Telescope Reviews: Okay, I'm convinced - a short tale of a bino n00b.

After suffering a few agonizing nights of "clear sky guilt" - when the sky was clear, but I was too exhausted to drag out the scope, let alone the imaging gear - I decided to buy a decent pair of binocs.

So, as is my typical MO, after a minimal amount of research (if you can call browsing through the stickies here and a couple of Google searches research), I acquired a pair of Garrett Optical SS 10x50s.

A couple of cloudy nights ago, I managed to glimpse Jupiter and two moons through a sucker hole. I thought "how cool is that?"

Tonight, well before sunset I rolled out the big scope (thank you ScopeBuggy) so we could check out the moon and do a bit of impromptu outreach with my sons' sleepover guest. Then the clouds rolled in, and I put the scope away. I checked again before bedtime - yep, still cloudy.

Went to bed, and woke up about an hour and a half later to one of those sounds to which a parent is attuned - one of the boys was coughing. After administering the requisite glass of water, I just *happened* to glance out the window, and of course it's crystal clear.

I thought "it's *bino* time." Grabbed the binocs, and went outside. As soon as I stepped out I was treated to two *really* bright shooting stars. I thought "hey, this is going to be fun."

Momentary confusion, as I stumbled around in the dark searching for my favorite hunk of junk green plastic chair. Not there. Then I remembered my wife said she went to the dump today. There *will* be words in the morning - after which I'm sure I'll be heading to Target for a suitable replacement.

Anyhow, I leaned up against the car, and took in Jupiter - much clearer tonight and 4 moons. Slid to the right and down slightly, and there's a globular cluster (which, checking Stellarium, I think was M22). Move past some trees, and whoa! I think that's the Trifid and Lagoon!

I spent the next 45 minutes or so sliding up and down the milky way, taking in globular clusters, open clusters and nebulae. How very cool is this?!?! I even managed to star hop a little to find M31. It may not sound like much to you, hotshot, but I was impressed with my GOTO self.

I'm not going to give up the scopes, or the imaging, or anything *crazy*, but I can definitely say that I'm now a big fan of binoculars - in fact, I can see how these will make long imaging sessions much more enjoyable.

Anyway, just thought I'd share, admit that I'm a convert, hide the credit cards, and say thanks for all the good info I've picked up so far on this forum.

Thanks for reading,
David

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Celestron C6/C9.25/CG-5GT Mount
Orion 80ED/EON 72/Supercharged Atlas EQ-G
Garrett Optical Signature Series 10x50
Canon XTi (soon to be modded)/Canon 40D (unmodded)
Meade DSI/Meade DSI Pro/Philips SPC900N
1944 Ford 2N/1948 Ford 8N

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