Celestron Origin Mark II Smart Telescope

The Celestron Origin Mark II Smart Telescope is an intelligent, all-in-one home observatory that takes the complexity out of traditional telescopes, transforming your garden into a gateway to the cosmos. Packed with cutting-edge technology, Celestron Origin captures the beauty of celestial objects and brings them to life on your phone or tablet.

Key Features:

-Stargazing and Astro imaging Redefined: Celestron Origin Mark II is an all-in-one home observatory that captures stunning views of faint, deep-sky celestial objects and delivers them to your phone or tablet. Images look better than what you’d see in the eyepiece of a much larger telescope under much darker skies.
-Revolutionary RASA Optical Technology: Origin’s patented 6” Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph (RASA) optical design places it in a class by itself. With its large aperture and fast f/2.2 focal ratio, you get unparalleled image brightness and clarity with less exposure time.
-Next-Generation 678C Camera: Mark II uses Sony’s latest Starvis 2 color CMOS technology—offering improved resolution, enhanced sensitivity, and a serious leap in image quality.
-Automatic, AI-powered Astrophotography: Built-in AI algorithms autonomously stack and process every frame in real-time. Galaxies and nebulae instantly come to life—sharp, detailed, and in brilliant color—all with no user intervention.
-Automated Setup with StarSense: Using Celestron’s patented StarSense technology, Origin scans the sky and autonomously focuses and aligns itself. You’re ready to select a target and start imaging in less than two minutes.
-Intuitive App Interface: The user-friendly Celestron Origin Powered by SkySafari™ app for iOS and Android offers a simple yet powerful planetarium interface, making it easy to navigate the sky and control the system.
-Share the View with Everyone: Multiple users can use the Origin app to view the telescope’s live feed simultaneously. You can also cast the view to your smart TV or save and share it instantly.
-Advanced Features: Download raw image files and experiment with optional filters

RASA Optical Technology: Unleashing the Power of Light

At the heart of Celestron Origin lies the patented Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph (RASA)—a landmark advancement in optics. In the RASA design, the imaging sensor lies at the front of the telescope tube, not the back, creating an ultra-fast f/2.2 system with an extraordinarily wide field of view while providing sharp images to the edge. Since it was launched in 2014, RASA technology has become the go-to choice for space surveillance and satellite tracking. National defense contractors, professional research astronomers, and governments trust RASA to detect tiny pieces of debris and space junk, keeping our vital communications satellites safe in orbit. For Origin, Celestron’s optical engineers developed a brand-new 6” RASA with all the same capabilities of an observatory-grade instrument in a grab-and-go package.

RASA’s unique combination of speed, aperture, and performance ensures unparalleled image detail, even during short exposure times.

Mark II Now Equipped with the Origin 678C Camera

Celestron Origin Mark II now comes equipped with the Origin 678C Camera, a next-generation upgrade featuring Sony’s latest Starvis 2 CMOS sensor. With 8.4 megapixels, ultra-fine 2.0 μm² pixels, and a modern 16:9 aspect ratio, this advanced sensor delivers sharper resolution, increased sensitivity, and a wider field of view.

Precision-matched to Origin’s fast f/2.2 RASA optics, the 678C Camera captures fine structure in galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters. Whether you're new to astrophotography or an experienced imager, you’ll enjoy clean, crisp results—ready to stack, share, or admire on your device in near-real time.

Turning Every Enthusiast Observer into an Astroimager

Celestron Origin introduces a paradigm shift in astrophotography with its built-in AI algorithms. As the telescope captures data, these intelligent algorithms automatically process every frame in real time. It’s important to note that the AI imaging processing in the Origin app is not generative AI. It does not colorize or add to your image data in any way. It simply sharpens and enhances your images using the same processing techniques an advanced astroimager would use.

The images you create with Origin are 100 percent your own data, optimised to look its best. The technology works in real-time on your live-stacked images and is also applied to the final stacked master. The result is a breathtaking display of celestial objects, rich with color and detail beyond what the human eye could perceive in an eyepiece. And you can always adjust the images yourself using the manual controls.

A Universe at Your Fingertips: StarSense Technology & the Origin App

Setting up Celestron Origin is a snap, thanks to its automated initialisation process powered by StarSense technology. Place Origin outside, turn it on, and connect to the app. Then, you can choose to remain with your telescope or head indoors. In less than two minutes, Origin focuses itself, scans the night sky, autonomously aligns itself by matching star patterns overhead to its internal database, and notifies you that it’s ready to begin your astronomical adventure.

Once you’ve chosen a target, Origin centers it precisely in the field of view. Switch to the camera view and press Start Imaging to begin capturing 10-second sub-exposures. It’s that easy! You see the results come through in real time as the target takes on more and more detail. As Origin works, it continually tracks the sky and adjusts its built-in dew prevention system to keep your images razor-sharp.

