A Quickie with the new Vixen

[glafnazur]

I have finally managed to get first light with my Vixen A80MF Achromatic Refractor and I must say I'm quite impressed 🙂 I set up on the drive which is not ideal as there are two LED streetlights, however I managed to position myself so my ever burgeoning magnolia blocked off the light from the nearest one. 

I started off with the moon and I was blown away by how sharp the moon appeared. I started with the Morpheus 17.5mm (x52) and I could see the whole of the moon and the detail was exquisite. I followed up with the ES 14mm (x65), Morpheus 12.5mm (x73), Morpheus 9mm (x101) , ES 6.7mm (x136) and finally the Morpheus 4.5mm (x202). Views through all eyepieces were superb except the 4.5mm which I think was pushing it a bit too far. 

I then moved onto Saturn and again I was surprised at how much detail I could see, and Titan was easily visible. With the higher power eyepieces I could see a belt quite clearly and the Cassini division. I spent a long time on Saturn.

I then had a quick look at Albireo which didn't disappoint, pin sharp stars and when I defocussed slightly the colours stood out more. I scanned the milky way enjoying pin sharp star fields and then decided to pack up - work tomorrow 😞 

As I was about to pack up I noticed that if I moved the scope I could just catch Jupiter above the tree opposite on the green. So I managed a quick look at Jupiter and the four Galilean moons before I packed up. All in all it was good first light and I am looking forward to using the Vixen in earnest.

[Stu]

Nice one. I’ve had a couple of these over the years and always thought they were very sharp little scopes. They make for a lightweight grab and go setup, easy to move around as you found. Have fun with it 👍