Crusader
sage
Reged: 08/14/05
Posts: 400
Loc: Karoo, South Africa
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Once we get our first scope we tend to leave the good old binoculars (for most our first observing "tool") forgotten in the back of the closet. At least, that's what I did...
On another forum I'm trying to get more people involved in astronomy. Answering their questions where I can and just increasing awareness. I decided to issue a challenge to them to get a star map from www.skymaps.com and to try to find all the objects viewable with the naked eye and binoculars.
The last couple of weeks it was pretty cold here with clouds normally blowing in a few hours after dark. Pretty much too unpleasant to go to the trouble of dragging the 10" Dob out.
Since the Skymap is an excellent way to learn the sky and constellations I grabbed my binoculars and started hunting down the objects on the list. It is extremely fun and I was totally amazed at the number of clusters and other objects you can view with just a set of binos.
I got my observing fix, explored some new constellations and once it got dark enough and my eyes adapted properly I was even able to see many globs and other clusters with the naked eye. Best of all I'm now able to go outside and point out the location of most of the clusters from memory.
So don't forget about your binoculars. Even if the conditions aren't ideal you can always grab them and go for a quick, no hassles observing session. There's no set up time, no cool down period and you can't get more portable!
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Orion Skyquest XT10 10" dob.
Skywatcher Evostar 90mm F/10 Refractor on AZ3 mount.
25mm and 10mm Sirius Plossl eyepieces, Skywatcher 8-24mm Zoom EP. Orion O-III filter & Shorty Plus Barlow.
Spacewallpapers.net - The Ultimate Free Space wallpapers
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smasraum
sage
Reged: 01/13/08
Posts: 492
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Great message. I love my cheap 10x50s. I used them extensively 2 nights ago in conjunction with my scope. I had no plan, and I'm not terribly familiar with the sky this time of year. I was just sitting outside enjoying the sky that's 2 colors better on the light pollution map than my own. I'd spend 15-20 minutes scanning with the binocs and then spend 30-60 mins looking through the scope. I found Andromeda, and then was amazed to see M32 through the binocs. Then later I found M33 with the binocs, and saw several clusters.
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Steve
Houston (Friendswood), TX
 Space Center Houston
8" Zhumell Dob - Woo Hoo!!
Celestron C102 f/5 - Thanks Tim!
21mm, 13mm Hyperion
2.5x TV Powermate
Canon Rebel XT
Nikon 7x35
Bushnell 10x50
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stevek
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/16/06
Posts: 1229
Loc: west michigan
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Mine go with me everywhere. Already got'em packed for a backpack trip this wkend...
Steve
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DSO 8" f6 DOB w/ 8x50 RACI & 2"Crayford
1958 Sears Discoverer 76mm Refractor
GSO SV 30mm 2",21mm Hyp,13mm Strat,BO/TMB ver2-6mm & 4mm
1.25"Filters: DGM-NPB, 25%ND
1.25" plossls: 25mm,20mm,15mm,9mm
Orion 2X Shorty Barlow
Garrett Gemini LW 11x56mm binocs
BTG-10 4.0mW green laser pointer
"What is that burning in the sky? Tell me y'all..." Jeff Beck/Jan Hammer
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akemag
sage
Reged: 10/26/07
Posts: 442
Loc: Sweden
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Agree! I had my first session this season a couple of days ago with some binoculars. Saw more than i thoght!
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Celestron Omni XLT 120
10" GSO DOB
Bresser Skylux 70mm
5mm Ortho
6.5mm, 25mm, 32mm Plossl
3.6mm, 10mm, 25mm MA
20mm Erfle
4mm, 10mm, 12mm, 18mm RK20mm Kellner
8mm, 20mm Huygens
1.5-2x Barlow
Orange, Green, Variable Polarizing Moon filter
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dmgriff
sage
Reged: 09/20/06
Posts: 257
Loc: 30 degrees latitude, USA
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Advice to anyone:
Inexpensive 10x50 binocs, planisphere, "Stars and Planets" Princeton field guide, chair. Telescope.
Good viewing,
Dave
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Dylan Gladstone
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 08/05/07
Posts: 955
Loc: Connecticut, USA
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I have a difficult time finding objects in the telescope without binoculars. I use them as my "pre-finder".
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Orion SkyView Pro 127mm Maksutov
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David L
super member
Reged: 11/12/07
Posts: 140
Loc: Lee County Iowa
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Even when I had lost interest in getting out my 10 inch dob, I still loved getting out my 8.5X44 binoculars. And after an observing session, I like to get out the binoculars. Dave
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Protheus
Vaguely offended
Reged: 09/01/07
Posts: 4657
Loc: Illinois, US
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I never lose interest in pulling out the larger scope, but I sometimes misplace it when I'm low on energy...  Binoculars are great for portability.
