Celestron
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| Private | |
| Industry | Optical instruments |
| Predecessor | Valor Electronics |
| Founded | 1964 (as Celestron Pacific) |
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Number of locations
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Torrance, California, U.S. |
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Key people
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| Products | Telescopes and other optical / mechanical devices |
| Website | Celestron |
Celestron is a company based in Torrance, California, USA that manufactures telescopes and distributes telescopes binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes, and accessories manufactured by its parent company, the Synta Technology Corporation of Taiwan.
The predecessor of Celestron was Valor Electronics, an electronics and military components firm founded in 1955 by Tom Johnson. Johnson became involved with telescopes when he built a 6" reflecting telescope for his two sons. In 1960, Johnson established the "Astro-Optical" division of Valor, which would later become Celestron.
By 1964, Johnson had founded "Celestron Pacific" as a division of Valor Electronics offering Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes from 4" to 22". In 1970 Celestron introduced its "C8" 8" diameter 2032 mm focal length, ƒ10 telescope, the first of a new line of telescopes built using methods developed by Celestron to produce Schmidt-Cassegrains at a high volume and low cost. These models made significant inroads into the amateur astronomical and educational communities.
Johnson, the founder of the company, sold Celestron in 1980. Celestron was acquired by Tasco in 1997 and almost went out of business when Tasco folded in 2001.
In early 2003 Celestron's rival, Meade Instruments, attempted a takeover but a bankruptcy court allowed the sale of the company back to its original owners. The company had been U.S. owned until April 2005 when it was acquired by SW Technology Corporation, a Delaware company and affiliate of Synta Technology Corporation of Taiwan. Synta is a manufacturer of astronomy equipment and related components and at that time had been a supplier for Celestron for over 15 years.
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Wikipedia