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davidmcharg
member
Reged: 05/29/05
Posts: 96
Loc: Scotland, UK
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Observing log
Date : August 13/14th 2005
Time : 12.30am - 1.50am.
Location : Kilmacolm, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Seeing : Excellent. NELM 6.3.
Notes -
There are but a few times a year when you get one of those nights that truely reminds you why you love to stare at the night skies and August 13/14th 2005 was one of those nights. I was sitting at home surfing the web and around midnight i decided to pop my head out the back door to see if it was a clear sky. Sure enough, it was so i grabbed my binoculars and headed out. My binoculars are a pair of Nikon Superior E 10x42. Day time temperatures have been around 18-20 celsius recently with it cooling down to 6-8 celsius at night so a good jacket was required. I headed out suitably clothed with my binoculars, no tripod, no maps...just me, the binoculars and the night sky.
As expected on heading out it takes a while for the eyes to dark adapt so i setup a chair in the middle of the garden and just scanned the skies with the naked eye. As my
eyes slowly begin to dark adapt i become aware that the seeing is exceptionally good. There is some cloud low down around the horizon that seems pretty low altitude but
other than that the skies are perfect. Its a little windy and now and then the odd low lying cloud floats past. After a few minutes my eyes are really beginning to dark
adapt and my first thought is....wow is that really the milky way or is it cloud  . The more i look the more i cannot believe its actually the milkyway. Clear as day. I can follow it through Cygnus, Cepheus, Cassiopeia and Perseus. Especially notable are the dark rifts and some sections are more pronounced than others. The section from gamma throught beta cygnus is spectacular. My first view through the binoculars is at gamma cygnus and for some reason i always tend to migrate to this star when cygnus
is visible in the night sky because i love the ring of stars that surround it. Wow..i am thinking. The skies are great i am easily seeing another 1-2 magnitudes deeper
than on other nights and the field of view is a riot of starts  . Heck i am so lost that M29 seems to have blended into the riot of stars visible tonight. Between gamma and alpha cygnus the milky way is a little less pronounced but then above alpha cygnus i once again can see almost what seems like a cloud...but it ain't cloud. Forget the binoculars. I can follow the arc of the milkyway right across the sky with the naked eye.
As an observer we can often become focused on ticking targets of a list and scanning the night skies as though the only things to seek out are those messiers etc yet when
you are treated to a night of truely exceptional seeing/skies its just much more fun to sit back and simply let your eyes do the walking. Tonight was one of those nights. Naked eye or a pair of binoculars was all you really needed.
Panning around between alpha and beta cygnus is simply stunning i am not even bothered about what i might be seeing i am just in awe of the sheer number of stars in the field of view. I pan down to Sagitta and sure enough there is M71. I then pan over to the mid point of beta Cygnus and gamma Lyra and sure enough i can see a little group of
stars that looks like the number 7 and just below is M56. These two objects confirm that my seeing is good because under normal skies they can both be a little tricky.
I pan around this area and take in a range of other objects including brocchi cluster and M27.
By this time i have given up on the seat and i am lying down on the concrete paving. Just as well my jacket is nice and thick. So there i am lying down and the ark of the milkyway sprawls across the night sky. Awesome...just spectacular. So once again i set off from gamma cygnus and head to alhpa cygnus. I position alpha cygnus at one side of the fov and 62 xi cygnus at the other and lone behold there sits the north american  . This is only my second observation of the north american in many
years, further confirmation if i needed it that on this night the skies are great.
By this point my arms are starting to get a little tired and my back a little cold so i stand up and decide to take a look at Pegasus, Perseus and Cassiopea. Andromeda is
easy naked eye and moving a little south so is M33. A little check with binoculars confirms both. I then headed over to Cassiopeia and sure enough its a riot of little
clusters....M103, NGC 663, NGC 659, NGC 7789 etc. From delta Cassiopeia i head down to the double cluster..stunning. Again i seem to be able to pick up quite a few little clusters nearby. A little more browsing down through perseus, Mel 20 and a quick viewing of M34 and i find myself thinkging lets head for Cygnus again. So back down on to the cold concrete i go again  and i set off from gamma cygnus. This time i head out towards epsilon cygnus and i seem to wonder into another open cluster NGC 6940. I go back and forth a few times and just confirm its location for checking later. I then head back to alpha cygnus and head further out to M39. With M39 at the edge
of the fov i notice a particularly dark patch or stretch that stretches at least the full fov of the nikons not exactly sure what this is but it stands from the
riot of other stars in the fov 
In between my sessions in an around Cygnus i also took in Herculers M13, M92, Ursae Major M81/82, a few doubles, a excursion down through Aquila and Scutum taking in M11(wild duck cluster) etc. There was quite a few meteors tonight
some of them very bright. In addition i also followed some satelites as they made their way across the sky.