Chris
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"To tread the sharp edge of a sword;
to run on smooth-frozen ice,
one needs no footsteps to follow..."
"Well, people sometimes ask me 'how did you get involved in astronomy?' I said 'I got born, what's your problem?'" -- John Dobson
"In discussing the large-scale structure of the cosmos, astronomers sometimes say that space is curved, or that the universe is finite but unbounded. Whatever are they talking about?" -- Carl Sagan
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waterdog
member
Reged: 06/23/07
Posts: 38
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Well put-- I second the message! Last Friday night I took advantage of unusually cool weather and dark clear skies for an August night and hit a long list of summer Milky Way nebulas and globular and open clusters with my 6 inch scope. Late in the night I saw that Pegasus and Perseus had risen well up into the sky and got my first early looks at Andromeda galaxy and the Double Cluster--stunningly beautiful as always. But by then I was getting tired and so decided to call it a night and packed up my scope. But as I was hauling my gear back inside I noticed that the Pleiades cluster had now also risen above a tree and was in good position for viewing. Darn! So I went inside and came back out with my binoculars for a great look taking in the whole cluster. Then I thought I'd take just a few minutes and sweep back over to Andromeda, and to the Double Cluster. I got so caught up in this and enjoyed the rich-field views so much I stayed out another 40 minutes just revisiting all the parts of the sky I'd visited the last few hours with my scope. It gave me a completely new perspective on what I'd just seen, and really capped off a great night of stargazing. Sweeping the summer Milky Way with binoculars is a treat not to be missed! Clear Skies to all.
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Charles Laird
super member
Reged: 08/24/07
Posts: 109
Loc: Kerrville, Texas
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My 8x42's are permanent residents of my gear pack and my next optic will probably not be telescope related. I am thinking about a good pair of 10x50's.
Recliner, binos, Pocket Sky Atlas, beer...aaahhh. Luxury! Think of the poor people inside watching TV.
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"Nothing is too wonderful to be true."
Michael Faraday
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Wunderdog
member
Reged: 03/02/08
Posts: 33
Loc: Sussex County NJ
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Quote:
So I went inside and came back out with my binoculars for a great look taking in the whole cluster. Then I thought I'd take just a few minutes and sweep back over to Andromeda, and to the Double Cluster. I got so caught up in this and enjoyed the rich-field views so much I stayed out another 40 minutes just revisiting all the parts of the sky I'd visited the last few hours with my scope. It gave me a completely new perspective on what I'd just seen, and really capped off a great night of stargazing.
Did the same this past weekend in the Catskills in NY. After two hours with my C80ED, I put away the scope, then couldn't resist a last look with my ancient Bushnell 7x50's. Got caught up for another hour. The Milky Way is a stunner under dark skies, a whole different animal than from the driveway at home in Jersey. Was amazed at the view of Andromeda and the Double cluster as well. For a bonus, a few early meteors from the coming shower made an appearance. Great night!
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Have you seen the stars tonight... would you like to go up on A-Deck and look at them with me?
Edited by Wunderdog (08/11/08 05:22 PM)
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Shawn H
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 05/16/07
Posts: 1132
Loc: Southern France 43°56'N-4°50'E
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Except for ep's Ive always looked for the best quality/price, when I got my 15x70 Celestron SkyMasters, I was pleasantly surprised (very nice for the price)! My binos follow me everywhere! From daytime viewing to astronomy I have never regreted the 89 bucks I paid for the SkyMasters on Amazon! Being an old soldier the binos are an old friend, every night I set up, I put the binos on a tripod right next to the StarBlast & the xt10i & compare the views on the same target. Its a habit I have & love doing it!  Shawn
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xt10i with Telrad on 4" risers & feather touch focuser & huge Boston Red Sox decal
Starblast
15x70 Celestron Skymasters
35Stratus
27Pan
13 Ethos
8 Ethos
Orion ultrablock
Astronomik OIII
Tele Vue 2x barlow
Antares 1.6x barlow (2")
CATSEYE collimation tools
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Nick Lloyd
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/24/06
Posts: 1641
Loc: cincinnati
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That's a great link. I have a younger friend (age 10) that is really going to like this!
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"The best scope is the one you use." -rcg
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PXR-5
super member
Reged: 03/28/08
Posts: 184
Loc: Monroe, NC
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You cant beat bino's for portablity, I use mine more than than I use my scopes. Almost evey night while walking my dogs  , Just try walking two very large dogs with a scope around your neck  .
