Vaonis, makers of the Vespera and Stellina smart telescopes has announced its latest creation, the Hyperia telescope camera. The Hyperia is a nearly 75kg (165 lbs) personal observatory. The telescope uses a 61MP image sensor paired with a 1050mm lens.
The Hyperia’s 61MP sensor is a full-frame Sony IMX455 monochromatic sensor. It’s backside-illuminated, too, which Vaonis says results in ‘91% quantum efficiency.’ Although unlikely to be needed anytime soon given the quality of the IMX455 sensor, it can be replaced within Hyperia down the road. The sensor has 3.76μm pixel size, 1.5e- read noise, 51ke- (200ke- in BIN2) full-well capacity and a 16-bit analog-to-digital converter.
The sensor is housed inside a ‘Zicral’ enclosure. Zicral is ‘an alloy used in the aerospace industry for its outstanding mechanical performance and exceptional resistance to extreme conditions.’ Much like its previous products, Vaonis has designed the Hyperia to be stylish, sleek and rugged.
Sony IMX455 specs
Hyperia has Direct Drive motorization, which is also used in various professional observatories. With Direct Drive, the Hyperia has ‘unmatched’ pointing speeds and sidereal tracking.
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Looking closer at the Hyperia’s optics, it uses a 150mm apochromatic (triplet) refractor optic, which has a focal length of 1050mm (F/D=7). This telescope offers a 1.97° x 1.3° field of view and theoretical separating power of 0.9 arcsec.
Like with the Vespera and Stellina, its high-tech features are part of the Hyperia’s appeal. The Hyperia is equipped with autofocus. It also includes an integrated heating element and cooled camera to maintain optimal observation conditions regardless of outdoor temperature and humidity. In terms of ‘smart’ features, the Hyperia can be set up to photograph a specific object and be left alone overnight while it works. Onboard image processing software performs ‘millions of operations per second’ to produce images with optimal image quality and no artifacts, per Vaonis.
Vaonis Hyperia optical specs
Hyperia works with an accompanying application. The app provides customized recommendations about what you can observe on a given night at your location and offers many educational resources. ‘You will be accompanied at each stage in your journey through space,’ writes Vaonis.
The Hyperia works alongside a special application that allows users to pick what they want to observe, receive personalized recommendations and learn about different celestial objects.
For people who aren’t sure where to start, Vaonis guarantees that you can set up Hyperia and begin using it within five minutes. Hyperia can also automatically stack up to thousands of images in real-time, meaning you don’t need to be an expert with post-processing to get high-quality results. If you want to get more in-depth, you can manually set gain (0 to +36dB), select binning (1×1 and 2×2), adjust sensor temperature (down to -35° C from ambient), dynamically crop, select image formats, perform calibration image capture, defog, and adjust focus.
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Vaonis Hyperia comes in three colors: sidereal gray, silver and matte white. It includes integrated Gigabit Ethernet, wireless connectivity, remote control, various filters (SII/Hα/OIII 7nm/RGB/custom), and a protective cover. However, all of this comes at a very steep price as Vaonis Hyperia starts at $45,000. It will take approximately 12-18 months for each Hyperia to get delivered to purchasers.