Free intro call
Twenty minutes on your location, your sky and what you own.
Online · Naked eye, binoculars, first telescope
Learn the sky
Learn the sky
before the telescope.
A telescope bought before you can find anything becomes a closet ornament within a month. Two seasons of naked-eye and binocular sky makes the same telescope worth owning.
- 6–12weeks per program
- 48 hfor a log review
- 12 maxin a live session
- $0intro call
The programs
Four programs, from your backyard upward
Everything is planned for your latitude, your season and the light pollution you actually have.
The sky by eye
Constellations, bright stars and planets learned properly, so you can orient yourself in any season.
See the programBinocular observing
Clusters, the Moon, double stars and comets — a huge amount of sky through the binoculars in your closet.
See the programYour first telescope
Choosing an instrument you'll use, setting it up, collimating it, and finding objects by star hopping.
See the programFirst astrophotography
Starting with a phone and a tripod, then tracked shots — and honest talk about cost and difficulty.
See the program
How it works
Go outside, log it, review it
Twenty minutes under a real sky teaches more than three hours of videos. The log is what turns nights into progress.
A plan for the month
Targets chosen for your latitude, light pollution and Moon phase.
Observe and log
What you saw, what you failed to find, and the conditions.
Written review
Within 48 hours: why something eluded you and how to find it next time.
Plans
Pick your level of support
Month to month, cancel anytime. The 20-minute intro call is free.
Group sessions
A weekly session on what's up this week and how to find it.
$25/ month
- One 60-minute live session each week
- Groups of 12 people maximum
- Monthly observing lists
- Members' logs and images reviewed
- Replays for 30 days
Coaching essentials
A coach on your sky, your equipment and your logs.
$59/ month
- Personal 6 to 12 week program
- Logs reviewed within 48 hours
- One 30-min session every two weeks
- Targets chosen for your light pollution
- Access to all group sessions
One-on-one
For a new telescope, a dark-sky trip, or starting astrophotography.
$135/ month
- One 45-min session each week
- Replies within 24 hours
- Equipment advice with no commissions
- Setup and collimation walked through live
- Access to all group sessions
Prices in USD. Cancel anytime, no contract.
How we work
No telescopes to sell
Ellaris takes nothing from any retailer, which matters in a hobby where beginners are routinely sold the wrong instrument. Quite often the honest advice is to use the binoculars you own for another season.
One rule is absolute: never point anything at the Sun without a certified solar filter fitted over the front of the instrument, and never use an eyepiece-end filter. Permanent blindness happens in seconds. We cover solar observing only with proper equipment, and we say no when the setup is not right.
Frequently asked
The questions we get most
I live in a city. Is this pointless?
No. The Moon, planets, double stars and bright clusters are all city targets, and knowing the constellations makes dark-sky trips enormously more rewarding.
Which telescope should I buy?
Ask us after a season of learning the sky, and we'll answer with no commission involved. Usually a Dobsonian of modest aperture beats anything advertised by magnification.
Can I look at the Sun?
Only with a certified solar filter fitted over the front aperture, correctly and securely. Never through an eyepiece filter, never with sunglasses, never improvised. This is the one place we are inflexible.
Are apps cheating?
No, they're useful. We do ask you to learn the anchors by eye too, because a phone screen ruins your dark adaptation and the sky makes far more sense once you can navigate it yourself.
Do you run star parties?
No, we're online only. Your local astronomy club almost certainly does, and joining one is the best free advice in this hobby.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. No contract, no minimum term. Access stays open until the end of the month you already paid for.
Want to know what's up tonight?
Twenty minutes on your sky, your equipment and where to start. Free.