Smart scopes: from backyard to big science

Home-based stargazers are helping scientists crack some of the Universe's big mysteries - and you can join them. Charlotte Daniels shows us how

- Charlotte Daniels

The rise of smart telescopes has opened up astrophotography to a whole new audience, providing an accessible and rewarding route into what can seem like a complex hobby. But these high-tech telescopes are doing something else too: they're getting ordinary citizens involved with helping astronomy professionals to study the cosmos.

In 2020, the SETI Institute joined forces with telescope maker Unistellar to develop the Unistellar Network, a community of over 25,000 Unistellar users worldwide who, across several astronomical programmes, share observations from their smart telescopes with scientists.

Almost six years on, citizen scientists in the Unistellar Network have made significant contributions that have been recognised in research papers. In 2022, 34 citizen scientists captured data to determine the rotation period of near-Earth asteroid 7335 during a close approach, while others helped observe NASA's attempt to deflect an asteroid, the DART mission. They also observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS almost immediately after its detection in July 2025, and asteroid 2025 RL2 was captured as it passed only half a lunar distance away in September 2025, despite being just 17–37 metres (55–121ft) wide.

At the heart of the network is the Unistellar smartphone app and the Slack messaging platform, where lead astronomers for each programme moderate a designated channel and bring trends to the attention of users. Here, processed observation data is uploaded in the form of videos and reports, and important upcoming missions are highlighted.

So how does it all work, and how can you take part? Join us as we explore the network, with our Unistellar Odyssey Pro smart telescope at the ready, and discover how you can turn your stargazing into scientific discovery.

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