A Beginner’s Journey Through the Infinite Cosmos: A Review of the Vaonis Hestia Smart Telescope
Summary: The Vaonis Hestia Smart Telescope makes stargazing simple!
4.6
Stargazing
Have you ever wanted to start capturing images of the night sky and deep space, but are unsure where to begin? I have spent years unwinding by watching videos about the universe, black holes, and galaxies on channels such as Veritasium and Astrum, as well as listening to captivating talks by astrophysicists like Brian Cox and Neil deGrasse Tyson, among others. However, I didn’t know where to start with stargazing, so I delayed making a start. Until now.
This is where the Vaonis Hestia comes in. It is a telescope that acts like an amplifier for your smartphone. Perfect for beginners who are just learning how to embark on their stargazing journey without ultra-expensive and finicky equipment. First, align your phone to the lens, which focuses light into your phone’s camera. Then, line up the object you want to photograph at 25x magnification and share the result with your friends and family!
The Ultimate Pack comes with:
- Hestia Smart Telescope
- Carry Case (for telescope and tripod)
- Tripod with pan and tilt fluid head
- Solar Pointer
- Sun Visor
- Solar Filter
- Access to the Gravity smartphone app
Technical Specifications
| Weight | 850 grams |
| Size | 17 x 24 x 5.5 cm |
| Aperture | 30 mm |
| Magnification | 25X |
| Optical Design | 6 lenses in 3 groups |
| Field of View | 1.8 degrees |
| Limiting magnitude | 7-8 |
| Image formats | JPEG via Gravity APP |
The Hestia Smart Telescope is compact yet solid, featuring great build quality and a sturdy tripod. The carry case zips up to snugly protect the telescope and contains other attachments to assist with solar photography as well as night photography. The whole pack is compact enough to carry along with you on holidays or travelling away from the light pollution of a busy city. The Gravity smartphone app is simple and easy to use, with clear tutorials to get you started.
One initial small barrier is the lack of an auto-finding function in the phone app; however, I enjoyed learning how to spot landmarks in the sky and manually line up the points of interest that I captured. There was some trial and error in the process, but this made it all the more rewarding when capturing great pictures of the sun, moon, planets and the deep sky! There is a day mode, night mode and scenery mode too.
Final Thoughts?
Overall, this telescope is a great starter for beginner stargazers. It is easy to set up and use, while taking very shareable photos directly to social media or sending them to family and friends straight from your smartphone. There is something truly special about taking photos of the universe, by yourself, all from your backyard!
Highly recommended.
About the Author
Brent Thomas Brent loves the competitive aspect aspect of video games whether its first person shooters, esports games or improving runs in roguelikes and soulslikes. Outside of tech he can be found training for running events and watching Formula 1.
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