Around 1.50am i called it a day and headed inside. It took me a few tries. Each time i made my way to the back door i just had to have another pan through Cygnus. I was just
about in the back door, i turn round and just below pegasus was Mars rising, a quick peak with the binoculars and with that the door is closed. I should have went to sleep
at that point but instead i spent 30 minutes just confirming some observations using sky may pro. A truely memorable night of observing and all with only 40mm of aperture.
Once again the Nikon Superior E provide a stunning night of observing.
--------------------
Televue 85 & Starbeam
35/24 Panoptic, 17/12 Nagler T4, 9/7 Nagler T6
8,6,5,4,3 Radian and 3-6 Nagler zoom.
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Glassthrower
Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks
Reged: 04/07/05
Posts: 14703
Loc: Hurricane Alley
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Nice report David, thanks for sharing it.
Reports like that just go to show that large apertures and/or high magnifications are not needed to enjoy a top-notch celestial light show. The deciding factor is dark skies, and NELM 6.3 is exactly that - dark. I'm jealous, as I have never once seen the Milky Way (naked eye) or NGC7000 (naked eye or with binos).
 Thanks again.
MikeG
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Michael Gilmer - Member of the Meteoritical Society & Collector of Falling Stars.
Galactic Stone & Ironworks - Buy/Sell/Trade Meteorites, Moon Rocks, Mars Rocks, & 35 different falls and types!
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Alby
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 02/12/05
Posts: 899
Loc: Ontario, Canada
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Bebs;
Quote:
I'm jealous, as I have never once seen the Milky Way (naked eye) or NGC7000 (naked eye or with binos).
MikeG
With your passion for the skies, I'm shocked and saddened you haven't seen the Milky Way:(
Take a drive soon, get to some dark skies...just do it:)
You'll not regret it....just do it!!
NOW!!!!!
David.....thx for sharing your viewing experience.
Well done.
Regards
Alby
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Alby
Scoping Savant
10in LX200 Classic SCT
Oberwerk BT 100 45
7x50 USSR Binocs
Nikon Action Extreme 10x50 binocs
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milt
sage
Reged: 09/13/04
Posts: 430
Loc: Arizona
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Hi David,
Thank you for your wonderful observing report. I get so caught up in how well binoculars work (or not) that it is absolutely refreshing to read a pure O.R. devoid of gushing over a binocular's optical performance. (Yes, this is Milt talking...)
I know exactly how you felt because on the best nights I can see M33 naked eye, too, and have gone flat on my back with my old Nikon 12x36D's many times. Were you able to capture M110 in your 10x42SE's? I have glimpsed it in 50mm bino's but never 36mm. The dark area near M39 was undoubtedly a dust lane in the Milky Way, but I am away from my star charts this week and don't know if it has a designation.
Thanks again,
Milt
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davidmcharg
member
Reged: 05/29/05
Posts: 96
Loc: Scotland, UK
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Thanks for the comments folks. I have spent the last 10 years working in London and New York and only recently returned to Scotland. As you can imagine the skies in both cities are shocking so my return to decent skies in Scotland is an eye opener. Now i seem to be going in reverse aperture.....large dobs down to a small apo and some nice binos. Having travelled around folks all i can say its worth every penny to get to dark skies even if you only have a pair of binoculars with you. A few years ago i went down under and i got some stunning skies and memories
that i will never forget. Everyone astronomer in their life time should witness lying on your back and marvelling at the milkyway. Heck i did the same down under but almost got into trouble with a snake. Someone just give me the light swtich to turn of all the light pollution.
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Televue 85 & Starbeam
35/24 Panoptic, 17/12 Nagler T4, 9/7 Nagler T6
8,6,5,4,3 Radian and 3-6 Nagler zoom.
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John F
sage
Reged: 02/16/04
Posts: 308
Loc: Washington State
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David,
I second Mike's reply, that was a nice report and a relaxed report which is what binocular star gazing should be all about. I share you enthusium for Gamma Cigni (Sadr) and it surrounding ring. This is one of my favorite targets and it looks great (at a dark sky site) at every magnification from 7x - 20x.
