Vaonis Hestia Smartphone Telescope – Standard Pack
Explore the night sky with the phone you already own. Hestia combines a compact optical telescope with the Gravity by Vaonis app to help you find, observe and photograph the Moon and bright deep-sky objects. The Standard Pack includes a tripod, so you can set up and start exploring without choosing a separate mount.
Hestia has no battery or powered telescope components. Your smartphone provides the camera, screen and power, while the app guides you as you point and follow targets manually.
What’s included
- Hestia telescope
- Tripod
- Soft dust cover
- Solar pointer
- Instruction card
Solar safety: The Standard Pack does not include a solar filter. Never point Hestia at the Sun unless a suitable Hestia solar filter is correctly fitted. The solar pointer does not replace a solar filter. Pointing the unfiltered telescope at the Sun can damage your phone’s camera and create a risk of serious eye injury.
Discover Hestia
Place your compatible smartphone on Hestia, align its camera with the optics and use the Gravity by Vaonis app to navigate the sky. Hestia’s 30 mm aperture and 25× optical magnification make it an approachable way to explore lunar detail and some of the brighter star clusters, nebulae and galaxies. What you can capture will depend on your phone, observing conditions and the target.
Your first steps into astrophotography
Start with the Moon, then use the app’s guidance to try brighter deep-sky targets. Hestia has no motorised tracking: you adjust its position by hand as the sky moves. Gravity can combine suitable exposures for deep-sky images, making Hestia a useful introduction to capturing more than a single phone photograph.
The following gallery shows images supplied for Hestia. Results vary with the smartphone, sky conditions and processing.
Frequently asked questions
Is my smartphone compatible?
Compatibility depends on your phone and the observation mode. Vaonis lists iPhone 8 and later with iOS 16 or later for Sun and Moon observation, while deep-sky use requires an iPhone 13 or later. Android support varies by model and mode. Before ordering, check Vaonis’s current compatibility guidance; Android users can also run the compatibility check in the Gravity by Vaonis app. Tablets and Chromebooks are not supported.
What can I observe?
Hestia is suited to the Moon and brighter deep-sky objects, including selected star clusters, nebulae and galaxies. Solar observation is possible only with a correctly fitted, suitable Hestia solar filter, which is not included in this Standard Pack.
Does Hestia need charging?
No. Hestia itself has no battery. Your observing time depends chiefly on your smartphone’s battery life.
Does it find and track objects automatically?
No. Gravity helps you locate targets and guides your manual adjustments, but Hestia has no motorised GoTo or tracking system.
Can I use another tripod?
Yes, if it is stable and has a suitable two-axis pan-and-tilt fluid head with a 3/8-inch thread. Vaonis specifies a minimum supported load of 500 g. A tripod is already included with this pack.
Where can I find setup instructions?
See the Vaonis Hestia tutorials for help setting up the telescope, aligning your phone and using the Gravity app.