On Mon, 8 Jan 2024 22:37:37 -0800 (PST), Quadibloc <
jsavard@ecn.ab.ca>
wrote:
I believe it was the Vaonis Stellina that was very controversial, as
a telescope of modest aperture, but highly computerized, and with
a high price tag, designed to take astrophotographs almost by
itself.
In looking for it, I also found the ZWO Seestar, an apparently similar >product in a much more modest price range - around $500.
The product Celestron has announced today (January 8), only
available for pre-order, is in the $5000 price range, and it only
has a 6-inch aperture.
But it definitely still has some quality features that make it stand
out.
The 6" optical portion is a Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph.
And the computer technology includes AI-assisted automatic
stacking of multiple images.
The product is the Celestron Origin Intelligent Home Observatory:
https://www.celestron.com/products/celestron-origin-intelligent-home-observatory
Now, if I could get it with their 11" RASA instead of a 6" one, then I
would actually want one, although I couldn't afford it.
John Savard
I'm skeptical much of a market exists. Products like the Seestar are
popular because they produce very nice results at a very modest price.
They're great for imaging on the road, for public presentations, for
those with a casual interest in astronomical imaging. You get up into
the thousands of dollars range, however, and you're looking at much
more serious imagers. And I think most of them are likely to prefer
putting together their own kit, suited to their specific interests.
For $5000 you can get a really nice imaging setup... and one that you
can change around if your interests change.
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