It’s the nature of our business here at autoevolution to talk about telescopes, among other spectacular things. But we almost always only cover the big telescopes used by space agencies and astronomers, like the James Webb, the Hubble, or the Nancy Grace Roman. Believe it or not, this story is about a telescope, but not one of those telescopes. It’s about something that claims to be the world’s first AI-powered astrophotography telescope.
Artificial intelligence is used in pretty much every area of life these days. From the technology that powers our phones to the technology that controls various robots in car factories, AI has unleashed possibilities in pretty much every area of life that were never thought possible before. So why wouldn’t it power a telescope too?
The (let’s call it civilian) telescope market is pretty solid, and if you’re experienced enough to do a bit of stargazing now and then, you probably already know who to turn to to get the right tools. You might also want to take a look at the folks at Beaverlab, as they claim to have launched the world’s first AI-powered mass-market telescope.
Beaverlab has been around for about four years and is a group of people who are used to doing firsts. Their only other product so far is the world’s first detachable microscope, the Darwin M2. The telescope that brought us here is called the Finder TW2.
Technically, the thing is an optical telescope with some of its systems enhanced in part by some unspecified type of AI power. It offers an 82mm aperture, optical zoom capability of up to 29x (and digitally up to 4x), and an optical focal length of 500mm.
All this means that the telescope can take pictures from a greater distance. Thanks to the so-called DS1 planetary camera, the images are also of high quality. With this hardware, even those of us who are not familiar with such things should be able to “to reveal the secrets of the cosmos with unprecedented clarity.”
Photo: Beaverlab
AI also makes its presence felt for the first time in this DS1 image collector. It helps the hardware when taking photos and improves the processing of high-quality images, even in areas with heavy light pollution.
Although the camera is attached to the Finder TW2, it can be removed and snapped onto another telescope as it is compatible with virtually all other telescopes currently on the market as long as they have a 1.25 inch eyepiece.
The camera is based on a 1/1.8-inch Starlight CMOS sensor, which is designed to deliver high-quality images even in low-light conditions. The sensor also uses AI, this time for processing, resulting in images with more detail and less noise.
The telescope also has a built-in 5-inch touchscreen. This element allows not only to display what the camera sees, but also to edit photos and videos in real time (videos can be recorded in 4K). That’s right, editing is done directly on the telescope, so no additional equipment is needed when stargazing.
All of the above sounds interesting, but what does it mean to the uninitiated? Well, all that talk can be summed up in the following 13 words: You’ll see some really intricate details of planets, stars, and distant galaxies.
The Finder TW2 telescope was recently launched on Indiegogo. Beaverlab’s goal was to raise $20,000 and begin production. When this story hit the presses, there were 33 days left of the campaign and the total amount pledged was over ten times that amount.
Photo: Beaverlab
The first hundred backers who backed the idea are promised they’ll receive their fancy, AI-powered telescopes in September. The company seems to be sticking to that promise, but it’s unclear when the remaining hundreds will receive their telescopes.
Beaverlab sells either the complete telescope, which costs $329, or the standalone imager that you can add to your existing telescope, which costs $229. If you go for the complete package, the company includes a tripod and a professional outdoor bag. A remote control, planisphere and data cable are also included.
Whether you choose the Finder TW2 telescope or another device, there’s probably never been a better time to start stargazing. Space exploration is probably enjoying its golden years, and who’s to say a device like this won’t make history by inadvertently capturing something extraordinary on camera?
As for the natural movement of celestial bodies, remember that we have two more supermoons coming up in September and October. This means that the satellite will already be 14 percent larger in diameter and 30 percent brighter than normal. Imagine pointing a powerful tool at it as it approaches our planet…
