BinocularSky

Love the idea of the weaver (or is it a picatinny?) rail on the handle! I don't suppose there's a StellaMira binocular in the pipeline? 🙂

Finder charts, etc: http://binocularsky.com/binoc_object_file.php?object_id=DavisDog&aperture=50

The latest edition of the Binocular Sky Newsletter is ready. As well as the usual overview of DSOs, variable and double stars, this month we have: * The what, why & how of "tapping" * A grazing lunar occultation for southern England * Vesta occults a 6th mag star for northern UK * Uranus is still there in the evening We still have good long nights in the northern hemisphere and I hope this helps you to fill them enjoyably. To pick up your free copy, just head over to http://binocularsky.com and click on the Newsletter tab, where you can subscribe (also free, of course) to have it emailed each month, and get archived copies.

That would be, yes, but the one the link pointed to said "Height: 11.5 - 141cm" in the description.

Too short for observing while standing; inevitable territorial dispute between legs (its, yours, and the chair's) if you observe seated.

Seems like you have it cracked. If you want to try a trigger-grip, the Manfrotto 222 is, IMNSVHO, the best option - no longer made, but good condition used ones are frequently available on ebay. Omegon do a clone, and the Weifing-Ningbo version (sold under many brand names) is periodically available and usually cheaper. HTH

{drool}

Last evening saw the "proof of concept" outing of my "torch* pointer" alternative to a green laser for guiding people around the night sky at outreach events. LED torch with bits of a cheap Lidl smartphone-telephoto lens (that was pretty useless for its intended purpose) replacing the lens in the torch. Lower part of image indicates beam spread at approx 10m. In practice, it was easily narrow enough to separately indicate and name the three stars in Orion's belt.

{drool}

Can you be clear what you mean by "head mounting" (the bracket to attach it to a tripod head, or the tripod head itself, or...?), then I can almost certainly help. (links to the stuff you've been looking at will do)

Just as a data point, I'm coming to the end of orbit #70, and my pupils are still just over 6mm 🙂 On the binos: 12x50 is "iffy" to hand hold, IMO - 10x50 is significantly easier. The Pentax has a locking focuser, and internal focusing, which lessens the advantage of IF in the Helios LQ The Pentax lens caps are, frankly, not fit for purpose. (Why? for a few pence more you could have decent ones. The Helios is, to my mind, brighter. The Helios has a larger FoV (but the pinpoint sharp field is pretty much the same in both) The Helios eyepieces have bigger barrels - less room for your nose. Helios has fold-down rubber eyecups ; conform to your nose contours. The Pentax has rigid twist-up. Also consider the Nikon Action EX 10x50. If I was starting again, that's probably the one I'd choose (I compared the Nikon and the Pentax in a S@N comparison: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/reviews/binoculars/6-of-the-best-10x50-binoculars-100-200/ ) HTH

You don't need a curved rod if you use a double arm device. Even a tangent drive single arm device with a straight rod will track for sufficient time to give you decent images as long as you don't push the focal length up too much; an isosceles drive single arm mount is slightly trickier to make, but will give you longer tracking than will a tangent drive. HTH

12 mm is pretty touch-and-go, and whether you can see the full field of view with spectacles will depend upon two things: How close you wear your specs to your eyes. Any eyepiece recess into the barrel. Eye relief is measured from the lens surface, so any recess will probably make them unusable. However, there are 10x50s with more eye relief. For example, the Opticron Adventurer T WP, Opticron Adventurer, and Helios LightQuest have eye reliefs of 18, 19 and 20 mm respectively. (Reviews on my website if you want to know more about them) HTH.

If you keep them in their case when not in use, that's that bit of the protection problem solved. If they're slung round your neck, the objectives are pointing down, so don't really need caps. You could get a Bino-bandit for the eyepiece end. If you don't know what it is, I did a mini-review of this in the June 2019 Binocular Sky Newsletter (page 9).

Wex have a (lightly) used Altair with 45* angled EPs for approx the same as the Helios LQ. I reviewed the 90* one for S@N a few years back; pretty good. https://www.wexphotovideo.com/altair-100mm-45-degree-giant-observation-binoculars-1630073/#product-tab-used-9+ The Orion 9326 Giant View is the same bino (different livery) - you might find somethign on one of the US forums. There's a reason for that 🙂

Lecture at Bournemouth Natural Science Society, by Dr Claire Davies, Sat Jan 11, 14:30 Really looking forward to this. Claire spoke to us (Fordingbridge Astro) a year ago on this topic, and she said she was just about to publish some new stuff on it - which she has (see arXiv). Details: http://bnss.org.uk/event/lecture-the-formation-of-stars-and-planetary-systems/

Very odd - based on a NELM of +5.0, I would have expected a M(lim) at 50mm of around +9.0 to +9.5, depending on your pupil diameter. Theoretical formula is [M(lim) at aperture D] = [M(lim) at aperture d] - 5 log d + 5 log D Based on your 50mm M(lim) being +8.0, M(lim) = 8.0 - 5 log 50 + 5 log D, where D is the binocular aperture Based on your NELM being +5.0, M(lim) = 5.0 - 5 log d + 5 log D, where d is your pupil diameter and D is the binocular aperture They will give you different results, but should give you a clue. No formula can do it for you precisely, though (no such thing as a "normal" observer 🙂). HTH

The latest edition of the Binocular Sky Newsletter is ready. As well as the usual overview of DSOs, variable and double stars, this month we have: * The what, why & how of averted vision * A grazing lunar occultation and two asteroid occultations * The "extra star" in Cygnus is back * Appulse of Venus and Neptune If this dratted cloud ever clears, I hope this will help you to enjoy the winter skies with your binoculars or small telescopes. To pick up your free copy, just head over to http://binocularsky.com and click on the Newsletter tab, where you can subscribe (also free, of course) to have it emailed each month, and get archived copies.

M101: Very difficult unless it's high enough not to suffer from atmospheric extinction and the sky is dark enough that it is distinguishable from the background (but still easier in a 10x50 than a 60mm junkscope!). Use averted vision ans expect to detect a patch of over-so-slightly-brighter sky that will probably disappear with direct vision. M51: I find this slightly easier to detect, possibly because it is more compact but also because its surface brightness is (from memory, so worth checking) about one mag/sq.arcsec brighter.

Thanks, but unnecessary; it was obviously a typo. It amused me. 🙂

No, I don't know, I'm afraid. My friend uses his mainly for butterfly identification, so I guess CA must be acceptable, at least on-axis.

Hi Kev, Not that particular model, but a friend whose opinion I greatly value has the 10x50 for "mostly-garden, bit of astronomy" use and is very pleased with them. The 8x42s focus even closer. HTH

Also: Oh do make up your mind! 🤣

What are you implying, sir?! 🤣

I have some reviews on my website (URL in sig); of my current crop of hand-helds, the Helios LightQuest 10x50 are pretty darned good, as are the Vixen SG 6.5x32. For VFM, it's hard to beat the Opticron Adventurer T WP range.