About ASTROTRIP
We are building apps and exploring new equipment to make looking up, taking photos and keeping those moments more rewarding.
What matters to us
Looking up at the night sky. Choosing something to look for. Noticing something new in a photo you took.
These experiences, and what we learn from them, are what ASTROTRIP is about.
Through apps, equipment and records of our own observing, we want to make the night sky easier to enjoy.
What we are making
AstroTrip for iPhone
Explore the sky on a star chart, discover the constellations in your own photos, and turn them into artworks kept in your Sky Album. All you need to start is an iPhone. No telescope required.
What comes next
Our first priority is making the current AstroTrip app better to use. We plan, design and develop everything ourselves, and test it under the night sky.
- For anyone who wants to photograph the sky
- We are considering a dedicated camera app that makes it easier to capture the night sky you love.
- For telescope observing and landscape astrophotography on a portable equatorial mount
- Finding a target, getting a polar alignment: we are exploring tools that make this kind of preparation easier with a smartphone.
- For dedicated astrophotography
- We are envisioning a system that brings equipment control and image processing together and runs them automatically.
We will share each one as it takes shape.
Our team
The iPhone app AstroTrip is made by five astronomy enthusiasts alongside their regular work. Development is at the center, with planning, UI and illustration, and testing shared across the team. Every constellation illustration is drawn by hand, one at a time.
Listening in the field
At star parties and stargazing events, we invite people to look through our telescopes and talk with us. What we hear there becomes the starting point for what we make next.
Working with manufacturers
We start from the inconveniences we notice while observing and taking photos, and work with manufacturers to think through products and how they will be used. By working out what the software and the hardware should each do, we aim to turn those ideas into real products.
If you are thinking about an app, operating guidance or integration with other systems for your product, we would be glad to start from how it will actually be used.
Please email info@astrotrip.co.jp.
What we record in the journal
Our journal follows observing sessions, equipment we have used and the process of making our products. The articles are in Japanese.
We keep what we have tested ourselves separate from manufacturers’ published specifications. Equipment articles end with a short section listing what we checked and what we have not checked yet.
Shoot, then check
We photographed the Moon with the SV555 and a Canon EOS R6, then zoomed in to check the edge for color fringing. Looking back at each photo is how we decide what to try next.
Company information
| Company | ITEC-BRIDGE CO., LTD. (ASTROTRIP) |
|---|---|
| Address | 〒164-0003 東京都中野区東中野1-55-4 OS meliaビル７階 |
| Online store | store.astrotrip.co.jp (Japanese) ↗Exclusive distributor in Japan for AIRY DISK; distributor in Japan for SVBONY and ToupTek |
| Contact | App issues: develop@astrotrip.co.jp General enquiries and collaboration: info@astrotrip.co.jp Orders: Store contact page (Japanese) ↗ |