Blocks Wind.
Blocks Light.
Image Longer.
Wind affects guiding accuracy. Stray light reduces contrast. Every astrophotographer has experienced it, the weather suddenly turns and threatens the equipment you’ve invested thousands of dollars building.
It’s why portable observatories like Octans and Phoenix are becoming a familiar sight at star parties and dark-sky gatherings. They create a protected environment for your telescope so you can focus on capturing the night sky without the worry and stress of wind, light, or changing conditions.
Quality Materials
Weather Resistant
360° Windshield
Two sizes available
Wind is the one thing even the most expensive telescope and mount cannot defeat. A single gust can shake your setup, blur your data, and waste a night you’ve spent hours preparing for. The Octans and Phoenix portable observatories solve this with a proprietary 360° fully adjustable windshield that lets you actively manage wind from any direction. Instead of packing up when conditions change, you simply adjust the shield and keep observing, protecting both your equipment and the valuable clear nights you’ve invested so much time waiting for.
Octans Portable Observatory
Best for large imaging rigs and maximum space.
Phoenix Portable Observatory
Compact portable observatory for smaller setups.
Quality Materials
Weather Resistant
360° Windshield
Two sizes available
Fast U.S. Shipping from Los Angeles
Phoenix and Octans observatories are stocked and distributed from our Los Angeles warehouse, allowing most US customers to receive their observatory within around 7 days depending on location. That means no hidden costs or unexpected import tariffs on delivery.
Reviewed by leading astronomy publications
Reviewed by leading astronomy publications
“Heavy-duty and durable, capable of standing up to the Florida weather.”
“Both the Octans and Phoenix portable observatories performed as advertised and met my expectations.”
“A large, portable astronomy tent for your telescope? We just had to try this out for ourselves.”
“A pitch-perfect solution if you love travelling.”
Phoenix and Octans portable observatories have been reviewed by respected astronomy publications, highlighting their durability and usefulness for travelling astronomers and astrophotographers.
Why astrophotographers use portable observatories?
Most observing shelters are simply modified camping tents. While they provide some cover, they are not designed for the unique challenges of astrophotography.
Portable observatories like Phoenix and Octans are purpose-built for astronomers. They create a sheltered observing environment that reduces wind interference, blocks stray light and protects valuable imaging equipment from changing conditions.
Whether you're imaging from the backyard or travelling to dark sky sites, a portable observatory allows you to observe longer, protect your equipment, and focus on capturing the night sky.
Wind Protection | Light Blocking | Equipment Protection |
|---|---|---|
Reduce vibration and guiding errors | Shield your telescope from neighbor's | Protect your expensive imaging equipment from |
Why astrophotographers use portable observatories?
Most observing shelters are simply modified camping tents. While they provide some cover, they are not designed for the unique challenges of astrophotography.
Portable observatories like Phoenix and Octans are purpose-built for astronomers. They create a sheltered observing environment that reduces wind interference, blocks stray light and protects valuable imaging equipment from changing conditions.
Whether you're imaging from the backyard or travelling to dark sky sites, a portable observatory allows you to observe longer, protect your equipment, and focus on capturing the night sky.
Wind Protection | Light Blocking | Equipment Protection |
|---|---|---|
Reduce vibration and guiding errors | Shield your telescope from neighbor | Protect your expensive imaging equipment from |
Let customers speak for us
Recently got the phoenix observatory, starpoint was nothing but a pleasure to deal with, setting it up was easy with no issues
After years of searching we finally found something cost effective and easy to use to make star gazing more pleasant by protecting people and equipment from the weather. What a great product!😎👍
For years. I was looking at astronomy tents and dyi semi or permanent solutions for my observing. We all know the problems with wind , rain , lights and the sun not just for the telescope but for the gear too.
Enter the octans.
This thing is a beast , a high quality build to last piece of gear.
Along with a Nikon HW 12.5 and my Glater colimattion tools this is
the best buy i’ve ever made for my hobby and prise wise only a bit
north of the Nikon ( at least for Europe ).
Excellent customer support from both Starpoint and Widescreen in
UK.
