6337 replies to this topic

[MT4]

It was pretty cloudy but since I had managed to put a Bino Bandit XL on my M45 25x85 earlier in the day I thought I'd take it out for a spin.   Observed Jupiter and Saturn, and then navigated to a few open clusters west of the Oph constellation that I was familiar with.   Didn't really see much due to the clouds but what I saw was pinpoint stars in most of the 80-degree FOV.   Under dark skies, the M45 would be a formidable MW scanner.

 

[FernandoPrz]

Last night I spend some time digging into WDS catalog for double stars suitable for my Celestron SkyMaster 15x70. All inside Orion constellation to see from my flat balcony (very limited field of view and Bortle 7 sky, but no near lights).

 

I settled with 27 different systems and their components. I set up the 15x70's in my balcony and spent two hours navigating Orion in search for these doubles.

 

All of them were found, some had multiple components and others had components too difficult to see, some were boring and some were beautiful. In the end, at least, one pair could be seen in all 27 systems.

 

The closest pair I could see was STF766 AB (10.1", pretty difficult).

 

The full list follows (in RA order):

 

SHJ49, STF627, STF630, STTA62, STF688, STF692, STF696, STF697, STFA14 (Mintaka), STF734, STF747, STF748 (Trapezium/Theta1, 4 components), STFA16/17 (Theta2, 3 components), STTA65, STF758, STF761, STF762, STF766, S502, S503, ARN37, AG321, STF840, STF848, STF855, STAA71, STTA73

 

A very interesting night without need to move out from home

Edited by FernandoPrz, 14 November 2023 - 06:53 AM.

[Fiske]

Last night I spend some time digging into WDS catalog for double stars suitable for my Celestron SkyMaster 15x70. All inside Orion constellation to see from my flat balcony (very limited field of view and Bortle 7 sky, but no near lights).

 

I settled with 27 different systems and their components. I set up the 15x70's in my balcony and spent two hours navigating Orion in search for these doubles.

 

. . .

 

A very interesting night without need to move out from home.  

  

 

See this post and following in Hand-Held Binoculars for Double Stars, and also Adventures with Binocular Double Stars. 

Edited by Fiske, 14 November 2023 - 08:51 AM.

[Pinewood]

Hello,

 

I have been noticing Jupiter, every evening since its opposition.  Tonight, at 0447 UCT.  I used my 1`2x50 on a monopod, from my New York City home.  I managed to see Ganymede and Io to the east of the planet but only one to the west.  Actually, I saw both Callisto and Europa, together, but I could not resolve the two.

 

Stay safe,

Arthur

[Dave Mitsky]

I spent 7.5 hours at the orange zone Naylor Observatory on Sunday night.  The conditions were fairly good.  My highest SQM-L reading was 19.75 mpsas.  It did get a bit nippy.  On my way home, my vehicle thermometer reading dropped to 24 degrees Fahrenheit (-4 degrees Celsius).

 

I viewed Comet C/2023 H2 (Lemmon), which was rather faint, Jupiter, 6 Equulei, 31 Orionis, 119 Tauri, Albireo, Epsilon Lyrae, Omicron Cygni, the Coathanger asterism (Collinder 399), the Davis's Dog asterism, the Golf Putter asterism, the Heart of the Swan asterism, Kemble 1 (Kemble's Cascade), the Kids asterism, the Leaping Minnow asterism, the Little Kids asterism, the S asterism near Sadr, the Smiley Face or Cheshire Cat asterism, the Snake asterism, the Sword of Orion asterism, Collinder 65, Collinder 69, Collinder 70, Melotte 20, Melotte 25, M11, M27, M29, M31, M33, M34, M35, M36, M37, M38, M39, M41, M42, M44, M45, M48, M50, M67, M103, NGC 654, NGC 659, NGC 663, NGC 752, NGC 869 and NGC 884 (the Double Cluster), NGC 1528, NGC 1980, NGC 1981, Stock 2 (very faint), Stock 23, and Trumpler 2 using my Canon 15x50 IS.

