Telescope Reviews: Paradise for a " Viewing-Handicapped" Observer

Hello to All,

To many of you this account of last night's viewing session may not seem extraordinary, but to me it was a very special event.

The problem - expressed in the "Viewing-Handicapped" statement - is the existence of some of the most horrible skies imaginable: in my home town of Hammond, IN. The cause of this problem? Light pollution! There is also something about the prevalent atmospheric conditions that normally deny us genuinely clear skies. I don't know if it's humidity or what. There always seems to be a slight "haze" high up, a result of the combination of light pollution and atmospheric conditions.

Well, last night I went to visit my oldest son in Portage, IN. It's several miles e/se of Hammond, and while the skies out there wouldn't rate highly on a dark-sky list, they're worlds apart from mine.

I think that, next to the wow-factor view of the eastern night sky in early-mid Autumn, the most awe-inspiring sight is that of the southern sky in Summer - particularly the Ophiucus/Scorpius/Saggitarius regions. I rarely get to see the latter two from home, and what I can see is pretty limp. Not only because of the afore-metioned sky conditons but because it's impossible to see very far south on account of obstructing houses, trees, etc. After arriving at my son's house I stepped out of my car, looked south, and felt that I had died and gone to Paradise. Not only were the skies clear and dark with stars everywhere, I could finally see the southern regions to a point below Scorpius/Saggitarius. I quickly unloaded my equipment - Vixen 16x80 ARKs and Zhummel astro tripod, plus my classic tried-and-true Celestron 10x50 Novas. The views were beyond description - as much an emotional experience as a visual one. Like most of you, I still get that "Lookit all the stars!" thrill every time I'm blessed with an experience like this. And they've been very few and far between over the past several years, let me tell you!

I could describe what objects in particular I observed but that'd be nothing new to you folks. The nebulae and globulars were enchanting - not so much because these low-powered instruments revealed any major detail but because of their overall silent, ghostly, otherworldy appearance. IMO this is the real appeal of binocular viewing - a general breathtaking wide-view experience. I viewed Jupiter, which looked pretty nice except for a bit of flaring that I didn't notice last year around this same time. My conclusions are: 1) my eyesight has deteriorated some over the past year (in part a result of spending zillions of hour staring at this montior screen), and 2) possible not-totally-cleaned optics. I don't know if any of you have experiened this problem (no doubt you have on occasion) but try as I might I cannot seem to get my bino glass really clean. I use cleaning fluid/tissues from my local camera shop. While it works great on my camera lenses it doesn't seem to want to do as good a job on my binos[?]. There always seems to be a bit of fluid "smear", residue that I can't totally eliminate. As an aside, I've noticed that this is a major issue with optics problems - including resolution, flaring, CA, etc. I.e., perceived problems with one's binos (or 'scope, eyepieces. etc.) may not be inherent faults but rather nothing more sinister than slightly unclean glass surfaces.

Anyhow, once I got dialed in the views were just wondrous. The big Vixens are definitely dark-sky binos! 16x is a good level of magnification since it provides not only adequate image size but decent FOV as well. The Celestron 10x50s - though "vintage" - are in a class by themselves as far as general viewing/sky-sweeping are concerned. If I'm not mistaken both pair have around the same exit-puil size (5+mm). The background sky is definitely brighter in the Celestrons (probably a result of inferior coatings vs the Vixens), but the views they produce - with an 8-degree FOV - make one's knees buckle. Sure there's field curvature, but who cares? I'm so taken by the views that I never notice it unless I look for it - and who wants to do that?

Otherwise the Vixens win hands-down. There is a degree of field curvature, but nothing like that of the Celestrons. Probably 80 percent from center (more than I stated in my original viewing report from early last year. I've read that deteriorating eye conditions can aggravate this situation. In my case I can believe this to be true). Background sky was much darker than in the Celestrons. Stars were little pinpoints. Nebulae exhibited that characteristic ghostliness.

Such sights! If only the entire human race would experience such views, the reality of things beyond the range of their tip-of-the-nose everyday life! Awe and wonder are qualities that are sorely lacking in today's ever-maddening world. I am so thankful that I was able to get in touch with them again - as we all can by spending a night out under the dark, starry skies. I feel that ofttimes binocular viewing provides this basic opportunity/experience better than use of the finest telescopes the world has to offer. No high-tech, no critical anything. No big item to pack up, set up, align and collimate, etc. Just grab the binos and if necessary drive out to a place where the skies are reasonbably dark. Then get out - and look.

Mike Rapchak Jr.