Awesome observatory. The quality is absolutely amazing. Ive seen posts about other"lesser" TENTS that are cheaper on amazon. Let me tell you...you get what you pay for. This is not a tent. It is an observatory. The materials are all top notch and will not rip or tear...the ground screws are genius and even the carry bag seems indestructible. Whats really cool is the bag is very oversized so you arent struggling to get everything back in upon takedown. Why i even have another tent and some other gear in there with it. Everything about this product is well thought out, well executed and built with the best materials...great job
As someone who's done a lot of camping with my telescope and used more than one astro-tent over the years, I can say that the Starpoint Australis Phoenix is by far the most functional. It is made of very high-quality materials and the features and attention to detail for the basic tent and the wind screen are top notch.
My only complaint is the difficulty in inserting the long tent pole around the top circumference of the tent (less so for the wind screen). It may be that this will get easier over time as the materials stretch or I perhaps I'm just low on the learning curve (I've only set it up once, so far). Either way, I am looking forward to using this for what I expect will be a long time.
Victor
p.s. The official Starpoint Australis set-up tutorial video on YouTube was an excellent help.
I have two videos on You Tube about my experience with the Phoenix:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbKTL8fA-dg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qvgJVzAgbY
which best describes my reaction to using the Phoenix. It is well made and does the job for which it was designed. Setup isn't so straight forward but it can be done and once set up it is very rigid.
The Octans lives up to its claims. I've found it to cancel both 20 mph winds and neighborhood lights - making observing much more productive. It's very well built too, featuring high quality materials and craftsmanship.
Got this as a temporary shed and it works perfectly for my needs
Timely arrival, great design, strong materials and solid manufacture. Still too cold to put it up (-23C).
I have been after a portable observatory for about 2 years now, after I've gone through 3 gazebos as my back yard is like a wind tunnel.
Takes me about 20 minutes to put up, 40mins the first time whilst watching a tutorial, the fabric is strong and thick not like some out there where the material seems to be made from a beach tent.
The wind breaker is a must for me with my 10ich Newtonian, with a gazebo the tracking was at 1.2, now with this it's between 60-80, no more star trails, yay.For the amount we spend on our equipment this is a must have, to keep it safe .
I've used this beast as a temporary backyard observatory while building my permanent one, and it has withstood all weather conditions in my area. Ultra spacious and easy to set up. Out in the open, at our dark site, it has provided protection during the night from strong winds and during the day as well with the roof canopy. I would highly recommend this kit !
The Octans tent is very spacious with room for two large mounts and telescopes along with a computer desk. It is made of a thicker material than a standard tent and has a built-in floor with no holes or places for bugs or water to get in.
The content is very easy to set up and all of it folds down into a 4 foot long bag that comes with it.
I highly recommend this for astronomical uses when you can’t build a permanent observatory
I have been in the market for a portable observatory for almost 2 years, at the local astronomy clubs I got to see some of the ones purchased and the quality was just not present. This product leaves all the others in its wake, seriously a different level of product and I am impressed, it got to 41c today and was amazed how well the silver reflects the heat. Well done team and congratulations on being a world leader from Australia in both quality and price point.
The Phoenix observatory came in three boxes. First box contained the tent, the second box contained the mat, and the third box contained the light/wind shield. I am very impressed with the excellent engineering that went into the design and the manufacturing of the tent. The tent material is thick and made of high-quality that should stand up to use for years. The tent mat is very thick and durable. The light/wind shield is well thought out, easy to use, and does effectively block neighbors outdoor flood lights. All the components are very well made. The color-coded aluminum poles and fabric are of good quality, the screw tent pegs are a great idea and much easier than using stakes and a hammer, and the quick connect “s” carabiner connectors make it easy to connect the tent to the ground mat. The individual nicely made zipper bags, to store each of the individual components separately, is a great idea. The instructional video on how to set up the tent is very informative and really helped in setting up the observatory tent. My 5-inch refractor telescope with equatorial mount, on a field tripod, fits nicely in the tent with room to walk around the telescope and tripod. Since the tent has been set up, it has been subjected to 40 miles per hour wind gusts and was not affected in any way. I am very pleased with my purchase of the Phoenix Observatory tent, it is well made and very sturdy, and I enjoy using it. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a portable observatory.
Our customers photos
