Celestron Origin Mark II Intelligent Home Observatory

Product Description

Celestron Origin Mark II stands at the forefront of a new era in amateur astronomy, blending stargazing and astrophotography into a single, user-friendly experience. This intelligent, all-in-one home observatory takes the complexity out of traditional telescopes, transforming your backyard into a gateway to the cosmos. Packed with cutting-edge technology, Celestron Origin Mark II captures the beauty of celestial objects and brings them to life on your phone or tablet.

Celestron engineers drew on their decades of expertise while designing every detail, from Origin’s patented optical technology to its intuitive companion app. The result is a revolutionary new system that builds on Celestron’s legacy and makes astronomy more accessible, exciting, and fun than ever before.

RASA Optical Technology: Unleashing the Power of Light
At the heart of Celestron Origin Mark II 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 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.

Thanks to RASA, Celestron Origin Mark II is in a class of its own, far outperforming other telescope designs. RASA simply delivers more photons in less time than a smaller and slower Newtonian reflector, refractor, or other entry-level telescope tube. RASA’s unique combination of speed, aperture, and performance ensures unparalleled image detail, even during short exposure times.

Now Equipped with the Celestron 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 technology. With 8.4 megapixels, ultra-fine 2.0 µm² pixels, and a modern 16:9 aspect ratio, this advanced sensor delivers higher resolution and increased sensitivity.

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.

Celestron Origin Mark II stands at the forefront of a new era in amateur astronomy, blending stargazing and astrophotography into a single, user-friendly experience. This intelligent, all-in-one home observatory takes the complexity out of traditional telescopes, transforming your backyard into a gateway to the cosmos. Packed with cutting-edge technology, Celestron Origin Mark II captures the beauty of celestial objects and brings them to life on your phone or tablet.

Celestron engineers drew on their decades of expertise while designing every detail, from Origin’s patented optical technology to its intuitive companion app. The result is a revolutionary new system that builds on Celestron’s legacy and makes astronomy more accessible, exciting, and fun than ever before.

A Shared Cosmic Experience
Gone are the days of waiting in line to peer into an eyepiece. Celestron Origin Mark II fosters a sense of community as you share the awe-inspiring experience of exploring the night sky together. Whether your friends and family are in the same room or gathered outside, multiple people can connect to Celestron Origin, and stream the view with their own devices. Additionally, Celestron Origin Mark II 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 backyard.

Ready for More? Advanced Features
As you grow in the hobby alongside Celestron Origin Mark II, it will continue to support you with more advanced features and functionality. For example, 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 like the typical suburban backyard. For imaging broadband objects like galaxies and star clusters or objects from dark skies, remove the filter for more light-throughput and brighter images. Experiment with removable and interchangeable filters for results you can’t achieve with other systems’ fixed filters.

If you would like to try advanced image processing, Celestron Origin Mark II again has you covered. It 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 WiFi network to download the files to your computer wirelessly. Then, import them into your favorite software for manual editing and stacking.

And how about putting Origin to work for you while you sleep? That’s no problem with the scheduled observations feature. Just tell the app which objects you want to capture. You’ll wake up to an array of spectacular images.

Expand Your Astroimaging Possibilities with Celestron Origin
Celestron Origin Mark II delivers stunning deep-sky images right out of the box. But for experienced astrophotographers interested in experimenting with longer manual exposure times, there’s now an exciting new way to fine-tune performance: equatorial wedge mode, enabled by the Wedge for NexStar Evolution and the optional StarSense Autoguider.

By aligning Celestron Origin Mark II 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, since zenith (straight up) is generally the darkest part of the night sky. As with any equatorial setup, polar alignment is required before use, but the app will take you through an automated routine that makes it easy.

For exposure times beyond 30 seconds, we recommend pairing the wedge with the StarSense Autoguider. While Celestron Origin Mark II excels at short exposures (10–15 seconds), automatically rejecting frames with minor tracking errors, the Autoguider boosts tracking precision for longer manual exposures—reducing rejected frames and maximizing image quality. Together, the equatorial wedge and StarSense Autoguider offer a powerful toolkit for advanced users pursuing specialized longer-exposure imaging.

Gain a New Perspective Here on Earth
In addition to revealing distant worlds, Celestron Origin Mark II can also capture incredible views of land-based objects on Earth, day or night. During the day, you can manually slew to capture landscapes and scenery. At night, Origin’s fast optics and sensitive camera allow you to see things in very dim ambient conditions for almost night-vision-like performance. Look around your yard or campsite at night to see what you may be missing!

Take Your Astroimaging Studio Anywhere
Celestron Origin Mark II is a portable system that doesn’t require external WiFi 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 16 lb. Optional carry cases are also available.

Your Celestron Origin Mark II system comes complete with everything you need to become an instant astronomer:

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