I also agree with you that is more enjoyable to let you eyes do the walking rather than trying to hunt to individual M or NGC objects in the Milky Way. What a pitiful sight M29 is compared the much richer field that it is embedded in.
There is also something to be said for the freedom of just laying back in a lawn chair and hand holding a 12x binocular. I will never forget my first night doing that with a pair of 12x50 CZJ Nobilems back in 1992. Those were the first really high power binoculars I had ever used and I could not believe the views I was getting with them (which seemed more like what I would get with my 3.7-inch apo telescope would show me that anything that I had ever experienced before in a "binocular view". Whenever I put them down a while to give me arms a rest I'd just leaned back in my lawn chair with my open in awe that it was possible to have that kind of power in a hand hold-able instrument. A few days later I rationlized that if the 12x50s were that good the 15x60s must be real killers so I whipped out my credit card and ordered of a pair of those as well. But 15x was not reasonbly hold-able so that drove me to get my first binocular mount. And once I had the mount I found that I could also see a lot more with the 12x50s as well. Of course, not all mounts work well for zenith viewing. In fact, many don't work very well at all. However, Universal Optics (link below) has some nice ones that are reasonably priced and will work fairly well with a lawn chair and great with a LaFuma Recliner. That system isn't perfect but it works more than well enough that I'm very satisfied with it.
http://www.universalastronomics.com/
John Finnan
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Leica 7x42 Ultravid
Nikon 7x50 Prostar
Swarovski 8.5x42 EL
Nikon 10x70 Astroluxe
Leica 12x50 Ultravid
Zeiss 15x60 B/GAT
Takahashi 22x60 Astronomer
NP-127 w/Bino Vue
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davidmcharg
member
Reged: 05/29/05
Posts: 96
Loc: Scotland, UK
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Thanks John. I have been thinking over mounts for the better part of a year but do not want to take away from what is great about binocs....just grab and go. My current
line up consists of -
TV85 + eyepieces.
Zeiss 8x30 B/GAT
Nikon 10x42 Superior E
And i am seriously thinking about adding the 12x50 superior E.
Cheers
David.
--------------------
Televue 85 & Starbeam
35/24 Panoptic, 17/12 Nagler T4, 9/7 Nagler T6
8,6,5,4,3 Radian and 3-6 Nagler zoom.
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 10163
Loc: Lancashire UK
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David ,
I'm just back from yet another few nights away and have just read every post I missed in my absence ( didn't count how many but it took around 90 minutes )
In such ( increasingly regular ) circumstances , I always begin with the OLDEST post and read though right up to the most recent , which in this case happened to be this thread.
David , it's almost miraculous that your starter post to this thread is , in effect , a more " technical representation" of the kind of post I had intended to send.
Last Thursday night ( August 11th ) from my location in North Wales , from around midnight local time I could EASILY see , with naked eye , a very large expanse of the MILKY WAY !
Like yourself , I also concentrated most my binocular observations on the Cygnus area , with many rare spottings similar to those seen by yourself last night from Scotland.
After about 40 minutes , I realised that by attempting to compare WHAT I COULD and COULD NOT see through my usual array of binos and scope ( with regard to star numbers , quality of images at edges of FOV etc etc ) was actually INTERFERING with ( if not ruining ) my ENJOYMENT of the occasion and seeing conditions -- so I settled down in an almost horizontal position on one of several " reclining sun loungers " I have purchased recently , with my 7 x 50 binos , and JUST ENJOYED the overall spectacle.
What I still cannot confirm however , is a positive sighting of the North American Nebula .
Neither , even in these incredibly outstanding seeing conditions , can I say with all honesty , that I could make out ALL the stars in the Little Dipper NAKED EYE ( or in my case , with prescription glasses worn ).
I recall reading that being able to resolve this asterism naked eye is more or less accepted as a " standard measure " of NELM , from northern latitudes .
I'm in no position to disagree about this really , but is it not possible that from CERTAIN locations in the northern hemisphere , even " under dark skies " , the most NORTHERLY constellations are not necessarily in the most favourable directions ?
It seems strange to me that we ought to be basing " seeing conditions " around celestial objects which are in the same " general apparant direction " as the SUN ( which is also more or less due NORTH at midnight - 1am ) from the viewing location of northern UK .
Anyway , GREAT POST David -- really GREAT !
