The first off-axis telescope inspired by the Hawaiian sea turtle — designed by astronomers on Maui with MorphOptic mirror technology.
HONU’s unobstructed off-axis mirror path eliminates diffraction spikes and boosts contrast for faint, deep-sky objects.
Forever alignment of optics delivers repeatible crisp imagery.
The stiff precision machined Honu "shell" makes the telescope compact, strong, and field-ready for almost any environment. Bio-inspired by the Hawaiian sea turtle.
Lightweight, robust, and modular so it travels easily — from backyard to dark-sky site, right into your backpack.
HONU was designed by astronomers on Maui. Named after the Hawaiian sea turtle, its shell inspired a compact, modular, and strong design.
Inside, MorphOptic mirror technology delivers superior optical clarity — engineered on Maui.
Slide to compare optical clarity
HONU’s off-axis optics isolate faint nebulae, galaxies and star clusters by suppressing diffraction spikes and stray light so subtle structures stand out.
The unobstructed pupil feeds your camera sensor with clean, high-contrast light — ideal for long-exposure imaging, wide-field mosaics and survey projects.
Robust enough for student labs and intuitive for public outreach nights, HONU turns campus rooftops and observatories into hands-on discovery spaces.
At low magnifications HONU becomes a sharp, wide-field spotting scope — perfect for mountain ranges, coastlines and long-distance terrestrial viewing.
With certified solar filters HONU turns into a safe, high-contrast solar instrument to track sunspots, eclipses and transits across the daytime sky.