Total beginner + Vixen 102M = good?

[dhollbilder]

Hi all.

Nice busy forum you have here

I come from a photography background, and am now dabbling in film, but have always found the stars and what's out there fascinating, especially love the hard sci-fi genre when it's set in space.

So I've just on-a-whim bought a second-hand Vixen 102M in good condition, which appears relatively complete. I actually have not the first clue about telescopes or astronomy but the glass is clear at least. This thread is hoping to find someone experienced with this model or at least with a similar model and guide me in how I can best set it up to see how it works.

A little googling has revealed the Vixen 102M is a refractor and was made before the Euro-days (1980's?). It appears to have a good reputation but as an utter layman I didn't understand too much of the review I was reading.

I've not been able to google-find a PDF scan of the instruction manual, either...if anyone has better search skills than I a link would be appreciated...thanks.

I'm seeing some awe-inspiring amateur telescopy shots rifling through Google Pictures. If and when I master the Vixen I plan to visit the mountains of Bayern in southern Germany and file some astro-photography.

So basically, these are my queries, musings and plans:

- is the Vixen 102M still a better bet than modern €200 Telescopes?

- where can I find the instruction manual?

- what are the general advantages of modern tech vs older telescopes? In the camera lens world, it's mainly things like autofocus, stabiliser and lighter build - but the actual optical quality remains generally on par with the quality lenses of 50 years ago.

- how far does it reach? If the human eye sees at f=50mm, then does it reach x20? It says f=1000mm which I understand in 35mm camera terms, and is something I've reached with a 500mm lens on a Micro-Fourthirds sensor. But the Vixen also has 2 or 3 other lenses with it (Eyepiece? Extender?), so maybe it reaches more than x20.

- how to set up the Vixen 102M to test if it's working normally?

- check-list of all the required accessories and lenses, mayhap I'm missing something important.

- research how to connect a camera to it for astro-photography (I use a Canon 5DII with an array of manual lenses).

- experiment with taking it apart so it's more transportable (I got it complete with tripod...the whole thing is huge and heavy!)

- and one more for my own interest, I'd like to research the difference between refractor telescopes and other types. And also to study if the same principle with camera lenses apply with telescopes: namely that the optical quality is all about the glass.

- I guess my first test-site after setting it up correctly would be the top of the Berliner Teufelsberg, which is not very high (only 100m), but is still the highest peak in this city. Would light pollution still be a potential hindrance to clear sight? Berlin is after all a 3m+ capital city. I only need this site for test purposes for now. But maybe a field or even back-garden will do?

- is it possible to focus on clouds? Anyone done that?

- Can you show me some examples of your moon astro-photography, or also further Sol objects, which might be on par with what my Vixen 102M is capable of? Just to give me an idea of the potential of the scope...

Ok, lots of questions, I know...but if you have any input on even one aspect, or would like to add anything at all, please do.

The first thing I've learnt about astronomy is that it's a massively-active community! I never knew this before...excellent

[John]

I did own a Vixen SP102M many years back and it was a good telescope of the achromatic refractor design. Optically it should still be a good scope. Vixen did not produce an instruction manual on the scope but they did for the Super Polaris mount that that broadly covered the scopes that they produced that were mounted on it. Here is a link to a (large !) PDF scan of those instructions:

http://www.astronomics.com/main/documents/celestron/celestron-vixen%20super%20polaris%20manual,%20courtesy%20mike%20mayer.pdf

I assume the scope came with a mount ?. If not you will need one !

The other accessories would be a 90 degree diagonal and some eyepieces of various magnifications. The older Vixen's came fitted for the .965 inch eyepiece size which has been superceded by 1.25 inch and 2" fittings today. It is hard to get additional eyepieces in the old fitting.

The scope will be good for observing the moon, planets and binary stars. You will be able to see some deep sky objects like nebulae, clusters and the brighter galaxies but a 102mm is a bit limited in this area.

I'm not an astro imager so I can't comment on the scopes ability in that area.

[dhollbilder]

Thanks for the PDF, John.

I assume the scope came with a mount ?. If not you will need o

one!

er...do you mean that big green metal thing?

The other accessories would be a 90 degree diagonal and some eyepieces of various magnifications. The older Vixen's came fitted for the .965 inch eyepiece size which has been superceded by 1.25 inch and 2" fittings today. It is hard to get additional eyepieces in the old fitting.

What is a "90 degree diagonal"? And would there be adaptors that convert a 1.25" fitting into 0.965"?

The scope will be good for observing the moon, planets and binary stars. You will be able to see some deep sky objects like nebulae, clusters and the brighter galaxies but a 102mm is a bit limited in this area.

Ok, interesting. I'm happy with the moon and planets for starters, I think...if I master them then I can look for other options.

[John]

Yes - the green thing is the Super Polaris mount so the instructions will apply to it.

A diagonal is a small prism or mirror that bends the light 90 degrees so you look down into it instead of looking into the end of the scope - it saves a lot of bending !.

There are adapters that convert the scope to 1.25" fitting but you will need a new diagonal as well if your current one is the smaller fitting.

This dealer may be able to help with these things (I'm guessing you are in Germany):

Refraktor Newtons ED Apo Schmidt Cassegrains Fernrohr für die Astronomie Celestron Meade Skywatcher - Teleskop-Express: Astro-Shop + Fotografie + Naturbeobachtung

Have a go with the smaller eyepieces first though so that you can get used to how the scope and mount work - the Vixen instructions are quite helpful in that so have a good look though it.

[dhollbilder]

thanks again, John

[umadog]

Lucky you! Looks nice.

>Would light pollution still be a potential hindrance to clear sight? Berlin is after all a 3m+

Yes, Berlin is very light polluted. Climbing a hill won't help, I'm afraid. You can see here how bad the situation is: The World Atlas of the Artificial Night Sky Brightness

- is it possible to focus on clouds? Anyone done that?

You can focus on them, but the more you magnify the less you see. They just start to look like.