The Astro-Viewer

The astro-viewer is a large precursor tower used by Jak to technopathically communicate with the Dark Maker ship rapidly approaching his planet. It consists of a tall tower, telescope, transmitter, and various spheres and rings (for aesthetics or functionality is not ascertainable.). It's located in the South Haven Forest within a shallow lake.

The Astro-Viewer as seen in South Haven Forest

Originally sunk into the water, the main tower raises once Jak rids the corrupted plants out of the forest on the request from Samos.

The corrupted plants clustered around South Haven Forest

Jak must raise each other platform with precursor light trails and rings emanating from precursor statues found through out the forest.

One of the statues

Finally, various artifacts are missing from the Astro-Viewer's mechanisms that Jak must recover before he's able to use it: the Holo Cube, Beam Generator, Precursor Prism, Quantum Reflector, and the Time Map.

It's used to transmit technopathic signals up into space, presumably for ground to star ship communication. While using it, Jak is also able to directly control another technology (a Dark Maker Bot) through it via his consciousness.

Jak looking through the lens towards the Dark Maker Ship

The astro-viewer also functions as a telescope, showing the ability to study space from planetary surfaces by the Precursors, which indicates an interest, be it militaristic or recreational, in doing so.

The view of the Dark Maker Ship from the telescope

Considering its name, which is told to Jak by Samos, it's can be inferred that its main function is for telescopy, as it can be assumed that Samos knew what to call it from reading the Precursor texts referencing the machine¹.

Headcanons and Notes

1. Did the Precursors use it to communicate between their own star ships? Or to even pilot them from the ground?

Related Species

• Dark Makers