A Shared Cosmic Experience

Multiple people can connect to Origin and stream the view with their own devices. Additionally, Origin allows you to cast the live feed to your smart TV or instantly save and share your astroimages, creating memorable moments beyond the confines of your garden.

Advanced Features

Origin has a built-in filter drawer that accepts standard 1.25” and 2” format filters. This allows you to install optional filters, which can be especially useful in imaging nebulae in light-polluted environments. If you would like to try advanced image processing, Origin can automatically save all your raw images, which you can retrieve by plugging in a USB thumb drive or by connecting to Origin’s built-in Wi-Fi network.

The scheduled observations feature allows automated capture of multiple targets. Select in the app which objects you’d like to image, and you will return to an array of spectacular results.

Expand Your Astro imaging Possibilities with Celestron Origin

There’s now an exciting new way to fine-tune longer sub-exposure performance: equatorial wedge mode. This is enabled by the optional Wedge (93665-CGL) and the optional StarSense Autoguider (94008-CGL).

By aligning Origin with Earth’s rotational axis, the wedge eliminates field rotation during tracking. This enables longer sub-exposures and allows imaging near or at zenith—ideal for capturing fainter details with greater clarity.

For sub-exposure times beyond 30 seconds, we recommend pairing the wedge (93665-CGL) with the StarSense Autoguider (94008-CGL). The Autoguider boosts tracking precision for longer manual exposures, reducing rejected frames and maximizing image quality.

Take Your Astroimaging Studio Anywhere

Origin is a portable system that doesn’t require external Wi-Fi networks, so you can easily take it to remote dark skies in any car. The optical tube, mount, and tripod all easily assemble and disassemble without tools. Each component weighs less than 8kg. An optional padded carry case for the optical tube is available (94031-CGL).

 

What in the box:
- 6” RASA optical tube with integrated camera
- Origin single fork-arm mount with internal lithium battery
- Built-in computer with cooling fans and Wi-Fi
- Autofocuser
- Dew prevention system with environmental sensor, dew heater ring, and dew shield
- Integrated filter drawer
- Full-height tripod
- Lens cap
- AC charger

Technical Specifications

Optics

Optical Design: Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph
Aperture: 152mm (5.98")
Focal Length: 335mm (13.18")
Focal Ratio: f/2.2
Optical Coatings: StarBright XLT coatings throughout
Central Obstruction Diameter: 63mm (2.48") (41% of aperture diameter)
Light Gathering Power (Compared to human eye): 474x
Image Resolution: 1.48 arcsec/pixel
Dovetail: CG-5 Dovetail Bar
Filter Drawer: Integrated, accepts 1.25" or 2" astroimaging filters
CMOS Image Sensor: Sony IMX678-AAQR1, color, back-illuminated
Sensor Size: 8.9mm (0.35") diagonal
Pixel Size: 2.0μm x 2.0μm
Number of Effective Pixels: 8.3M (3856 x 2180)
Field of View: 1.32° x 0.75°

Integrated Electronics

Onboard Computer: Raspberry Pi 4 Model B
Mount: Computerized Go-To altazimuth mount
Dew Prevention: Fully automated heating element integrated into front lens, removable dew shield/lens shade
Focus Motor: Autofocus or manual control
Cooling Fans: One (1) fan for optics, one (1) fan for electronics, both pull air through vents with wire mesh
LED Status Ring: Indicates status "at-a-glance"

 

Ports

USB-A: Two (2) on optical tube for accessing raw image files for external processing, one (1) on mount for mobile device charging only
Ethernet: One (1) on optical tube
Auxiliary Ports: Two (2) on optical tube, four (4) on mount

Power

Battery: Integrated LiFePO4, 97.9 Wh, capable of 6+ hours of use
Power Input:12V DC adapter for charging internal battery or running on external AC power

User Interface

Celestron Origin App: Runs on compatible iOS or Google Play smartphones and tablets
System Requirements: iOS 16 or higher, Android 12 or higher

Dimensions

Optical Tube: 609.6mm x 177.8mm (24" x 7") diameter
Mount: 457.2mm x 304.8mm x 254mm (18" x 12" x 10")
Tripod (Collapsed): 330.2mm x 304.8 x 812.8mm (13" x 12" x 32")
Assembled System: 609.6mm L x 660.4mm W x 1219.2mm H (24" L x 26" W x 48" H)

Weight:

Optical Tube: 10.6 lb (4.8 kg)
Mount: 17 lb (7.7 kg)
Tripod: 14 lb (6.35 kg)
Total System: 41.6 lb (18.87 kg)

MFR ref: 12100-CGL