Wednesday and Thursday nights, I was conducting a test of Vixen Optics’ AXD mount at the Observer’s Inn. This astronomy bed-and-breakfast facility sits in Julian, California, 22 miles as the crow flies from Palomar Observatory. Julian is a town of some 350 (I found that out during a conversation at the inn with the local sheriff) in the northeastern part of San Diego County. The Observer’s Inn is the creation of Michael and Caroline Leigh, and it would have been a highlight even without the astronomy. Their relaxing decorating choices, attention to detail, and wonderful breakfasts made for a great stay.
Senior Editor Michael E. Bakich poses with Vixen's 13.2-inch VMC330L modified Cassegrain telescope, which sits atop the company's AXD mount he was testing. He conducted the equipment review at the Observer's Inn, an astronomy bed and breakfast facility in Julian, California.
But I couldn’t just hang around the inn. I had to review the AXD mount. Vixen’s Star Book Ten controller runs the mount, and it was a treat to use. It displays a zoomable, electronic star chart that allows you to navigate to any object in the sky. You’ll see my review of it in an upcoming issue of
Astronomy.
As I put the mount and controller through their paces, I needed to target many deep-sky objects all across the sky to check how accurate the equipment was. That meant I had to select and enter approximately 50 deep-sky objects per night. Some chore, eh? And because riding atop the mount were Vixen’s 10.2-inch VMC260L (night #1) and 13.2-inch VMC330L (night #2) optical tube assemblies, I couldn’t help but do a bit of observing as each target entered the eyepiece’s field of view.
I had a variety of high-quality eyepieces — 42mm, 31mm, 22mm, 13mm, 8mm and others — on hand to help with my testing. Some large, well-known objects like the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293), the Dumbbell Nebula (NGC 27), and the Salt and Pepper Cluster (M37) were highlights from night #1. But I also had good views of Mirach’s Ghost (NGC 404), magnitude 13.5 spiral galaxy NGC 1 in Pegasus, and, surprisingly, four of the five members of Stephan’s Quintet (NGC 7317–20). That observation (through a 10.2-inch aperture) proved the quality of both the optics and the sky.
On night #2, I looked at many nice planetary nebulae including the Oyster Nebula (NGC 1501), the Crystal Ball (NGC 1514), the Phantom Streak (NGC 6741), the Little Gem (NGC 6818), and the Blue Flash (NGC 6905). I also observed dozens of galaxies, and I finished the night with a high-power view of Comet 103P/Hartley. Both nights had high clouds that reflected some of San Diego’s lights, but the scopes punched right through them.
The mount performed well. That’s good news for the manufacturer, but a malfunction would have given me an excuse to stay a few more nights. Oh, well, maybe next time I’ll schedule a more “thorough” test. Back in the office tomorrow.