Regards ,
Kenny
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If everyone is thinking the same thing , no-one is thinking - General George S.Patton
Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT
Captain's Helmsman 7 x 50
Nikon 10 x 42 Superior E
Swift Audubon Kestrel 10 x 50
Helios 15 x 70 Observation
Strathspey 20 x 90
Televue 76 APO
Zeiss 85 Diascope
Helios 102 f5 refractor
Various eyepieces barlows tripods mounts etc.
Panasonic Lumix DMC - TZ5 digital camera
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Mark9473
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/21/05
Posts: 2703
Loc: 51°N 4°E
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David,
your report is the first thing I read on this forum that gives me the same relaxed feeling I get from an actual observing session. Thanks for that!
Incidentally, I was doing much the same thing under similarly excellent conditions just one night earlier. I made an effort to leave the 20x80s in the house, because I wanted to look at persistent trains left by bright Perseid meteors, using my 8.5x44. In between I spent a lot of time just sweeping the Milky Way, and was just awed at the multitude of clusters and clusterings, sweeping from Cassiopeia towards Cygnus, and just the general view of the Milky Way on this night.
It feels a bit as if you described my own viewing experiences, and did so better than I could have done.
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Mark
Leica 8x20; Vixen 8x42; Swift 8.5x44, 10x50 and 20x80; TS 7x50; Orion 15x63
WO Megrez II 80 FD + Baader 90° T2 Amici
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davidmcharg
member
Reged: 05/29/05
Posts: 96
Loc: Scotland, UK
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Cheers Kenny. Need to think about what you say on NELM.
On the subject of comparing equipment...i agree. Sometimes you can get so involved in comparing the relative merits of different kit you forget to really enjoy and marvel at the wonderful view that is available. Thats actually last night why i only headed out with 1 pair of binoculars. I used to get into the same state with my TV85 and eyepieces...these days i just enjoy the views. Now back on the NELM i am actaually amazed at the variation i seem to get in Scotland. I haven't done any tests that would approach a reasonably scientific test but some nights its *BLEEEP* and then others like last night it was stunning. Needless to say even my bad skies these days are dam good when compared to London or New York.
Cheers
David.
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Televue 85 & Starbeam
35/24 Panoptic, 17/12 Nagler T4, 9/7 Nagler T6
8,6,5,4,3 Radian and 3-6 Nagler zoom.
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Glassthrower
Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks
Reged: 04/07/05
Posts: 14703
Loc: Hurricane Alley
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Something I just thought about, it's a wee-bit off topic, so I will keep it very brief.
I can't recall seeing a lot of observation reports posted here in the bino forum. Tons of reviews, lots of "X brand versus Y brand", a whole slew of info on mounts, reams of technical discourses relating to optics, but comparatively few true-blue observation reports...
And I don't recall seeing too many bino observation reports in the Deep Sky or Planetary forums either. Are the bino users shy, reluctant to post reports, or am I just missing something?
Ok, back to topic....
Quote:
With your passion for the skies, I'm shocked and saddened you haven't seen the Milky Way:(
Take a drive soon, get to some dark skies...just do it:)
You'll not regret it....just do it!!
NOW!!!!!
Believe me, if I could I would. My wife and I are the primary caretakers for my elderly father-in-law who has moderate Alzheimers. We cannot leave him alone for any length of time, and he is in poor shape to be dragged out for a late night of stargazing that he has no interest in (felt him out a few times about it). The rest of the immediate family is scattered to the four winds and they do not play any role whatsoever in the situation, so it's just the wife and I with no relief. Thus, I observe from my backyard only. Once or twice in the last year we have managed to sneak out for a night when family members were in from out of town, and both times we had a FULL MOON. Talk about poor timing.
Kenny -
If I keep hearing about these naked eye views of the Milky Way, I might just go nuts with jealousy! 
I do not begrudge anyone their dark skies, I am glad there are folks out there who can still enjoy the majesty of the sky the way Mother Nature intended it.
Clear dark skies to all...
MikeG
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Michael Gilmer - Member of the Meteoritical Society & Collector of Falling Stars.
Galactic Stone & Ironworks - Buy/Sell/Trade Meteorites, Moon Rocks, Mars Rocks, & 35 different falls and types!
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Mark9473
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/21/05
Posts: 2703
Loc: 51°N 4°E
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Quote:
Are the bino users shy, reluctant to post reports, or am I just missing something?
