TheSky Fusion is an astronomical device control system that attaches to your telescope to provide remote control of all your equipment using TheSky Imaging Edition.
- Powers, connects and controls your entire imaging system.
- Remote wireless access from any device via Wi-Fi (for example, a smartphone, tablet, notebook or desktop computer).
- Integrated GPS, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet.
- Real-time OLED status display of your imaging run.
- Four high-speed USB 3.0 ports with eight power-output ports.
- Dovetail adapter included for easy mounting to your telescope.
Click here to find out why you’ll love TheSky Fusion.
Important Notes:
- This item is on backorder. We’re presently shipping as many units as fast as we can. Thank you for your patience!
- TheSky Fusion does not include a power supply unit. External power can be supplied by:
- A TheSky Fusion Power Supply Unit (Software Bisque offers 11.5A/138W max. and 21A/252W max. output)
- An EGO Battery plus TheSky Fusion EGO battery adapter (coming soon),
- Any 12V DC power supply that provides sufficient amperage to run your imaging equipment (up to 40A max.).
Ready to buy?
Click the Buy Now graphic below to add TheSky Fusion to your cart. Note that the total TheSky Fusion cost is the sum of the first year’s software subscription fee plus one-time sign up fee.
TheSky Fusion™ marries TheSky™ Imaging Edition, the world’s single-most capable object-acquisition and imaging software, with intelligently designed hardware to connect, power and integrate your imaging equipment.
With TheSky Fusion™ you can connect your mount, camera, autoguider, focuser, filter wheel, rotator, and dew heater to TheSky Imaging Edition to control them all from your tablet, smartphone, laptop, or desktop.
Operate your equipment from any modern web browser through Wi-Fi or the VNC app. An Ethernet port even permits a hardwired connection for an optimal experience. Though an Internet connection is not required, TheSky Fusion takes full advantage of being on-line when connected to the Web.
TheSky Fusion attaches to your mount and simplifies system setup, maintenance, and nightly tasks for maximum productivity. TheSky Fusion’s flexible power-output ports can drive even the most complex hardware configurations. Four high-speed USB 3.0 ports and one legacy serial port can meet most communication needs. If not, one of the configurable 5V DC power ports can add an optional powered 4- or 7-port USB hub to provide up to 11 total USB ports.
Additional information
Additional information
| Weight |
7 lbs |
| Dimensions |
10.0 × 8.0 × 5.0 in |
Hardware Specifications
TheSky Fusion Hardware Specifications
| Category |
Feature/Specification |
Details |
| External Case |
CNC-machined 6061 aluminum housing
|
The external housing is CNC machined from aluminum and anodized red.
- Dimensions (W x H x D): 19.7 cm x 7.6 cm x 13 cm (7.8 in. x 3 in. x 5.1 in.)
- Total weight: 1.9 kg (4.2 lb.), including the dovetail mounting bracket.
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| Computer |
64-bit Six-Core CPU at 1.8 GHz |
Coupled with fast DDR4 RAM, and a discrete GPU, the fast CPU offers an ideal image acquisition experience.
- Smooth Sky Chart updates.
- Efficient live stacking.
- Fast image archiving.
|
| GPU |
Discrete |
GPU supports OpenGL graphics hardware acceleration for smooth panning and zooming. |
| Memory |
- 4 GB of DDR4 RAM
- 64 GB of high-speed eMMC storage
- 256 GB of mass non-volatile storage
|
-
TheSky and its databases occupy about 5 GB.
- The complete Gaia stellar database occupies an additional 90 GB of mass storage.
- 25 GB available high-speed memory and 165 GB of mass storage. This means you have ample storage for an entire night’s worth of full-frame images, even using a large-format camera:
- About 6000 images at 30 MB each.
- About 1900 images at 100 MB each.
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| Computer Power Requirements |
ARM-based CPU |
Here is the processor’s approximate power footprint under varying operating conditions:
- 2 Watts (processor idle).
- 4 Watts (typical workload usage).
- 8 Watts (maximum CPU draw).
A laptop’s power consumption can vary from 30W to 90W. Comparably, TheSky Fusion consumes about 1/10 to 1/4 as much power.
