Starpoint Australis Octans portable observatory

A pitch-perfect solution if you love travelling to dark-sky sites for astronomy

- TIM JARDINE

Ever-increasing light pollution and urban sprawl have prompted many of us to seek darker skies to put our equipment to better use. With several dark-sky sites accessible from where we live, we were excited to receive the Starpoint Australis Octans portable observatory for testing.

The Octans is the larger of two models in the Starpoint Australis range and our review package included the optional ground mat and windshield accessories. The whole kit weighs in at less than 32kg and is more than portable when you consider the size of the finished product. Everything is packed neatly away in strong and durable carry bags.

As soon as we started unpacking the bags, we liked what we saw. The quality of the materials, combined with the (almost over-engineered) design, is immediately apparent - and exactly what we were looking for to protect expensive astronomy gear.

There are no written instructions; instead, an informative and easy-to-follow video tutorial on YouTube demonstrates the assembly process.

Watching this, we got a strong sense of the passion and commitment that has gone into the design of the Octans, and were reassured to find out that it's a product that's been designed for astronomers by fellow astronomers.