone app, which not only helps you to locate objects in the night sky, but also provides a planetarium-style interface that delivers educational presentations on the celestial objects. You can fully operate the telescope and its mount remotely with your smartphone or tablet, and even schedule the Origin to find and record objects while you sleep. The Origin is operated via a rechargeable battery that has enough power to observe through an entire night.
Here are some of the features of the Origin:
Optics
OPTICAL DESIGN: Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph (RASA)
APERTURE: 152mm
FOCAL LENGTH: 335mm
EFFECTIVE FOCAL RATIO: f/2.2
OPTICAL COATINGS: StarBright XLT coatings throughout
FILTER DRAWER: Integrated, accepts 1.25″ or 2″ astroimaging filters
Imaging Sensor
CMOS IMAGE SENSOR: Sony IMX178LQJ, color, back-illuminated
SENSOR SIZE: 8.92mm diagonal
PIXEL SIZE: 2.4μm x 2.4μm
NUMBER OF EFFECTIVE PIXELS: 6.44M (3096 x 2080)
FIELD OF VIEW: 1.27° x 0.85°
Integrated Electronics
ONBOARD COMPUTER: Raspberry Pi 4 Model B
MOUNT: Computerized GoTo altazimuth mount
DEW PREVENTION: Fully automated heating element integrated into front lens, removable dew shield/lens shade
FOCUS MOTOR: Autofocus or manual control
COOLING FANS: One (1) fan for optics, one (1) fan for electronics, both pull air though vents with wire mesh
LED STATUS RING: Indicates status “at-a-glance”
The technological capabilities of the Celestron Origin allow it to capture images of a much higher brightness and quality than in normal telescopes of the same size. And its built-in astroimaging makes photographing stars and planets a much less daunting task than it normally would be. Here are a few shots taken with the Origin:
Click to view slideshow.The Celestron Origin is scheduled to release in Q2 2024, and will retail for $3999. People will be able to get their first look at the telescope at this week’s CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas. I’m very excited by the possibilities of the Celestron Origin, especially as I’m one of those individuals that has been wanting to get into astrophotography, but has been daunted by both the price and learning curve. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to personally experience the Celestron Origin in the not too distant future. It definitely looks to be a fantastic tool for exploring our galaxy.
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