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| Wired Communication |
Gigabit Ethernet |
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| Wireless Communication |
802.11AC 2.4 or 5.0 GHz Wi-Fi |
The fastest widely available Wi-Fi standard and allows for the best possible wireless experience. The built-in Wi-Fi antenna can be upgraded with any reverse polarity SMA Wi-Fi antenna. |
| GPS |
Built-in |
The GPS gets accurate time and position data. This simplifies nightly setup and eliminates common mistakes, for example, entering the location or time incorrectly or neglecting to update them.
Real-time access to the site’s precise position and time ensure optimal telescope pointing accuracy with TheSky Imaging’s TPoint telescope modeling.
The default antenna is mounted internally. An optional external antenna (sold separately) can be attached to the External GPS Antenna port.
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| External Power Ports |
Eight Anderson power pole connectors
|
Anderson Power Products’ Powerpole® connectors and cabling offer:
- Low cost off-the-shelf cables.
- Variety of readily available of amperages and wire gauges (15A/30A/45A contacts supporting 10–20 AWG wires).
- Durability.
- Easily assemble custom cables with an optional TheSky Fusion Custom Cable Kit (sold separately).
The power output port specifications are described in the External Components tab.
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| USB Ports |
4 x USB 3.0 |
Four USB 3.0 ports can drive CMOS high-speed cameras or other astronomical devices. USB 3.0 is essential for planetary imaging or anyone who enjoys fast image downloads.
If more than four USB 3.0 ports is required, use one of the ports to connect a 4- or 8-port USB hub and power the hub using one of the power ports configured for 5V output.
|
| Ethernet Port |
RJ45 Ethernet port |
1000/100/10 Base-T |
| External Monitor Port |
HDMI 2.0 connector
|
Video out that can be used to view TheSky on any HDMI-compatible monitor. Useful for outreach programs, controlling TheSky Fusion using a mouse and keyboard or troubleshooting. |
| External LCD Display |
Four line, 16-character wide OLED display. |
Descriptive and TheSky-supplied status messages provide real-time feedback during startup, imaging runs, automated pointing calibration or debugging information if things go wrong. |
Software Specifications
TheSky Fusion Software Specifications
| Category |
Feature/Specification |
Details |
| Operating System |
Linux (Ubuntu 18 LTS) |
Efficient, stable 64-bit operating system. |
| TheSky™ Imaging Edition |
Includes TheSky™ Imaging Edition
— the world’s most powerful observatory control software. Enjoy the benefits of increased productivity and ease of use, out of the box. And, all from a singular integrated application software package. TheSky™ takes full advantage of the 64-bit operating system as well as hardware-accelerated graphics. Coupled with the Linux operating system, TheSky Fusion will produce years of reliable, worry-free operation. |
Crafted from 37 years of customer feedback, TheSky has the tools you need to plan observing sessions, acquire astronomical images and so much more.
- Operate your mount, camera, guider, focuser, filter wheel, rotator, etc. from a single application.
- Provides power (on/off) switching to the integrated 5V/8V/12V power ports.
- Offers graphics acceleration to produce smooth Sky Chart zooming and scrolling.
- Comes with the complete Gaia star catalog (1.7 billion stars).
- Includes millions of galaxies, clusters, nebulas and other non-stellar objects.
- Includes TheSky LTI™ interface for Paramount™ mount owners.
- Displays comets, satellites, asteroids, planets, Sun, Moon, Saturn’s and Jupiter’s major moons.
- Performs Image Link and All Sky Image Link astrometric solutions (a.k.a. “plate solving”).
- TPoint™ telescope pointing analysis technology, included, produces exceptional pointing accuracy. For Paramount™ mount users, TPoint with ProTrack produces exceptional tracking accuracy.
- Automated telescope pointing calibration.
- Advanced autoguiding with optional guide camera, with features like graphing guider logs, 3D star graphs, and so much more.
- Automated focus using either @Focus2 or @Focus3.
- Filter wheel support.
- Rotator support.
- Fully scriptable operation (bisque.com/scripting) using JavaScript or Python.
- So much more (see TheSky User Guide for details, website login required).
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Optional Annual TheSky™
Imaging Edition Subscription Renewal
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The optional annual subscription provides access to the latest downloadable updates. |
TheSky Imaging Edition’s $100 annual subscription ensures your software is updated with the latest features, fixes, improvements and device support.
- The first year’s subscription is included.
- Downloadable access to newer software versions is permitted with a current subscription.
- Subscription renewal is optional and not required.
- If the subscription is allowed to expire, TheSky continues operating normally and indefinitely.
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Documentation
TheSky Fusion Documentation