To me, this is easy. This is called an "equipment discussion forum" in the CN main index, so I take my observing reports, which aren't too many either, over to the Yahoo Group on binocular astronomy.
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Mark
Leica 8x20; Vixen 8x42; Swift 8.5x44, 10x50 and 20x80; TS 7x50; Orion 15x63
WO Megrez II 80 FD + Baader 90° T2 Amici
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Mark9473
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/21/05
Posts: 2703
Loc: 51°N 4°E
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Quote:
in these incredibly outstanding seeing conditions , can I say with all honesty , that I could make out ALL the stars in the Little Dipper NAKED EYE ( or in my case , with prescription glasses worn ).
I recall reading that being able to resolve this asterism naked eye is more or less accepted as a " standard measure " of NELM , from northern latitudes .
Kenny, to help you quantify your experience, the faintest star in the Ursa Minor constellation asterism, is mag 4.95. This is the beginning of where a sky gets decent enough to go and sit outside, at least for me.
For you to be having a splendid view of the Milky Way, I would say you would have to be under significantly better skies than that, probably close to 6.0 or even better.
Quote:
I'm in no position to disagree about this really , but is it not possible that from CERTAIN locations in the northern hemisphere , even " under dark skies " , the most NORTHERLY constellations are not necessarily in the most favourable directions ?
it's more than possible; I would even say it is pure nonsense to assume that the view toxards the north has to be the best. It just happens to be so for me, but that's coincidental.
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Mark
Leica 8x20; Vixen 8x42; Swift 8.5x44, 10x50 and 20x80; TS 7x50; Orion 15x63
WO Megrez II 80 FD + Baader 90° T2 Amici
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Mark9473
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/21/05
Posts: 2703
Loc: 51°N 4°E
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Quote:
If I keep hearing about these naked eye views of the Milky Way, I might just go nuts with jealousy!
Mike, two points to help you feel a bit better:
First, I know from experience, from having lived in the center of a fairly big city, that getting a good sky is almost hopeless. But even so, maybe only once per year, I used to get a significantly better sky. So the message is, hang in there.
Second, having seen the Milky Way under mag 7 skies, it hurts every time you see it under mag 6 skies (let alone not seeing it).
--------------------
Mark
Leica 8x20; Vixen 8x42; Swift 8.5x44, 10x50 and 20x80; TS 7x50; Orion 15x63
WO Megrez II 80 FD + Baader 90° T2 Amici
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 10163
Loc: Lancashire UK
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< Kenny, to help you quantify your experience, the faintest star in the Ursa Minor constellation asterism, is mag 4.95. This is the beginning of where a sky gets decent enough to go and sit outside, at least for me.
For you to be having a splendid view of the Milky Way, I would say you would have to be under significantly better skies than that, probably close to 6.0 or even better. >
Mark ,
I GENUINELY appreciate your attention to this !
The obvious anomaly is the reason mentioned it :-)
Kenny
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If everyone is thinking the same thing , no-one is thinking - General George S.Patton
Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT
Captain's Helmsman 7 x 50
Nikon 10 x 42 Superior E
Swift Audubon Kestrel 10 x 50
Helios 15 x 70 Observation
Strathspey 20 x 90
Televue 76 APO
Zeiss 85 Diascope
Helios 102 f5 refractor
Various eyepieces barlows tripods mounts etc.
Panasonic Lumix DMC - TZ5 digital camera
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edwincjones
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/10/04
Posts: 4430
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I would also like to see more observing reports. I enjoyed this one and look forward to more.
Ed Jones
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n w arkansas
Binocular, Solar, General Amateur Astronomy
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Glassthrower
Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks
Reged: 04/07/05
Posts: 14703
Loc: Hurricane Alley
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Quote:
Quote:
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Are the bino users shy, reluctant to post reports, or am I just missing something?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To me, this is easy. This is called an "equipment discussion forum" in the CN main index, so I take my observing reports, which aren't too many either, over to the Yahoo Group on binocular astronomy.
So, am I to take it that posting observation reports in this forum is not necessarily considered "in topic" given the "equipment discussion" nature of this bino forum?
I have been posting mine in the Deep Sky forum, because I rarely view the moon, planets are rather lackluster at 25x so I never post in the Planetary forum (except for the odd post about comets), and I have yet to build a full appreciation for binaries and the like, so like I said, the vast majority of my observation reports end up in forums other than this one.
