Hestia by Vaonis - Smartphone-Based Telescope Hestia is the first telescope that utilizes the power of your smartphone sensors to photograph the stars, the Sun (optional Hestia solar filter required), and terrestrial objects. Reminiscent of the shape and weight of a book, the Vaonis Hestia telescope is based on an optical system consisting of a 30 mm (1.18 in) lens and prisms to collect and focus the light directly into the camera sensor of a smartphone. Users position their smartphone on the device and align the phone’s camera with Hestia’s eyepiece. The instrument is designed to accommodate all sizes of smartphones thanks to a system of removable magnets. The Hestia looks amazing, doesn't it? Vaonis even won a "Best Innovation" award at CES in the category of Digital Imaging and Photography for 2024. Here is how they described the Hestia: "Hestia is the next evolution of portable telescopes that uses the power of smartphone sensors to photograph the Sun*, the Moon and the cosmos. It combines a telephoto lens, which increases the zooming capability of smartphones by up to 25 times, and intelligent software that optimizes smartphone performance for astronomical photography." The thing is, just because the Vaonis Hestia is called a telescope doesn't mean you can only use it at night! Use it during the day to photograph or take a video of the Sun*, or let the Hestia magnify views of landscapes, animals and more when you are out and about on vacation, a day trip, or in your own backyard. The Hestia is small and lightweight at less than 850g, and can easily be carried in a backpack along with the portable tripod. *This standard Hestia package does not come with a solar filter, which is required for viewing or imaging the Sun. Do not use this system on the Sun without the proper filter or you could damage your phone, the Hestia, and more importantly, your eyes. Boost Your Smartphone - Hestia boosts the sharpness and resolution of your Smartphone by up to 5X while also boosting the magnification up to 25X! Just imagine what you can do photographically with Hestia and your Smartphone! Check out the images below that compare a smartphone alone to that same smartphone with the Hestia: Here's an image of the Sun with Hestia. Check out those sunspots! Now imagine watching an eclipse with your own smartphone and Hestia with solar filter (not included)...it will be amazing! Just remember to use safe solar glasses to protect your eyes when you're looking at the Sun! To use Hestia with your Smartphone you will need an app...and this one's called Gravity, available for both Apple and Android. The app is designed to assist you both day and night, guide you to the stars with ease and bring you exciting content in a nicely laid out graphical manner. Just put your smartphone on Hestia, follow the lights to correctly align your telescope, and be ready to capture what is normally invisible to the naked eye! Gravity is very easy to use and understand. Choices include Night Mode, Day Mode, Interactive Sky Map, Catalog of the Brightest Deep Sky Objects, Scenery Mode, Alignment Help, Educational Content, Enhanced Vision, Push Notifications, and more. Gravity also enhances your observations using Vaonis's proprietary image processing algorithms to combine and align multiple short exposure images captured by your smartphone into a single high-quality photograph. You can also be notified about weather conditions, celestial events and more so you can take full advantage of good opportunities for stargazing. Note: Before you buy Hestia, check to see if your phone is compatible by following this link to Vaonis FAQ Hestia Phone Compatibility Specifications: Aperture: 30 mm Optical Design: 6 Lenses in 3 Groups Limiting Magnitude: 7-8 Field of View: 1.8º Image Formats: JPEG, TIFF Magnification: 25X Size in Centimeters: 17 x 24 x 5.5 Weight in Grams: 850 Tripod Compatibility: Tripod with 3/8" thread and fluid head with pan/tilt handle
