cam1936
sage
Reged: 08/01/08
Posts: 242
Loc: Alberta, Canada
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Well I haven't got my scope yet but I did go out today and buy a pair of Nikon action ex 10x50 binoculars and tested them out tonight. This was my first time under the skies trying to find stuff on my own. I have a pair of 7x25 compact binoculars that are really lightweight and obviously not meant for astronomy but I compared them to the 10x50s anyways. Before I get to the astronomy I'd like to note what a huge difference I see between the two during terrestrial observing. The wider space between the objectives give excellent depth perception on the Nikons and the brightness level of the 10x50s was just so much more than with the 7x25s. When it finally got dark (It took forever!) I observed the moon for awhile which was really cool, but bright! I could see a little purple fringe on one side and a little yellow fringe on the other side but other than that, color was good. I then looked at Jupiter and could easily see 4 moons which blew me away! (I know, I know I'm easily amused) I also looked at a few other stars and such but what really frustrated me was trying to find stuff with the star charts. I blame this more on the full moon as the brightness of it was washing out everything, also I am in a yellow zone. I looked for Andromeda for half an hour before I gave up. Is it usually this hard trying to find brighter Messier objects under a yellow zone and an almost full moon? Either way I'm going to an observing night next weekend so I should get some guidance there but other than Jupiter and a list of stars I couldn't find anything I was looking for.
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C8-SGT
Nikon 10x50 Action Ex
Canon 350D
Manfrotto tripod
Various EPs and accesories
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Lard Greystoke
sage
Reged: 07/27/08
Posts: 203
Loc: Ohio
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The first time is a problem in everything. In your case, light pollution and the moon are definitely factors. Andromeda is much, much easier under a dark sky - I can't see it at all from my downtown location.
Try not to concentrate too much on constellations at first - most of them are figments of the imaginations of ancient shepherds with way too much time on their hands. Concentrate on the bright stars, and work your way out from there. Don't put too much pressure on yourself to figure out everything at once. It does take time, but it's worth it.
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Lard Greystoke
10" Odyssey Compact
"With Tantor, the elephant, he made friends. How? Ask me not."
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vinnie
Latinist
Reged: 01/05/08
Posts: 1446
Loc: Queensland, Australia
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The more you look the better you will see.
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cam1936
sage
Reged: 08/01/08
Posts: 242
Loc: Alberta, Canada
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Regardless it still was fun. I got to really test out the binos in low light conditions as two does walked past me about 20 min after sunset. With my naked eyes you can see them but its hard to make out detail in the low light, with the 7x25s its the same story. With the 10x50s they stood out excellent even in the fading light. I also got a visit from an owl and heard some coyotes killed something further up on the property cause there was an awful lot of howling and other twisted sounds. All-in-all a good night even without Andromeda.
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C8-SGT
Nikon 10x50 Action Ex
Canon 350D
Manfrotto tripod
Various EPs and accesories
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Protheus
Vaguely offended
Reged: 09/01/07
Posts: 4664
Loc: Illinois, US
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Andromeda can be hard in a decent amount of light pollution. Where I am, I can see it with 15x70s when it's well placed. If I travel outside of town, I see it in 15x70s when it's poorly placed, and as it rises, I can begin to find it with 10x50s.
What you will see of the Andromeda Galaxy, if anything, is probably the core. At least this will be all that you see at first. Look for a somewhat oblong, dim smudge. If you can find that, stare at it for a while, and you might get more detail from it.
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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cam1936
sage
Reged: 08/01/08
Posts: 242
Loc: Alberta, Canada
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Well I think im going to go for something that stands out a bit more until this pesky moon goes away. I'm going out again tonight as it looks as if its going to be another cloudless night. Does anyone have any suggestions of a decent target for 10x50s during a full moon?
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C8-SGT
Nikon 10x50 Action Ex
Canon 350D
Manfrotto tripod
Various EPs and accesories
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NeoDinian
Experienced Postmaster
Reged: 10/05/05
Posts: 12086
Loc: Rockford Illinois
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Crater hopping on the moon is always nice... 
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Neo... (Jeff)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
10" LX200-GPS/SMT UHTC "Draco"
 Rockford, Il.
NeoDinian's Eye on the Sky!
Coming soon:
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Avalon
super member
Reged: 06/18/08
Posts: 110
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Quote:
Try not to concentrate too much on constellations at first - most of them are figments of the imaginations of ancient shepherds with way too much time on their hands.
Thats one of the best quotes ever! I am almost tempted to use it as my sig and credit you!
Welcome new person!!
Dont give up on seeing whatever you want to see. It does take a lot of learning. Also, if you enjoy seeing something like the moons, good for you!
Too many people take the easy to find things for granted. If you got an awesome view of something, think about drawing it or photographing it.
I enjoy watching Saturn, its easy to find, and it looks like the cartoon images of it to me. Or at least cheap scifi effects.
Still, I'll look at every time, cause I find it fun!
-Z
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w orchid
professor emeritus
Reged: 04/23/07
Posts: 680
Loc: Tampa, Fl
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Great report. Keep looking up.
