Innovations

The latest technology and gadget news.

Nissan’s taking observatory-class astronomy into the wilderness with this concept car, unveiled at this year’s Hanover Motor Show. Developed in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), the Nissan Navara Dark Sky has an ultra-high performance PlaneWave telescope in tow.

Once you’re parked up, you can open the trailer’s mechanical roof and focus the powerful telescope on distant galaxies, nebulas and supernovas. To minimise disruption to your vision when you’re observing at night, the car and trailer only use red light, and reflective orange piping on the seats provides visibility inside the vehicle.

“The Nissan Navara Dark Sky Concept allows observations to take place in remote places, avoiding light pollution, while also transporting telescopes safely and easily,” says Fred Jansen, ESA’s senior mission manager for Gaia.