Something new is about to land in the smart sky
Did you think a smart telescope was only good for watching your smartphone screen? Sky-Watcher is about to change your mind.
At Imaging World in Nuremberg, the brand unveiled Orbis, its first smart telescope. The shape is unusual, and the promise even more so: let automation capture the sky for you and, whenever you feel like it, bring your eye to the eyepiece and look with your own eyes. It is due from summer 2027, so there is still time to build up the anticipation, and in the meantime let's go through everything we already know.
- It is Sky-Watcher's first smart telescope.
- Inside is a refractor with a four-element ED objective: 60 mm aperture, 300 mm focal length, f/5.
- Two versions: Orbis 60ED and Orbis 60EDX.
- 5–16 mm zoom eyepiece (18x–60x) and an internal flip mirror for live viewing.
- Motorized mount, 12,000 mAh battery, 128 GB of storage, dedicated app.
- Announced availability: from summer 2027. Price not yet announced.
The twist: an eyepiece
Most smart telescopes do one thing, and do it well: they image the deep sky and show it on your phone. Orbis adds a detail that changes everything: an internal flip mirror sends the light to a 5 to 16 mm zoom eyepiece, which at this focal length means 18x to 60x.
That means you can look at lunar craters, bright planets and the brightest deep-sky objects without going through a screen. The eyepiece has a 1.25" barrel and can be swapped for others, and visual focusing is by helical focuser. Because a telescope you can look through is a different story altogether.
Two versions, one optical heart
The optics are the same; what changes are the sensors.
- Sony IMX662 sensor, 2.1 MP
- Field of view: 1.06° × 0.6°
- Eyepiece for visual observation
- Dual sensors: Sony IMX585 (8.3 MP, 4K) and IMX662
- Field of view: 2.1° × 1.2°
- Eyepiece for visual observation
In other words: with the 60EDX the field is about twice as large in each dimension, so it covers almost four times the area of sky of the 60ED. Very extended objects, such as the Orion Nebula, should on paper fit entirely in frame.
What we already know
Sky-Watcher has already revealed much of the technical specification. Here it is in brief:
| Optics | Four-element ED objective, 60 mm, 300 mm focal length, f/5; built-in 67° wide-angle lens for wide-field imaging |
| Mount | Alt-azimuth, 0.07" per step, maximum speed 7°/s; automatic search, pointing and tracking; built-in derotator ±180° |
| Focusing | Two motorized focusers, one per camera, at 0.195 µm per step |
| Filters | Three-position filter wheel: UV/IR, Ha/OIII and Dark (for the Sun, an external solar filter is to be fitted) |
| Power and storage | 12,000 mAh battery (about 8 hours without external power); 128 GB internal storage, with direct USB copy and no extra software |
| Convenience | Built-in anti-dew; one button for home position, self-calibration, automatic exposure and focus, and parking; alerts for battery, storage, overheating and firmware errors |
| Control | Dedicated app to find objects, capture images and process them |
One instrument, many ways to use it
Sky-Watcher presents it as a telescope to enjoy in several ways, even in daytime:
- Smart Deep Sky: nebulae, galaxies and clusters.
- Smart Solar System: the Moon and planets.
- Night wide-field: the Milky Way, star trails, time-lapse.
- Visual observation: live, through the eyepiece.
- Daytime mode: panoramas and time-lapse.
- Scheduled sessions: object lists, focus recalibration, mosaics and processing at the end of the session.
Picture the evening
Dusk, the sky darkening. You set the instrument down, press a button, and Orbis takes care of home position, calibration and exposure. The first target on the list appears on your smartphone; meanwhile you aim the eyepiece at the Moon and adjust the zoom, and whoever is beside you looks in and is left speechless by the craters.
It is only a scenario, but it is exactly what Sky-Watcher seems to want to make possible: automation and direct wonder in the same instrument. How it performs in the field remains to be seen.
What we don't know yet
Orbis was presented well in advance, and a few pieces are still missing:
- The price, not stated in the official announcement.
- The exact release date: for now, only summer 2027 is mentioned.
- The final equipment: as the distributor points out, equipment and appearance may change before launch.
The data in this article is as declared by the manufacturer: the instrument has not been tested yet.
- Looking at the Sun without a filter. Neither through the eyepiece nor with the camera: you always need a suitable solar filter, fitted in front of the objective.
- Expecting the performance of a large telescope. With 60 mm of aperture the Moon and planets are excellent targets; for the deep sky it is the camera that makes the difference, not the eye.
- Treating provisional details as final. Price, equipment and exact date are yet to be confirmed.
Frequently asked questions
When is Sky-Watcher Orbis released?
Availability is announced from summer 2027. The price has not been announced yet.
Can you observe directly with Orbis?
Yes: an internal flip mirror sends the light to a 5–16 mm zoom eyepiece (18x–60x), which can be swapped for other 1.25" eyepieces.
What is the difference between Orbis 60ED and 60EDX?
The optics are the same. The 60ED has a 2.1 MP Sony IMX662 sensor; the 60EDX has an 8.3 MP (4K) Sony IMX585 sensor with a 2.1° × 1.2° field of view, paired with an IMX662.
Stay tuned
Orbis promises to combine two ways of experiencing the sky that until now seemed like alternatives. When price, date and further details are known, we will come back to it. In the meantime, if you have questions, write to us or visit us at the Adriasky showroom in Rimini.
Source: announcement by Sky-Watcher Italia, 12 October 2026. Technical data as declared by the manufacturer and subject to change before launch.