 

I also observed Comet Lemmon, Jupiter (Europa and Io exiting eclipse and a GRS transit), M42, M43, and M50 with the observatory's 17" classical Cassegrain.

[Dave Mitsky]

I was at the orange zone Naylor Observatory again on Monday night.  The conditions were relatively good.

 

I looked at Jupiter, 6 Equulei, 119 Tauri, Albireo, Epsilon Lyrae, Omicron Cygni, the Coathanger asterism (Collinder 399), the Davis's Dog asterism, the Golf Putter asterism, the Heart of the Swan asterism, Kemble 1 (Kemble's Cascade), the Kids asterism, the Leaping Minnow asterism, the Little Kids asterism, the S asterism near Sadr, the Smiley Face or Cheshire Cat asterism, the Snake asterism, the Sword of Orion asterism, Collinder 65, Collinder 69, Collinder 70, Melotte 20, Melotte 25, M11, M27, M29, M31, M33, M34, M35, M36, M37, M38, M39, M41, M42, M44, M45, M48, M50, M67, M103, NGC 654, NGC 659, NGC 663, NGC 752, NGC 869 and NGC 884 (the Double Cluster), NGC 1528, NGC 1980, NGC 1981, NGC 1907 (faint), Stock 2 (very faint), Stock 23, and Trumpler 2 using my Canon 15x50 IS.  I had never logged NGC 1907 before with binoculars and was fairly sure that I saw it.

 

Using the Naylor Observatory's 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain, I also observed Jupiter, M41, M42, M43, M46, M47, M50, M67, M79, M81, M82, NGC 2392, NGC 2419, NGC 2438, and NGC 2863.  I took some afocal iPhone photographs of some of those celestial objects.

[MT4]

I stayed up last night checking out a new eFinder for my M45 25x85.  The name is Astroid.  It’s from Dynamic Deep Sky.  
 

In one word:   Game-changing!

 

It has as little electronics as could be imagined.  Most importantly, it works under my 17-17.5 skies.  I was able to easily navigate to M31 as well as loads of objects in the Orion constellation.

 

Will it make encoders and DSC’s obsolete?   I’d say YES but you’ll be the judges. 

 

 

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[Dale Smith]

Clear skies yesterday evening around 9PM, so I went out for an hour or so, beginning with my Nikon 10x70 SP, followed with the 7x50 SP, and then a short encore viewing session with the 6.5x32 MoonStar. 

 

Jupiter and its 4 large moons were sharp in the 10x70. M31 a vivid splotch, while the Pleiades were spectacular. I meant to count the stars visible, but instead spent the time soaking in the beautiful sight. The same for the Perseus Moving Cluster and the Double Cluster. Stock 2 was filled with stars. M15 was visible, in the west, while I thought I detected M27. I went over to Cygnus and split Albireo and then spotted several other double star groupings (but didn't have a chart handy). Star colors are so vivid in the 10x70 SP Prostar. I could just wander the sky admiring the colors, especially the reds and oranges.

 

I continued to be awed by the Prostars, both the 10x70 and the 7x50. Orion was still low in the east, but I went out front to view the Belt and Sword. Repeating the tour with 7x50 SP, I was struck yet again by what a comfortable binocular it is to use. EOFB was a bit more obvious than in the 10x70 (not sure why that would be the case) but not distracting to me, and the Hyades and the Moving Group were especially pleasing.

 

The MoonStar is always a delight, and it was great fun being able to nearly have the Hyades and Davis's Dog in the same FOV, and M45 just a bit due up from the two.

[Erik Bakker]

Dale,

 

That sounds like an observing session I could have had and enjoyed as much as you did  

[Rustler46]

Tonight before dark I had a gander at the Crescent Moon, low to the south in Sagittarius using my new Oberwerk 8X32 SE binocular. Mare Criscium was prominent just above the mid crescent. Along the lower (southern) terminator was visible the sunlit western rims of craters Janssen, Fabricius & Meteus. These three craters are arrayed adjacent to each other with rims touching. For crater identification I used Sky and Telescope's Field Map of the Moon.

