[mental4astro (Alexander)]

“… I discovered in the heavens many things that had not been seen before our own age.”
Galileo Galili, 1615.

The legacy left by the late John Dobson has given amateur astronomers access to telescope apertures once limited to professional astronomers.

Gondwana Telescopes was born out of using and travelling with telescopes for over 30 years in Australia, the last twenty also creating them. Rutted roads, humid coasts, dry interiors, dust, and close encounters with wildlife on the road spawned an evolution in designs to couple portability to function, balance and robustness. “Stuff happens”, and the heart of our precious instruments needs to be protected. Now “built like a tank” does not need to mean looking like one too.

Introducing “Marana” – a new take on the ultralight dobsonian, totally designed and built in Australia.

Marana, an Australian Aboriginal word meaning “stars”, is an individually handcrafted dobsonian that follows the very principles espoused by John Dobson – large bearing diameters, a balanced optical tube assembly, appropriate material selection and a rigid mount.

Balanced to a wide range of eyepiece weights, ready to plug and play with Argo Navis, sporting a new helical focuser co-designed with Kineoptics, removable secondary mirror with integrated dew heater system, a specially sourced Vixen red dot finder, and a host of optional accessories, Marana is robust and compact enough to pack onto the passenger seat of a coupé, yet packs a considerable 12” aperture.

Launching a new choice in dobsonian telescopes at the 2014 Ice In Space Astro Camp

Gondwana Telescopes – touching the ancient past.