Welcome to Dark Matters
We are an Optical Astronomical Observatory located in Narayangaon, near Shahapur, Maharasthra. Just about 90 kms from Mumbai’s Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Dark Matters is nestled amidst a quiet hilltop boasting clear, dark skies and wild flora and fauna.
At Dark Matters, we operate with an array of some of the finest amateur research grade telescopes and GOTO mounts, along with leading software, cameras, and accessories; all of which can be used to observe our universe in the visible spectrum.
It is our mission to focus on our interactive programs for school-children in order to cultivate an interest in astronomy. Our program offers a visual introduction to the night sky, as well as visual and projected observations of our sun, planets, stars, distant galaxies, and nebulae. Accommodation will also be available for overnight programs for both students and teachers. Whether it is as a career or a hobby, it is our hope to inspire the next generation of astronomers in India. With a combination of observations, lectures and, videos, we hope to leave a lasting mark upon the minds of the future with a humbling, educational, inspiring, and once-in-a-lifetime experience. This we believe will alter the way in which they think about themselves and their place within the universe.
List of Instruments
Telescopes
- Takahashi TOA-150ED Triplet Refractor
- Celestron 14″ Edge HD Hyperstar
- Celestron 11″
- Takahashi FSQ-106ED Astrograph
- 60mm Coronado Double Stack
Mounts
- Paramount ME
- Astro-Physics AP900 GOTO
- Vixen GPD2 Nexstar GOTO
- Vixen Polarie
Astro-Cameras
- Apogee Alta F8300 Monochrome CCD Camera
- Apogee Alta U16M Monochrome CCD Camera Large 50x50mm format
- Apogee 50mm 7 position filter wheel
- Apogee 50mm 9 position filter wheel
- Astrodon LRGB 50mm filters
- Astrodon Hα, OIII, SII 50mm filters
- Astrodon UBVIR photometric 50mm filters
- Astrodon Exoplanet BB 50mm filter
- ZWO ASI294
- Nikon DSLR D750
- Nikon DSLR D5500 Full Spectrum
- Canon DSLR 450XSI Full Spectrum
About Us
Dark Matters is a labour of love of Jay Nadaf’s life long dream to start an observatory so that any child or adult with a passion or even curiosity for the stars would have access to high-end professional telescopes and other specialized equipment. We have always felt that, while the students and enthusiasts in western countries have very easy access to astronomical telescopes, those in India have been deprived of this blissful, humbling, liberating experience.