Adventures in Astronomy: The ODYSSEY PRO Smart Telescope by UNISTELLAR

In 2017, French company UNISTELLAR launched their first Kickstarter campaign for the eVscope, a telescope that used Enhance Vision Technology to get the light gathering power of telescopes ten times larger in diameter. That successful launch lead to several other telescopes harnessing the same technology. Recently, UNISTELLAR sent me one of their latest offerings, the ODYSSEY PRO smart telescope, to try out.

What Is the ODYSSEY PRO Smart Telescope?

The ODYSSEY PRO Smart Telescope is a portable telescope that allows you to observe both through the eyepiece and via a mobile device or tablet. It is operated via an app for both Android and iOS to locate astronomical objects. The ODYSSEY PRO retails for $3,999, and is available at the UNISTELLAR website or from the UNISTELLAR store on Amazon. The ODYSSEY, a similar model just lacking an eyepiece, has a much lower MSRP of $2,299 and is also available at either the UNISTELLAR website or on Amazon.

Here are the technical specifications of the ODYSSEY PRO:

Unboxing the ODYSSEY PRO Smart Telescope

Here’s what comes in the box:

Under a flap you’ll find a small box that contains the charger, and a set of adjustment tools.

While the tools are a nice inclusion, my tripod worked perfectly and didn’t need any adjustments. 

UNISTELLAR also sent along a solar filter to try out with the ODYSSEY PRO.

Using the ODYSSEY PRO Smart Telescope

The first step in using the ODYSSEY PRO is to charge up the telescope. It didn’t take long for my telescope to charge, but then again, this was a loaner review unit so I can’t say how much of a charge was already in the battery.

Once charging was complete, I was ready to go out and observe. Thanks to the solar filter, I didn’t have to wait until dark to start testing out the telescope. I simply removed the lens cap, and replaced it with the solar filter. Both the lens cap and the filter magnetically attach to the end of the ODYSSEY PRO, making the changeover effortless.

Unfortunately, I did hit a snag right at the start. To use the telescope, you must use the UNISTELLAR app to control the ODYSSEY PRO. The first step is to create a network between the telescope and your phone. It took me a few tries to get the app and the ODYSSEY PRO to sync up.

Once I was able to connect the devices, I was ready to go. Observing with the ODYSSEY PRO is very simple. The app highlights the various objects that can be best observed at your current time and location. Selecting one of those objects will cause the telescope to automatically tilt and rotate until that object is centered in the ODYSSEY PRO’s lens.

While the telescope slews into position, the app will provide helpful facts about the object you’re observing. Once the telescope has found and centered  on the object, you’ll have a few options within the app.

First, you can capture 4.1 megapixel images. When you take a photo, you automatically get both a standard view:

And a data-enhanced photo:

While observing, you can also choose to enhance the image. This allows the technology built into the ODYSSEY PRO to gather more light and data, which especially helps when you are observing in an area with a lot of light pollution. To give you an example of how that works practically, here’s an image of the Trifid Nebula taken after only 8 seconds of observation:

And here’s the same nebula, but with 96 seconds of enhancement:

As you can see, it’s a pretty dramatic difference. It’s especially important to note that I was observing right out in my driveway, in a very bright area. So bright, in fact, that there is a street lamp right next to my house.

If you’re looking for a particular object that’s not in the database, you can also choose to manually enter the coordinates into the app. On June 29th, a 500-foot-wide asteroid, 2024 MK, was passing close by the Earth. In an attempt to locate it, I checked on an astronomy website and got what I thought was the most recent location in the night sky, and then entered that.

Sadly, the coordinates didn’t seem to be up to date, as I couldn’t locate 2024 MK. This did highlight one small weakness in an otherwise powerful observation package. Had I been outside with my Dobsonian telescope, I could have easily moved it around manually to locate the asteroid. There is a way to manually move the telescope via the app, but it’s a bit slow.

Here are a few of my favorite objects I observed during my time with the ODYSSEY PRO:

The ODYSSEY PRO Smart Telescope: The Verdict

One of the things that I appreciated most about the ODYSSEY PRO was just how easy it was for anyone to use. It takes moments to set up, and then you can be viewing interstellar objects with just the click of a button. There is a bit of a wait for the telescope to automatically move into alignment with the object you’re viewing, but there’s a lot of waiting and patience involved with stargazing no matter what telescope you use. And it’s not like you have to sit around doing nothing while the telescope slews into position; the app is filled with trivia about all of the objects in its database.

I was definitely surprised by just how small and lightweight the ODYSSEY PRO is. UNISTELLAR sells a backpack for carrying the telescope, and it would be effortless to take it with you on a hike to a remote location for stargazing. The 5-hour charge should be more than sufficient for most people for a full night watching the stars.

It’s also fantastic that the ODYSSEY PRO is both a telescope and an astroimaging solution. One of the things I have discovered with traditional telescopes is that it can be challenging to take good photographs of what you’re observing. For astrophotography, you usually need not just a high quality camera, but also a motorized tripod mount and post-processing software. The ODYSSEY PRO essentially has all of that built in, which also justifies its high price tag.

While there’s a lot to love about the ODYSSEY PRO smart telescope, there are some drawbacks, too. For one, that price tag I mentioned. At almost $4000, this is not a gadget for someone who likes to occasionally look at the stars. For most, the ODYSSEY would be a better investment, as the only difference between the models is the eyepiece. I personally used the eyepiece of the ODYSSEY PRO just a few times, as I was content with the view on my iPhone and didn’t have to bend over or sit on an astronomy chair to observe.

The image enhancement on the ODYSSEY PRO is amazing, and you’re able to see so much more in a light-polluted area than you would with a traditional telescope. But those images can also appear a bit over-processed. To show you what I mean, here’s a look at Antares, approximately a minute into enhancement:

As you can see, we get an image of the star that looks kind of stylized. Whether that’s to your taste or not is up to you.

The one other quibble I had with the ODYSSEY PRO is specifically with the app. I found that it could be somewhat unresponsive when trying to switch between the observation mode and the move mode. Often times, the arrow movement keys would appear on the app but would be unusable for several minutes. This is an issue which is hopefully fixable by updating the app.

I was excited to get my hands on a smart telescope, and the ODYSSEY PRO didn’t disappoint. The ease of use and quality of the images exceeded my expectations, and I was amazed at just how much I was able to see out on my brightly lit street. The educational information about the astronomical objects was a welcome surprise, and a benefit to all but the most educated astronomists. If you’re looking for a great way to view and photograph the night sky, then you should consider the ODYSSEY PRO smart telescope from UNISTELLAR.

For more information, head to the UNISTELLAR website.

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