Observing the Moon and Planets

Thanks to UNISTELLAR’s Enhanced Vision technology, optimized for lunar and planetary observation, you can now enjoy an impressively clear view of the Moon and planets. In just a few seconds, reveal Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, Saturn’s rings, or the Moon’s craters in stunning detail.

The ODYSSEY and ODYSSEY PRO offer the best performance for this type of observation, thanks to their next-generation sensor and optimized image resolution.

Observing the Moon and Planets: Live View or Enhanced Vision?

Once your telescope is set up and sky tracking is activated, use the GoTo button to automatically point the instrument toward the Moon or a planet.

When using GoTo to observe the Moon, you can activate Enhanced Vision to get a more stable and detailed image. However, if you manually point to the Moon, Enhanced Vision will not be available.

For other planets like Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, and Venus, Enhanced Vision is available through the dedicated "Enhanced Vision for Planets" mode. This feature is not yet available for Uranus, Neptune, or Mercury, but it may be added in the future.

GoTo the Moon: Centering Tips

Due to its high brightness and proximity, a GoTo to the Moon may not perfectly center it in the field of view. Here are some tips if that happens:

• Open the display settings and make sure the gain (dB) and exposure time (ms) are not set to "auto".

Note: Depending on the Moon’s phase, the image may appear very bright.

• Gradually reduce the gain until the image becomes very dark.
• Use the virtual joystick arrows to move the telescope in the direction where the light appears.
• Repeat this process if necessary until the Moon is centered.

Tip: The directional arrows offer more precise control than the swipe-based joystick.

Important: During nighttime, the telescope relies on stars for positioning, but the Moon’s brightness can interfere with this process. If this happened late in the night, orientation may have been even more challenging. In these cases, entering the Moon’s coordinates in Advanced Mode can help:

Check out our article on this topic (video tutorial included): How to Observe an Object That Is Not Listed in the Catalog With Its Ra/Dec Coordinates?

Here is a photo of the Moon taken with the ODYSSEY PRO (Enhanced Vision enabled):