The Seestar telescope was released by ZWO (Zhen Wang Optical) in 2023 after 5 years of R&D and testing.

ZWO was founded in 2011 and their first product was the ASI130MM, a monochrome CMOS camera designed for astrophotography.

With the Seestar they aimed to create a user-friendly, all-in-one telescope that would make astroimaging accessible to beginners. The Seestar combines a telescope, camera, and mount into a single unit, along with built-in software for locating, capturing and processing images of targets.

The Seestar quickly gained popularity due to its relative ease of use, portability, and af-fordable price especially when compared to traditional astrophotography setups. The Seestar has been praised for making the hobby more accessible to a wider audience, particularly those who may have legitimately been intimidated by the complexity and cost of traditional astrophotography equipment. The Seestar is a relatively new product, but it has already made a significant impact on the world of amateur astronomy. It represents a trend towards more integrated and user-friendly telescopes that can help more people enjoy the wonders of the night sky.

Paradoxically, by attracting novices to astronomy, the Seestar has revealed a gap between what even the simplified Seestar can do and what people new to astronomy and astro-photography understand.

This wiki aims to bridge that gap. — Tom Harnish 2024/06/26 07:26