 

Quite the sight!

 

Russ

Edited by Rustler46, 16 November 2023 - 08:28 PM.

[Suit]

I live in a fairly bright area near Norfolk, VA, probably a Bortle 7 at best, and I've been curious if I can see M33 from here. It being a pretty clear night, I brought out my Oberwerk 20x80s and went to work. Found the Triangulum constellation, barely visible with the naked eye, but standing out clearly in the binos. From the narrow point of the constellation (Mothollah), went up a bit, found the reasonably bright ~6 mag star halfway between that and the galaxy, panned up a smidge and - no way! I could see it in averted vision as clear as could be. I rotated around the eye in averted vision. Wow. It was definitely there, hovering ghostly in the blackness.

 

Cruised around a bit after that, looked at M31, M34, the Double Cluster, the Pleiades, went to Albireo just for kicks, and then went back to M33 - still there, still popping out in the binos. I then looked at Jupiter and blew out my night vision, haha. Funny enough, I later brought out my 8" Dob and couldn't find M33 in that! Those Oberwerks were a great investment!

[Fiske]

I live in a fairly bright area near Norfolk, VA, probably a Bortle 7 at best, and I've been curious if I can see M33 from here. It being a pretty clear night, I brought out my Oberwerk 20x80s and went to work. Found the Triangulum constellation, barely visible with the naked eye, but standing out clearly in the binos. From the narrow point of the constellation (Mothollah), went up a bit, found the reasonably bright ~6 mag star halfway between that and the galaxy, panned up a smidge and - no way! I could see it in averted vision as clear as could be. I rotated around the eye in averted vision. Wow. It was definitely there, hovering ghostly in the blackness.

 

Cruised around a bit after that, looked at M31, M34, the Double Cluster, the Pleiades, went to Albireo just for kicks, and then went back to M33 - still there, still popping out in the binos. I then looked at Jupiter and blew out my night vision, haha. Funny enough, I later brought out my 8" Dob and couldn't find M33 in that! Those Oberwerks were a great investment!

Well done, suit! 

 

  

 

I've never managed to view M 33 from my urban yard. Well, I haven't tried my 127XL on it yet, so that might be a possibility. 

 

What is the naked eye limiting magnitude near the zenith from your yard? 

[DaveL]

 

It was my second observing session with the GPO 8x56 Passion ED, first "dark" sky visit with it, and for astronomy its dominance in the 8x and under range has been fully established. For me, there is the GPO 8x56 and then there is everything else.  Its brilliance and contrast, deep clarity, viewing comfort, and ergonomics are remarkable. One of the best ever additions to my collection.

Fiske, I didn't realize you have the GPO 8x56, I'm glad you like it! I got one based on posts by Milos1977 and B 26354. I agree it is an excellent binocular. "Brilliant" is probably the best word to describe it. Its main flaws are the field curvature and the sensitivity of chromatic aberration to eye placement. I'm actually wondering if I should get the 10x56 version.

 

-Dave

[cee_dee.exe]

I should've brought my telescope out last night to see the Orion Nebula, but it was late so I grabbed my binos and looked at it. Quite amazing! The telescope, of course, revealed so much more detail the other night, but it's astounding how bright and visible the nebula is, and how big it is, even in binos.

 

I used to think, before I knew where the nebula was, that it must be a region of countless stars. Nope! It's gorgeous, so readily visible even in my Bortle 7.5 skies from my back yard, and probably my favorite object I've observed so far.

 

Looked at Pleiades too. Always have to check that one out, every time I'm out there. The blue stars always amaze me.

Edited by cee_dee.exe, 17 November 2023 - 12:24 PM.

