Telescopes with wi-fi?

Surely they would have been crazy or approached us to the nearest bonfire, if some years ago (not so many) we had suggested to those pioneering astronomical observers of the 16th and 17th centuries that in the future you could control a telescope using a digital remote control. . And that the telescope, with a built-in motor , would be able to follow the planet that we want to observe.

Well, that was a few years ago that came into our lives and they called it the GO-TO system . Today, technology applied to astronomy has managed to incorporate the wi-fi communication system into GO-TO mechanical technology.

This technology is a wireless communication system that allows connecting, communicating or coordinating two electronic or digital devices. This communication is possible thanks to a wireless access port, which allows internet connection.

We all know wi-fi thanks to computers and of course, thanks to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. What is not so well known, are the applications of wi-fi to other fields than purely computer. One of the latest acquisitions of the wi-fi system lies with astronomy and its introduction to the operation of telescopes remotely.

The telescopes that incorporate this system have an integrated wi-fi port , which creates its own wireless connection with any mobile device , be it android or iphone. As soon as the connection between the two devices is established through Wi-Fi, the mobile or tablet replaces the typical control command . The fact of having this system integrated into the telescope, allows you to connect in remote places , since for quality astronomical observation, many times we have to go out into the field or mountain.

To achieve such operation, it is necessary to provide the mobile device with a control tool, this tool is an application or App . For example, in the case of the "Celestron" brand, this App is called Sky Portal. The application allows you to search and find a certain celestial point, for example a planet, click on the screen and then the telescope will be oriented directly towards that chosen point.

* The mobile application consumes "data" from the phone if we are outside of a domestic or public wi-fi coverage.

Precisely, one of the most interesting functions of this Sky Portal App , combined with the telescopes with wi-fi technology, is didactic and educational . We presume that this application works with the current celestial panorama, at the right time of observation. In a conventional GO-TO telescope, the search order could be left without any result, if that celestial object that we want to observe was not in the current celestial panorama.

During the observation, once you have selected the celestial point that you are interested in observing and your telescope has been oriented towards this point, the App will inform you of the planet or star that you are observing with its main characteristics. You will have in your hands a complete guide to the sky.

It is clear that the wi-fi system is a control tool, not one of visualization or observation. We will not see the images through our mobile device, the observation will be made through the usual procedure , through the eyepieces. The mechanics of these telescopes are also based on the GO-TO motorization and tracking system, incorporating other facilities and features such as alignment through 3 celestial points.

Thus, the entire optical system of the telescope continues to have the same value and functionality. Eyepieces, finder, barlow lenses, filters, etc ... will remain essential parts of our telescope, without them observation is impossible. They will also be essential characteristics, the optical treatments of the lenses and / or mirrors, the aperture, focal ratio, etc ... The optics and physics of the telescope continue to preserve those principles with which those pioneering observers manufactured the first astronomical telescopes.