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Celestron C8 orange tube circa 1982
Stellarvue SV102ED
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xfile101
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/08/07
Posts: 739
Loc: Ocean Gate, NJ
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Good for you! M-31 will be a difficult target, as you mentioned, because of your LP and the full Moon. Also against you is it position, currently it is pretty low in the sky until well into the night (midnight and after) so I would wait until maybe mid September to get a really good shot at it. As for what to see when the full moon is out, double stars (something I have been exploring myself as of late) are nice. The Double Double in Lyra is a nice one. To find this one just center Vega in your binos. Vega is the really bright star almost straight overhead as night falls. To the upper left of your FOV you will see the double double! Can you make out all four stars? Another double that is quite striking is Albireo. This is located in Cygnus, The Swan. Albireo is found by tracing a diagonal line Eastward from Vega to this star. It's a beautiful Blue and Orange double, you'll like it I'm sure.
Quote:
Try not to concentrate too much on constellations at first - most of them are figments of the imaginations of ancient shepherds with way too much time on their hands.
While I agree somewhat with this, you do need to, at the very least, know which constellation is which. These are the guides to the DSO's you desire to see so it does pay to know them and their configuration. In any event, the object of the game is HAVE FUN, which sounds like you have a grasp on that.
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Orion XT8I
Celestron 114EQ Firstscope
Meade 70mm
Astroscan
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cam1936
sage
Reged: 08/01/08
Posts: 242
Loc: Alberta, Canada
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I looked at the double double in Lyra but could only see 2 stars. I didn't look at them for too long though. I'm looking forward to a observer night put on by the local telescope shop next weekend. But as for right now it's time to leave my parent's house, under a yellow, and go back to my house under a white.
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C8-SGT
Nikon 10x50 Action Ex
Canon 350D
Manfrotto tripod
Various EPs and accesories
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Crusader
sage
Reged: 08/14/05
Posts: 404
Loc: Karoo, South Africa
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Welcome to the site. I recently rediscovered how much there is to see using just your binos. It's also excellent practice for you since you'll have a general idea where things are once you get a scope.
I'd suggest that you head over to Skymaps.com and download their sky map. On the back it should have a list of objects that can be easily seen with binoculars. It's great fun tracking them down... most of them should still be visible (if faintly) even with a full moon.
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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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Avalon
super member
Reged: 06/18/08
Posts: 110
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Quote:
Welcome to the site. I recently rediscovered how much there is to see using just your binos. It's also excellent practice for you since you'll have a general idea where things are once you get a scope.
Good call, sometimes I can see what I am trying to focus on through them and dont get as discouraged because I know I am looking in the right direction.
The help of a nice laser pointer and a good person to say - "that way" helps as well (one or both). [Sometimes I get help in that "move scope that way" over the phone.]
-A
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Protheus
Vaguely offended
Reged: 09/01/07
Posts: 4664
Loc: Illinois, US
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Quote:
I looked at the double double in Lyra but could only see 2 stars. I didn't look at them for too long though. I'm looking forward to a observer night put on by the local telescope shop next weekend. But as for right now it's time to leave my parent's house, under a yellow, and go back to my house under a white.
At what magnification? I can see two stars in it at 7x in binoculars. It requires some pretty serious magnification to break each component in two...
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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cam1936
sage
Reged: 08/01/08
Posts: 242
Loc: Alberta, Canada
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only 10x. approx what mag does it take to break it into 4? I assume you would need a telescope or a big set of binos.
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C8-SGT
Nikon 10x50 Action Ex
Canon 350D
Manfrotto tripod
Various EPs and accesories
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Protheus
Vaguely offended
Reged: 09/01/07
Posts: 4664
Loc: Illinois, US
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Last I tried it, it worked at about 140x; could do it with somewhat less, but not _much_ less...
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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Achernar
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/25/06
Posts: 3727
Loc: Alabama, USA
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The full moon and heavy light pollution would make Andromeda invisible in your binoculars, but if you try again in a dark are on a moonless night, you'll see M-31 with the unaided eye. It will be a magnificent sight in 10x50's and the two bright companion galaxies would show up too. It is difficult to see many deep sky objects even with a 10-inch telescope from a badly light polluted area, let alone during a night with a full moon. Next weekend should be more successful if the weather co-operates with you.
Taras
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10-inch F/4.5 Discovery Dob
6-inch F/8 Homebuilt Dob
4 1/4-inch F/4 Homebuilt reflector
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dmgriff
sage
Reged: 09/20/06
Posts: 258
Loc: 30 degrees latitude, USA
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Welcome to CN!
Quote:
what really frustrated me was trying to find stuff with the star charts
Don't know what charts you use, but, do you have a decent planisphere for your latitude in addition? Mine seems to help me in light polluted skies. Besides casual observing and generally checking out the sky, my 10x50 inexpensive binocs are a must as a general "pre-finder" in conjunction with a 9x50 right angle finder on the telescope.
Your binocs will always be useful, enjoy the observing night, and ask about Princeton or Petersen field guides and other books on general amateur viewing, if you wish. They have been an aid to me.
Best viewing,
Dave
Edited by dmgriff (08/17/08 04:15 PM)
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cam1936
sage
Reged: 08/01/08
Posts: 242
Loc: Alberta, Canada
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I'm sure there is a good plaisphere and I'll have to invest in one. I don;t think it was so much the chart as it was the full moon and me being a novie. I used the one from skymap or skychart.com something like that.
edit: I'm at 51 degrees north
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C8-SGT
Nikon 10x50 Action Ex
Canon 350D
Manfrotto tripod
Various EPs and accesories
Edited by cam1936 (08/17/08 04:17 PM)
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