Celestial Observation by Smartphone.

Have had a long time background in observational astronomy, have been impressed how smartphones can support observation, but always thought there would be much room for stronger integration between  smartphones and telescopes.   I see that the well known scope supplier Celestron has done this.  Ultimately c0uld be an AI application for distributing,  gathering and analyzing observations.  Want me to test and report further on this, let me know.

Celestron’s StarSense Explorer brings telescope optics to smartphones    in VentureBeat By Jeremy Horowitz

If you’ve ever tried to map distant stars or planets using a smartphone or tablet app, you know the apps have been pretty amazing for years but are constrained by the devices’ tiny, light-limited cameras. Now Celestron is leveraging its six decades of telescope-making expertise to let novices enjoy the “sophisticated sky recognition technology used by professional observatories,” combining a modern telescope with an Android phone and iPhone dock.

The StarSense Explorer series includes four models, ranging from $180 LT 80mm refractor and 114mm reflector telescopes to larger $400 DX 102mm refractor and 130mm reflector telescopes with better light-gathering purposes and bigger tripods. In each case, users simply position the phone in a dock on the telescope’s right side, launch the StarSense Explorer app — compatible with Android 7.1.2 or later, and iPhone 6 or newer phones — and use on-screen arrows to move the telescope on its tripod, quickly and automatically locating objects in the sky.    ...."