Honestly, I would like to see more binocular observation reports. I really enjoyed reading this one, I equally enjoy EdZ' reports because I can rely upon them for accuracy, and I also enjoy the attitudes and candor of the other members in this forum, so I would like to see more of this kind of thing in here.
So, should I keep posting my reports in a relevant "observation forum" or should I put some of them in here?????
MikeG
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Michael Gilmer - Member of the Meteoritical Society & Collector of Falling Stars.
Galactic Stone & Ironworks - Buy/Sell/Trade Meteorites, Moon Rocks, Mars Rocks, & 35 different falls and types!
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aporigine
sage
Reged: 07/03/05
Posts: 425
Loc: Tuolumne foothills CA
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Hi Mike
I post, and will post, my bino DSO observations in the Deep Sky section of CN. You can rest assured that I read the posts in that forum. I rarely post in the Bino forum for two interlocking reasons: I don't know that much about the optics, and there are those here who do know their optics foreward and back, and are conscientous about answering equipment questions. Sometimes all I can add is a certain  !
Posting in the Observation fora is a boom-and-bust deal however ... I've recently added a passel of obs to my thread, and the views count has stagnated. I wonder how many CNers really read the forum! Then I wonder if there is something about my prose that fails to encourage dialogue.
If anyone is aware of something I can do better, please post or PM me!! I am here to learn and (especially) to "shoot the breeze" about what I've been looking for and even seeing.
cheers aporigine
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Beauty is in the eyepiece of the beholder.
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davidmcharg
member
Reged: 05/29/05
Posts: 96
Loc: Scotland, UK
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I wasn't sure when i posted this to this forum if it was off topic. I would like to say however that whilst this is an equipment discussion forum i still feel its within the context of equipment used to observe the night sky. For sure i love all of the technical detail on here comparing all sorts of kit but i think adding to that in the form of observing reports is a good thing. Should i post future observing logs here or on another forum ?
David.
--------------------
Televue 85 & Starbeam
35/24 Panoptic, 17/12 Nagler T4, 9/7 Nagler T6
8,6,5,4,3 Radian and 3-6 Nagler zoom.
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Glassthrower
Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks
Reged: 04/07/05
Posts: 14703
Loc: Hurricane Alley
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Quote:
I wasn't sure when i posted this to this forum if it was off topic. I would like to say however that whilst this is an equipment discussion forum i still feel its within the context of equipment used to observe the night sky. For sure i love all of the technical detail on here comparing all sorts of kit but i think adding to that in the form of observing reports is a good thing. Should i post future observing logs here or on another forum ?
Given that there is no dedicated "Binocular Observations" forum, then I feel like we are in a limbo of sorts. This particular forum, from what I have encountered in my months here, is mostly for the technical and fabricating aspects of binos - which I enjoy and consider very educational.
The "Observation" forums appear to be mostly tailored towards scope users. Perhaps "tailored" isn't the right word, but the vast majority of the reports are from scope users. And I do read your posts, aporigine, but I am guilty of reading many interesting posts and failing to post a reply. Most of the time it is because I am juggling multiple things and have to rush off.
Personally, I would like to see a forum for binocular observations, but it appears that the admins are reluctant to expand the already vast scope of CN by adding more forums that may be ultimately redundant in the view of some. More forums means more moderators, and most importantly, more bandwidth and system resources. But honestly, I think a dedicated forum would encourage other bino users who have been reluctant to post ob-reports to do so, and maybe encourage some dual scope-bino observers to post some bino reports. I seriously doubt it would happen though.
In the end, I don't know. Perhaps we should ask the moderators on this one. I notice that the mods have been pretty quiet in here lately, and EdZ has been scarce the last few days as well. Perhaps one of the mods can give some guidance on this one.
MikeG
--------------------
Michael Gilmer - Member of the Meteoritical Society & Collector of Falling Stars.
Galactic Stone & Ironworks - Buy/Sell/Trade Meteorites, Moon Rocks, Mars Rocks, & 35 different falls and types!
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Bill Huot
member
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 37
Loc: Victoria, BC, Canada
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Quote:
In the end, I don't know. Perhaps we should ask the moderators on this one. I notice that the mods have been pretty quiet in here lately, and EdZ has been scarce the last few days as well. Perhaps one of the mods can give some guidance on this one.
While the cat's away, the mice will play:
I've got very light-polluted skies to my North, but darkness to the South. I stayed up all night with the Perseids but barely saw the Milky Way. I saw 80 for-sure meteors, and about twice that many that were either too peripheral or too unimpressive to be worth thinking about whether or not they were real or imaginary.