[Dale Smith]

Thanks to seeing Russ’s post above about viewing the waxing crescent Moon yesterday evening, I went outside around 5:25 and spent the next twenty five minutes or so viewing Luna, which was low in the southern sky. There thin clouds, turned rosette color by the sun, which had set an hour earlier. The clouds were fine, thin brush strokes on the darkening sky, and spread across the face of the Moon.

 

I began with the same binocular model Russ used, the Oberwerk 8x32 SE, which is very sharp on-axis, However, the wispy fingers of cloud floating in front of the Moon made it challenging to come to a fine focus, especially so low in the sky. The same for the MoonStar 6.5x32 and the Nikon 7x50 SP. The 10x50 Ultra finally provided enough magnification and sharpness that I could glimpse finer detail in the craters and rough terrain west of Mare Crisium. Once again, 10x magnification is a threshold of sorts to viewing abundant lunar detail in binoculars. The Moon was just west of the handle of the Teapot asterism and it was fun trying to position the FOV in each binocular to see the curve of the starry handle in each binocular.

 

Jupiter got its due as well, between clouds, with, unsurprisingly, the most detailed view being in the 10x50 Ultras, despite the slightly increased shake while using hand-held. The clouds closed in not long after.

 

However, when I woke shortly before 5:30 AM this morning, my Apple Watch showed “partly cloudy.” I opted just to grab the 8x32 SE, which I’d left on the kitchen table, and went outside to view Orion and Canis major, magnificent at the start of astronomical twilight. Orion’s sword is always striking. Over to the Hyades and Pleiades, then up to Auriga. I glimpsed the Leaping Minnow and Waterfall asterisms, and then, was surprised to detect two of the Auriga messier open clusters in the 8x32s. It was probably thanks to the increased contrast thanks to the smaller exit pupil. I prefer a bigger exit pupil, even here in Bortle 7-land, but was struck by the site of two the clusters, one of which was the starfish, very faint patches in the dark sky.

 

Then I turned south to take a good long, naked-eye view of Leo and Gemini. I aimed my binoculars at a point between the two constellations, as it turned out, right where M44 was. 8x provides a nice view of the Beehive, and I savored that for a few moments. Then, north to Perseus and the Moving Group and the Double Cluster.

 

All in all, very enjoyable, if short, evening and morning sessions. This morning I kept thinking I should head back inside and grab the Nikon 10x70s, but I didn’t have much time, and I decided to give the little 8x32 SE its due.

[jrazz]

Orion is a region of countless stars but a lot of them are very faint. The best views I ever had of M42 were through my BT-100 at approx 50x magnification under really dark skies.

 

I also looked at the Moon yesterday through my MMC and was really blown away. Just before moonset the dark side was illuminated by the earth's reflection and was surprisingly bright! I could easily see the entire moon by blocking the bright part behind a pole. I've never noticed how beautiful it is that way!

[Corcaroli78]

Finally a clear night in almost 1 month!!

 

November is a very bad time for astronomy in my danish location, continuous rain and the installation of christmas lights make more difficult to find an observing window....well, this night was clear. I was sooo happy that i started observing through the cloud holes with the Kowa 8x32, and as the sky was clearing, i took the Zeiss Nobilem 10x50 for a late autumn tour and to say hi for the very first time this year to Orion. I also observed Andromeda, the Owl cluster, the Double Cluster, the Triangle galaxy, the Auriga clusters and by the way, its time to say goodbye to Cygnus and Lyra...

 

Observing for 1,5hr changed my mood and i am now considering if i should continue the observation.  Tomorrow there are some early activities, but i can manage to recover by the end of the weekend.

 

Carlos

[MT4]

I woke up a little early this morning and had a wonderful time watching Jupiter, M45 and M42 in my M45 25x85.   Saw loads of sparkling stars in both regions.   With the help of the SkySafari app on my iPad, I managed to track down Uranus for the very first time ever and it's ... a very nice green dot.

