How to Directly Download the Raw Data From Your Telescope to Your Computer?

Since update 3.2, and now with the visually enriched interface introduced in version 4.1, users can download the RAW data from their observations directly from their telescope to their computer. This feature allows full access to high-quality data without needing to transfer them through another device or service. 

This article describes how to download the RAW data from your telescope to your computer in FITS, TIFF, or PNG format. 

Important: We would like to point out that if you upload your data, you won't be able to download it directly from your telescope because the memory will be empty.

Please note that our Support Team does not provide any specific raw data processing techniques or training. If, for some reason, your data wasn't recorded, we don't have the technical possibility to retrieve it. Apologies for any inconvenience.

1 - Access the Experimental area / Laboratory tab 

Make sure that your telescope is connected to the UNISTELLAR App. 

This experimental feature is in the new Experimental area / Laboratory tab of the App, which is also in the settings menu. 

The settings menu can be accessed from any of the main pages: Homepage, Catalog, Science, or Gallery. Tap on the settings button (in the top right corner) to access the settings menu.

2 - Activate direct access to RAW data 

Once in the Experimental area / Laboratory tab, you can activate direct access to RAW data. 

The telescope saves your choice, so you can disconnect your smartphone from the telescope's Wi-Fi if you wish. We recommend that you do not use your telescope during the download.

3 - Connect to your telescope Wi-Fi on your PC

We advise you to download your data to your PC and not to your phone because of the weight of the images : 

• Connect to your telescope Wi-Fi on your PC

• Type the exact address shown in the Access URL section into the search bar (PC) : http://192.168.100.1/ (you can bookmark it to save time later on)
• Now you should have access to the interface of your telescope’s memory

4 - Your telescope’s DATA interface

On this page, you’ll find the RAW data for your Enhanced Vision observations (Dynamic Signal Amplification) for DSO, Planets, and Science mode observations. 

Since version 4.1 of the UNISTELLAR app, the DATA interface has been completely redesigned to offer a much clearer, more visual, and intuitive experience. Each observation now appears as an image thumbnail, along with the date, the name of the observed celestial object, the number of frames, and the observation mode used. It is no longer just a list of files, but a rich, easy-to-navigate gallery of observations.

You can select all observations or only some of them to download or delete from your telescope’s memory.
Your RAW data can still be downloaded in FITS, TIFF, or PNG format.

Note: it can take a little bit of time to load your observation on the page if you have a lot of data, you'll see a spinning icon in the top right corner while your data are loading . 

You can select one or more observations 

Selected observations are highlighted, and a counter shows how many are currently selected.
If you're looking for a specific observation, use the search bar in the upper left corner to filter your data.

You can perform several actions on the selected data:

Download your data :
Select the desired format from the menu: FITS, TIFF, or PNG.
Click the button to start downloading the selected data.
The files will be downloaded as a .zip archive containing all components related to your observations (stack inputs, stacksum, dark frame).

Remove or delete your data: 

- Select the observations you want to delete and click the delete button to remove the selected data from your telescope's memory permanently. 

- You can also click the delete all button to remove all the data (note that this operation can take some time if you have a lot of data). 

New in version 4.1: A progress indicator is now displayed for each file being deleted, so you can clearly track the process.

Tips: If you are a citizen science user and want to reduce the upload time of your science observations, you can download and delete your normal observations and upload only your science observations. This way, you'll have much less data to upload, reducing your overall upload time.