MARSEILLE, France & TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Since the beginning of time, humans have observed the night sky with awe and wonder and sought to connect our lives to the events we see happening far above us. And for generations, people everywhere have been captivated by space exploration. But while industrial and professional space technologies race ahead at lightspeed, consumers have been left far behind in the race to explore, observe, and understand outer space.
Today, thanks to a collaboration between astronomy disruptor Unistellar and optics icon Nikon, a wide public of consumers is about to catch up to their professional and scientific counterparts. People everywhere will soon be able to see the hidden beauties of the night sky and connect to the universe like never before. Not only will they enjoy and learn about the universe on an emotional level, but they will also have a decisive impact on astronomical research: Fostered by Unistellar, this change is so complete and dramatic it was called “New Astronomy.”
A Global Revolution in Popular Astronomy
Thanks to its groundbreaking patented technologies, Unistellar’s eVscope has ignited a global revolution in popular astronomy. This unique, easy-to-use, smart telescope allows everyone to enjoy astronomy, combining high visual power and unparalleled convenience with the ability to make serious scientific discoveries.
Today, five thousand eVscope users worldwide have already created a new phenomenon, experiencing the thrill and beauty of outer space while learning about the cosmos. This community also works as a network of citizen astronomers which already started to make important contributions to science, thanks to collaborations with renowned institutes like the SETI Institute, helping professional astronomers observe and understand what is happening in the night sky. An experience which can be achieved from anywhere, even in light-polluted urban cores, thanks to Unistellar’s unique light-pollution reduction technology. This was recently illustrated when users from seven different countries successfully detected the poorly known Near-Earth Asteroid 1999 AP10, in the world’s largest-ever citizen astronomy planetary defense research campaign.
Meanwhile, Nikon has an incredible legacy of democratizing complex and expensive human endeavors with highest quality optics and industrial expertise, empowering everyone to see and capture the world around us in an entirely new light. Nikon products have also provided key contributions to space exploration: Most cameras used by astronauts to show the beauty of Earth from above, for example, are Nikon cameras.
Democratizing High-End Technologies
Through this new partnership, Nikon will help Unistellar expand its success by sharing its cutting-edge optical technologies and industrial know-how. Nikon’s skill at embedding high-end technologies into popular hobbies such as photography is a natural fit with Unistellar’s vision of making space exploration an adventure everyone can experience.
“Like Nikon has done and continues to do in many fields related with optics and imaging, we see Unistellar’s products spark joy and excitement on an important and meaningful topic that was previously difficult to grasp for consumers.” said Yasuhiro Ohmura, Senior Vice President of Nikon. “We are also especially sensitive to the unique way Unistellar promotes science and enlightenment at a popular level and are happy to collaborate in widening and furthering this mission.”
Sharing Their Passion for Science
Unistellar and Nikon also share a commitment to enhancing the human experience. Both are eager to join forces to promote knowledge, education, and advancements in science in general and astronomy in particular.
The Unistellar community has already achieved groundbreaking citizen science successes in many places around the world, including Japan, detecting asteroids and exoplanets while cooperating with outreach institutions.
“The Unistellar and Nikon brands share remarkably similar values at heart. Not only this partnership represents a great business opportunity for Unistellar, as we are looking to benefit from Nikon’s incredible know-how in democratizing technology,” said Laurent Marfisi, CEO of Unistellar. “But the passion and drive of Nikon’s teams for our common projects has been incredible. We can’t wait to reveal our future products to the public and how they will accelerate the New Astronomy revolution.”
About Unistellar
Unistellar is the start-up behind the eVscope and the eVscope eQuinox, the world’s most powerful and simple-to-operate digital telescopes that bring the wonders of the universe to life in seconds—even in light-polluted urban settings. Thanks to a partnership with the SETI Institute, these game-changing consumer telescopes allow users to become citizen scientists and contribute to cutting-edge research on exoplanet transits, asteroid occultations, comets, and much more.
The Unistellar eVscope received a CES Innovation Award in 2018 in the Tech for a Better World category and was nominated for a SXSW 2019 Innovation Award. Nearly 5,000 Unistellar digital telescopes are now operating in Europe, Japan, and North America, and their users are participating in an unprecedented observing experience.
About Nikon
Nikon has been a pioneer in optical technology markets worldwide since its inception in 1917. Today, utilizing advanced technologies, Nikon offers a wide range of products and solutions from digital cameras and binoculars to industrial precision equipment such as FPD and semiconductor lithography systems, microscopes, and measuring instruments, as well as for the healthcare field. In the future, Nikon will take advantage of Nikon’s core technologies to generate new core pillars of profit including the material processing business. Nikon strives to be a leading company in precision and optics fields that realizes sustainable growth of enterprise value in the medium to long term.