 

The sky was the "darkest" for me at 17.80 mpsas.   Not quite dark enough for me to be a member of the "18 mpsas Club" though.   Hopefully come winter time I'll be able to officially join the club.

 

After some trial and error, I've now decided on how to best use my two BTs:

    M45 85mm:            mostly as a 25.5x85 with a pair of Long Perng 80-degree 20mm eyepieces.  FOV = 3.13 degrees.  ER = 20mm.

    SkyRover 120mm:  mostly at 73x and higher with Morpheus 9mm/6.5mm, Nikon SW 5mm and Tak TOE 4mm.

 

In between those two is my APM 40x110ED with its 1.6-degree FOV.

 

 

Edit:  My scopes will be used mostly with zoomies, i.e. Kowa and Leica zoom eyepieces.   Having figured this out after 2 years of trial and error, I think that my collection is really and truly complete.

Edited by MT4, 17 November 2023 - 08:37 PM.

[MT4]

Finally a clear night in almost 1 month!!

 

November is a very bad time for astronomy in my danish location, continuous rain and the installation of christmas lights make more difficult to find an observing window....well, this night was clear. I was sooo happy that i started observing through the cloud holes with the Kowa 8x32, and as the sky was clearing, i took the Zeiss Nobilem 10x50 for a late autumn tour and to say hi for the very first time this year to Orion. I also observed Andromeda, the Owl cluster, the Double Cluster, the Triangle galaxy, the Auriga clusters and by the way, its time to say goodbye to Cygnus and Lyra...

 

Observing for 1,5hr changed my mood and i am now considering if i should continue the observation.  Tomorrow there are some early activities, but i can manage to recover by the end of the weekend.

 

Carlos

 

For me in Tokyo, it's time to observe Cygnus and Lyra.   I had a great time last night checking out the Summer Triangle in my SkyRover 38x120.   (Summer weather is typically very bad in Tokyo so the Summer Triangle is really the Fall Triangle here. )

[Fiske]

Fiske, I didn't realize you have the GPO 8x56, I'm glad you like it! I got one based on posts by Milos1977 and B 26354. I agree it is an excellent binocular. "Brilliant" is probably the best word to describe it. Its main flaws are the field curvature and the sensitivity of chromatic aberration to eye placement. I'm actually wondering if I should get the 10x56 version.

 

-Dave

Thank you, Dave. I'm really happy with it. 

 

It does have field curvature, but I don't find it obtrusive or distracting. I have not noticed the lateral color issues. What contexts do you see that in?

 

[Dave Mitsky]

I had a look at Jupiter, 119 Tauri, the Davis's Dog asterism, the Golf Putter asterism, the Heart of the Swan asterism, Kemble 1 (Kemble's Cascade), the Kids asterism, the Leaping Minnow asterism, the Little Kids asterism, the Smiley Face or Cheshire Cat asterism, the Snake asterism, the Sword of Orion asterism, Collinder 65, Collinder 69, Collinder 70, Melotte 20, Melotte 25, M31, M33, M34, M35, M36, M37, M38, M39, M41, M42, M44, M45, M48, M50, M103, NGC 654, NGC 659, NGC 663, NGC 752, NGC 869 and NGC 884 (the Double Cluster), NGC 1528, NGC 1980, NGC 1981, NGC 1907 (faint), Stock 2 (faint), and Trumpler 2 using my Canon 15x50 IS from the orange zone Naylor Observatory on Thursday night.  I got a late start since I watched a good part of the Ravens versus the Bengals game.  Much earlier in the night, I viewed the waxing crescent Moon with the Canon 15x50 IS and took some afocal iPhone shots of it with my 6" Orion SkyQuest Dob.

 

Using the Naylor Observatory's 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain, I also observed Jupiter (a GRS transit was underway but the seeing was very poor), Uranus (which was several days past opposition), M41, M42, M43, M48, M79, M93, and NGC 2362 and took afocal iPhone photographs of some of those celestial objects.

