What does a smart telescope do?

A smart telescope like my Seestar finds the target, focuses, tracks the sky, and combines successive exposures. This last step is called stacking. It helps faint detail stand out from random noise as more good exposures are added.

You control it with an app on your phone or tablet. There’s no eyepiece to look through. Instead, the camera collects light over time and builds up the picture on screen. This can reveal galaxies and nebulae that would be too faint to see through the eyepiece of a regular telescope under the same city skies. Suddenly, that apparently empty patch of sky has something rather exciting in it!

I use the S50 as my example because it’s the smart telescope I’ve used from my Bristol garden. Other models differ in their field of view, features, and setup. My full Seestar S50 review covers my hardware and my experiences in more detail.

It’s also a lovely way to share the sky. Several people can watch the same screen as the image develops, making smart telescopes great for public outreach as well as an evening with friends or family. I’ve used my Seestar to show the Andromeda Galaxy at an inner-city school event where the light pollution ruled out an eyepiece view. My Using a Seestar for Public Outreach guide covers targets, practical setups, and ways to get a crowd involved. A galaxy appearing on screen is quite the conversation starter!

See the equipment and buying links for the setup described in this guide.

Get ready before the first clear night

Charge the telescope and your phone, install the relevant app, and try connecting indoors. Read the setup instructions for your model while you’re warm and have time to find the controls.

Choose a stable place with a clear view of the sky. Nearby buildings, trees, and direct security lights matter even when the telescope can find its own way around. Give it room to move. The S50 comes with a small tripod. I found levelling it a little fiddly, so allow some time for this.

App layouts and features change. Use the current in-app instructions for the exact controls, rather than expecting every screenshot in an older review to match.

Your first imaging session

1. Set up and connect. Attach the telescope securely, switch it on, and connect the app. Complete the setup prompts.
2. Choose a target with a clear view. Pick something above the nearby obstructions and reasonably high in the sky. The easiest target is the one you can actually see for a useful length of time.
3. Let it find and focus. Watch the first result to check that the target is present and the stars look sharp. On a damp night, use the S50’s built-in dew heater to help keep the lens clear.
4. Check the filter setting. The S50’s built-in “light pollution filter” is confusingly named. Use it for emission nebulae, but not galaxies and star clusters.
5. Stay on the same object. Give it time to build an image rather than hopping between lots of targets. The more time you let it collect light for, the better your end result will be. An hour or more for a single target is a good starting point for imaging from a city. Note that the accepted exposure time is what matters. Cloud, vibration, or poor tracking may cause some frames to be rejected, so an hour outside doesn’t necessarily mean an hour of usable data.
6. Save the result. Use the app’s image-saving or export controls. A finished JPEG is handy for sharing. If you’d like to try stacking and processing later, save the individual exposures too. On the Seestar, enable Save Each Frame before imaging and check that there’s room in storage. Those original files give you far more to work with than a shared JPEG.

Choose a bright first target

A bright star cluster is an easy way to test things out. The Double Cluster is one example, when it’s well placed.

For more ideas through the year, try my seasonal guide to beginner astrophotography targets. Check each object in your telescope’s framing preview before you start.

Check how a target fits the telescope’s view. The Andromeda Galaxy extends well beyond its bright centre, and a small smart telescope’s single frame may not include all of it. A successful image can show part of an object.

These are actual telescope results, not a promise of what every first session will produce. Explore the Targets gallery and select Seestar S50 to see more.

Give the image time to develop

Here’s the Double Cluster from my original S50 testing. The first photo is a single 10-second exposure. The second combines two hours of accepted exposures.

The longer result shows more stars and clearer colour. It also took longer than two hours on the clock because some exposures weren’t good enough to use. You can enjoy the view as it develops, rather than waiting for a particular total.

What are the limitations?

Automation gets you enjoying the sky quickly, and there’s still plenty to learn about targets, exposure time, and processing. You have less control over the individual bits of equipment, though. You can’t swap the camera or telescope as you can with a conventional rig.

Treat the app’s catalogue pictures as inspiration. Your own result will depend on the sky, the target’s position, and how much usable exposure time you collect. My Seestar S50 review includes real examples from Bristol, streetlights and all.

For a first result, the app’s own processing is enough. If you want to get deeper into it, then you can process the images yourself and see how much more you can bring out.

Equipment and buying links

Affiliate links help support the site at no extra cost to you. Check the retailer for current prices and availability.

ZWO Seestar S50

This is the model I’ve used from my Bristol garden. The camera, tracking, and image stacking are built in, so there’s no separate imaging rig to assemble. You’ll still need a compatible phone or tablet.

Read my review

Check price at Astroshop.eu Check price at High Point Scientific

My review includes real images and the limitations I found, so you can judge whether this approach suits you before buying.