Aurel Veil 70 achromatic refractor, tube with GoTo mount

Specifications

Description

The Veil 70 is a 70 mm achromatic doublet refractor with a focal length of 420 mm, which gives it a focal ratio of f/6. At that ratio the field at low power is wide enough for rich-field star clouds in the Milky Way, and the tube still takes moderate magnification on the Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn. You will see a faint violet fringe around very bright objects, because a two-element achromat brings only two wavelengths to a common focus.

The objective is fully multi-coated and sits in a tube with internal baffles, which keeps the background dark when a bright planet is near the edge of the field. The 1.25 in rack-and-pinion focuser uses a single-speed knob with a short travel range, so it holds a standard eyepiece without tilting. A 6x30 finder scope with a right-angle correct-image bracket mounts on the tube with two thumbscrews, and it helps you locate targets before you move to the eyepiece.

At 1.6 kg for the tube, the Veil 70 rides on a light alt-az mount or a small equatorial mount, and it fits in a soft case for travel. A small refractor reaches outdoor temperature sooner than a reflector of similar aperture, so you can start observing soon after you carry it out. Allow a few minutes for the optics to settle before you judge fine detail.

Typical targets include double stars such as Albireo and Epsilon Lyrae, the phases of Venus, the Moon's craters near the terminator, and open clusters such as the Pleiades and the Double Cluster in Perseus. At this aperture, the Orion Nebula shows its bright core and the surrounding haze, and many star clouds in Sagittarius and Cygnus fill the wide field of a low-power eyepiece.

About this configuration

Every configuration of the Aurel Veil 70 achromatic refractor shares the same optics; the choices below change how the telescope is mounted, finished, and equipped. The GoTo mount finds objects from its database after a short alignment on two or three bright stars. Motorized tracking on the GoTo mount keeps objects in view, which helps when several people take turns at the eyepiece. The gloss white tube reflects sunlight, which helps it stay closer to air temperature while you set up before dusk.

A UHC filter from the deep-sky kit darkens the background sky around emission nebulae, especially under suburban light. The optics in the 2024 edition match the other years; the changes concern hardware details only. If you plan to add accessories later, compare the compatibility notes with the parts you already own before choosing a configuration.

What's in the box

• Optical tube with dust cap
• Dovetail mounting bar
• 1.25 in star diagonal
• 6x30 finder scope with bracket
• Front dust cap
• GoTo mount with steel tripod
• Hand controller and 12 V power cable
• 24 mm wide-field eyepiece (1.25 in)
• UHC nebula filter (1.25 in)

Compatibility notes

• Accepts 1.25 in eyepieces directly.
• The dovetail bar fits most small alt-az and equatorial mounts that take a standard-width saddle.