One telescope for different observing situations. This idea from Paul Gheno came from the observation that, when you start in astronomy, you generally equip yourself with a first fairly basic telescope, in a budget of 300-500 euros, but which quickly finds itself limited due to the mirror size. In the absence of a scalable mount available on the market, you must therefore purchase a second, larger telescope. And so on if we get into the game.
“I myself came up against the same observation: I have equipment with an optical construction having a very long focal length, which is very good for observing the planets, but which limits me for other things” explains this passionate about astronomy, who spent fifteen years working in fiber optics for a telecoms group. In spring 2020, in the middle of confinement, “I told myself that I was going to build my own telescope, which could adapt according to my needs”. Paul Gheno talks about it to a friend, Damien Roy. “He had just acquired a 3D printer, and I wanted him to print certain parts of this telescope. »
“It’s like in photography, where we have interchangeable lenses”
The two friends quickly understood that they had a brilliant idea, which could go further, and filed a patent in 2021, with the idea of exploring the market. “Our telescope was designed to accommodate 80% of mirror sizes on the market, which measure between 15 and 25 cm in diameter. The idea is to have the most open base possible, on which the astronomer can add mirrors from different manufacturers, or even his own construction. It’s like in photography, where we have interchangeable lenses for our SLR cameras. The advantage is, obviously, to spend less than if you had to change telescopes each time. »
The Sevunscope also allows you to modify the focal length from 750 to 1,250 mm to adapt to the desired mirrors and aperture diameter. Thus, it is possible to simply replace the primary mirror with another of the same diameter but different focal length.
30,000 euros raised during a pre-sale campaign for the very first Sevunscope
After proposing this concept to around a hundred people from the astronomy community, and having obtained half a positive response, Paul Gheno and Damien Roy raised initial funds to create Sevun and turned to the Bordeaux start-up incubator Unitec for support. They then launched a pre-sale campaign for their equipment on Kickstarter, which resulted in the marketing of 25 Sevunscopes, which raised an additional 30,000 euros.
“Now, we will tackle a more delicate stage, that of pre-industrialization, which will require greater fundraising, to launch our modular telescope on the market by the end of 2024,” announces Paul Gheno. If the Sevunscope was offered on Kickstarter between 650 and 1,050 euros depending on the version, you will instead have to count “between 700 and 1,200 euros” for the price on the general public market.