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Jeff
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I hope you brought your credit card with you, and I hope you know how to
Drive on these long, lonely freeways and intersections we've got up
Here. We've got two cars in the garage, and
Drum-majorettes in white ankle socks and baton twirling on Sundays.
We've got stripes and the stars and Uncle Sam's on Mars....
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kfred
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/11/03
Posts: 2005
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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I agree, binoculars are the 'take-me-anywhere' item.
Fred
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River Cam - Cambridge England
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RussL
Music Maker
Reged: 03/18/08
Posts: 1608
Loc: Cayce, SC
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This is a great message to everyone. I am at it all the time with my 10x50s, especially in the winter when I don't want to stay out but a few minutes.
You know, I never realized how much you can actually see with 10x until I got this little ST80 with a 400mm FL. I put in a 40mm eyepiece to give me 10x and was amazed at how many more stars and other objects showed up just because they were STILL, and not bouncing around like they are when hand-holding my binos. Kinda makes me want an adapter for my binos.
But, I can't live without my binos. Best astronomy tool there is.
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--Russell
"Akita mani yo." Observe everything as you walk. (--Lakota)
Celestron Celestar 8 Standard SCT, f10
Celestron 80mm Wide View ref., f5
Criterion RV-6 Dynascope, Newt., f8, (c. 1962)
Sears Discoverer 60mm ref., f7, (c. 1973)
Celestron Ultima DX 10x50, 6.5 TFOV
Tasco 7x35 wide
Several mediocre eyepieces
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Kolenka
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/01/08
Posts: 600
Loc: Seattle Area, WA, USA
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Agreed, I came across this thread just after coming in from an observing/imaging session to stretch out my LX200R with the Meade LPI for a bit. After Jupiter had sunk far enough that I wasn't gonna get any more video of it, I pointed the scope at Andromeda. Unfortunately, my alignment was very off tonight since I was in a hurry and hadn't calibrated anything lately (did a reset yesterday to appease Meade's support guys)... so to help starhop to Andromeda I used my binoculars (8x50 or so) to locate Andromeda so I could guide the scope at it.
Was rather surprised Andromeda was visible at all to binoculars in a red zone with local light sources maybe 20 feet away. Still, I was able to hop over to Andromeda manually thanks to them, and got a great view of cores of M31 and M32 in the same eyepiece. 
I may not use my binoculars every night, but I make sure they are nearby just in case.
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Meade 10" LX200R
Orion 80ED
Nagler 7T6, 9T6, 13T6, 17T4, 26T5
Canon XSi (Modded), TIS DMK 31AF03
Northwest Astro Photoblog
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Swamp Fox
member
Reged: 12/26/06
Posts: 67
Loc: Goose Creek, South Carolina
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Amen!
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Meade ETX 125PE
Tele Vue Pronto
Celestron 8x56 and 12x80 Binos
Meade 4000 9.7mm, 15mm, 26mm SP; 24.5mm SWA; 8.8mm, 14mm UWA; #140 2x Barlow
Tele Vue 26mm Pl; 4.8mm, 12mm, 17mm Nagler; 35mm Panoptic
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werewolf6977
Lord High Smasher
Reged: 12/15/03
Posts: 7444
Loc: Hanover, Ohio
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I always take time to check M31 out with whatever I'm holding at the time. Thru a Bino with adecent fov? In dark skies? Wow.
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Pete
6" Apogee/LXD55 - "The Beast"
Starhopper 6" Dob - "Shiva"
Spaceprobe 130 EQ - "Spacey"
Bushnell Fatboy
The Abomination
Sun Pak Pro 7500 Platinum Edition
10X25 Bushnell Camo Roofies
7X35 Tasco Classic Plastic (good views though)
7X42 Tasco Rare Bird
10X50 Nikon Actions (Type 7)
15X70 Skymasters - "DroolMeisters"
One ratty old IBM 600E LapTop
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stevek
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/16/06
Posts: 1229
Loc: west michigan
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FWIW, I've done the whole Messier list with my 11x56mm binocs - from a blue zone/darker skies...
Steve
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DSO 8" f6 DOB w/ 8x50 RACI & 2"Crayford
1958 Sears Discoverer 76mm Refractor
GSO SV 30mm 2",21mm Hyp,13mm Strat,BO/TMB ver2-6mm & 4mm
1.25"Filters: DGM-NPB, 25%ND
1.25" plossls: 25mm,20mm,15mm,9mm
Orion 2X Shorty Barlow
Garrett Gemini LW 11x56mm binocs
BTG-10 4.0mW green laser pointer
"What is that burning in the sky? Tell me y'all..." Jeff Beck/Jan Hammer
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