[Dale Smith]

We're in a weather pattern here where the skies are partially clear into early evening, then cloud over. Yesterday, after sundown, I took Nikon 7x50 Ocean Pros with me when I set up my AT72EDii in the back yard to view and take photos of the waxing crescent Moon, which was tinted gold thanks to clouds flitting around it. The best photo was this one.

 

The Ocean Pro did well viewing through thin cloud. At one point, the Moon looked have a bow-wave of golden light surrounding the visible crescent. While 7x views don't provide the abundant detail you begin to see in 10x and up binoculars, the view is relaxing, immersive and expansive, taking in the sky around the Moon. Last night, that included cloud.

[Dave Mitsky]

I forgot to mention that I looked at the setting crescent Moon with my Canon 15x50 IS before setting up my Dob on Thursday night.

[jrazz]

I woke up at 1:00am (been a hard week - went to bed early) to a dark sky with crappy transparency and seeing.

 

The advantage of having a BT that cools quickly with a light tripod hit again. I put it outside for 30 minutes (~28°F/-2°C) and it acclimated nicely.

 

For some reason even with the bad transparency and seeing the play was high magnification.

No issue splitting Rigel even though it was pretty wobbly. No luck on Sirius though. M42 is spectacular as usual even though the "E" and "F" stars are nowhere to be seen. Still waiting for good conditions for these. However, the nebula itself is simply spectacular. Bright greens and some reds along with the dark clouds blocking out the glare. Truly wonderful to see.

 

M31/M33 were "meh" (Sorry MT4) and honestly so were the Starfish (M38/NGC1912) and the Pinwheel (M36/NGC1960). All were less than spectacular...

 

That is until I put the BT back and brought out the MMC.

 

The Pleiades were incredible. Dusty and brilliant. The 6.5° view encapsulates them so well! Ditto the Double Cluster. Just seeing the entire thing looks so much better. Looking at the Pinwheel and Starfish I could see the structure so well, much more appealing than the higher BT magnification. Hyades looking busy and sharp as well finished my nightly roam. Well, not before swinging back to see M42 with all it's colors. 

 

I can understand that we're all different and see things differently but the MMC is bringing me so much joy lately. Looking at the price of other 10x and similar binoculars I have had recently I can't imagine them fitting me better. I hope y'all find your perfect binocular match and enjoy it as much!

[Takuan]

A clean night in the city (SQM-L at zenith 18.05). I take out the BT-70 with the 9 mm Morphs. (44x, 1.7⁰) for an hour and a half of observation.

C28 (ngc 752) is perhaps too large for these magnifications. I see 35-40 stars from m. 10 approx. Huge.

I arrived at C28 from Almach which is easy to split. I admire her for a couple of minutes. Beautiful.

M 34 looks like an ngc 457 to me with brighter stars and a single foot. More of a seagull than an owl or an alien. The body is framed by a series of stars that enhance the shape. Elegant.

I walk around Auriga admiring the trinity (I don't know if it's holy) of OC. M 37 with this instrument at these magnifications (even from the city) begins to show the splendor of which it is capable of with greater apertures and magnifications. Spectacular.

A quick glance at the M 35 colossus and I split Castor. Not easily (for that I need 50x or more), because the stars touch like two Siamese twins dreaming in a black velvet cradle.

Ngc 1647 is big. I see about 25 stars and it reminds me of a Christmas tree. 🙂

I return to Gemini to say goodbye to the night with the Eskimo nebula. Small and weak, sure, but...
The beauty of these instruments is being able to observe an object in its context. In this case, in the same field, there is a beautiful asterism to the NW in the shape of a crown that seems to be heading towards Eskimo and his partner in a kind of slow motion chase, on a celestial scale (maybe 2⁰ would have been a little better to frame it).

I pick up the equipment with a smile on my face, while Orion peeks out from behind the wall.

Edited by Takuan, 19 November 2023 - 06:01 AM.