My Couch Potato Mount made a comfortable, reclining swivel chair to watch it all. I had my Fuji 16X70 set up on the mount in front of me, but I only used it for about an hour or so. My copy of H.A. Rey's The Stars: A New Way to See Them got a workout. I figure that its about time I learned the constellations.
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If I keep hearing about these naked eye views of the Milky Way, I might just go nuts with jealousy!
 You might want to shut your eyes, Mike.
A few nights earlier, with the new moon, from that same spot I had a wonderfully clear view of the fuzzies of Sagitarius as well as of the naked eye Milky Way. The Lagoon (M8) and M24 were naked eye objects. Besides the usual spectacle, at about 10 degrees above the horizon, along the bottom of the teapot, I could see M54, M70 and M69 through my Obie 25X100IF. I must admit, though, that I probably wouldn't have noticed them if my charts hadn't told me where to look.
I got ambitious and went looking for NGC 6723, a globbie that is almost in Corona Australis. I saw it (barely) at three fingers above the horizon. Not bad for a view from the middle of a city at 48 latitude!
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Bill
Oberwerk 25X100IF; Garrett Signature 15X70
Captain's Helmsman 7X50; Minolta 10X50
Pentax Papilio 6.5X21
Couch Potato Binocular Mount
Manfrotto 503 mount / Acuter tripod (Gitzo clone)
Vixen fork mount / Manfroto 3246 tripod
William Optics Zenithstar 80
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milt
sage
Reged: 09/13/04
Posts: 430
Loc: Arizona
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Should i post future observing logs.....on another forum ?
David, I don't get a vote in this but if I did it would be NAY!!! I don't see why the reason we own astro binoculars can't be included in an astro binoculars forum.
Anyone questioning the suitablity of sub-50mm binoculars for astronomy would have had their doubts removed just by reading your enthusiastic O.R.
Milt
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 10163
Loc: Lancashire UK
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Milt ,
I too am encouraged by the lack of apparant " censorship " now that it has become obvious that at least one moderator must have read the post raising doubts about whether or not such posts rightfully " belong " in THIS forum.
MY opinion is OF COURSE THEY DO !
Such reports are far more binocular related than many others I could dig out if I needed to prove a point.
Hopefully I won't need to !
Regards ,
Kenny
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If everyone is thinking the same thing , no-one is thinking - General George S.Patton
Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT
Captain's Helmsman 7 x 50
Nikon 10 x 42 Superior E
Swift Audubon Kestrel 10 x 50
Helios 15 x 70 Observation
Strathspey 20 x 90
Televue 76 APO
Zeiss 85 Diascope
Helios 102 f5 refractor
Various eyepieces barlows tripods mounts etc.
Panasonic Lumix DMC - TZ5 digital camera
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EdZ
Professor EdZ
Reged: 02/15/02
Posts: 12601
Loc: Cumberland, R I , USA42N71.4W
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Just a few thoughts.
This is far more than just an equipment forum. A thorough review of our "Best Of" links will show you that we talk about far more than just our equipment. Just to name a few topics; Equipment Discussions, Equipment Reviews, Optical Theory, Observational Theory, Optical Performance, Human Physiology, Observing Lists, Observation Reports...
I've posted many observation reports to this forum. All should feel free to do likewise. I like reading observation reports. So do many others here. I answered this same question in another thread yesterday.
You would need to have been here on this forum for the full duration to see all the observing reports posted here. Unlike our catalogue of equipment reviews and our library of technical discussion links, there are few links to old history of observing reports. There are some.
There are numerous links at the top of this fourm to NELM charts for those that like to use them. See the links through the "Links to Web". If your primary area of observation is at an altitude of 45° facing south, an NELM reading on the Little Dipper isn't going to tell you much about that area of the sky.
I would prefer not to see the occasional term bleeped out. I can understand it is impossible to know what the complete active list of unacceptable terms is. Just think this way, If you can't say it in the best of company, then don't say it here. Mis-spelling words to circumvent the net nanny is unacceptable and in my eyes is viewed equally as bad as spelling correctly. I have seen several instances of that recently, not only in this forum. It should be discontinued.
There is an excellent thread over in the OT Forum right now on how well some people feel this net nanny works in these forum. Everyone should read it.
edz
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Teach a kid something today. The feeling you'll get is one of life's greatest rewards.
member#21
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