The smart telescope manufacturers Unistellar have announced the release of image processing software that will be made available as a download for all of its models.
Unistellar is one of many companies in the emerging field of smart telescopes, and has just announced the release of 'Vivid Vision Signal Processing', which it says will help users get better results when imaging deep-sky targets.
Smart telescopes explained
Smart telescopes are a growing phenomenon in practical astronomy and astrophotography, popular because they automate the process of locating and photographing celestial objects like galaxies, star clusters and nebulae.
These Wi-Fi-operated devices work via an app that can be downloaded to a smartphone or tablet, which presents users with a list of available targets.
Targets include deep-sky objects, but many smart telescopes offer the ability to locate transient objects like comets and asteroids, too.
The user clicks on the desired target and the smart telescope locates the object, then begins 'stacking' multiple images to improve the view on the telescope's inbuilt screen.
Vivid Vision Signal Processing
Unistellar is well-known among smart telescope users, along with other brands such as Dwarflab, Vaonis and ZWO's Seestar model.
Now Unistellar says it's releasing software called 'Vivid Vision Signal Processing' that will be available to download online in October 2024.
The software will be made available to all users of Unistellar telescopes.
"This groundbreaking image processing technology promises to elevate the very essence of stargazing by revealing the universe’s vibrant colours and intricate details with unprecedented clarity," the company said in a statement.
Unistellar says the software will provide its telescope with better detection methods, and will also add improved processing for enhancing images of celestial targets.
"In just 2 minutes, Unistellar automatically reveals the nuanced colours of 300,000 stars in the Hercules Cluster, and the vibrant chemical composition of the Trifid Nebula’s gas clouds," it said.
Image processing is a key aspect of astrophotography, whereby astro-imagers collect data using telescopes and cameras, and then use computer software to tweak and enhance their own images.
Unistellar's Vivid Vision Signal Processing will do this automatically, using an algorithm within the software to perform tweaking and enhancing.
The algorithm has been trained through the analysis and reprocessing of images already gathered by Unistellar users.
