Karen Bexley

You sound well organised there Stephan. Thank you for the advice.

I was all set last night to spend a bit of time reclined in my garden looking up at the stars, so I was quite disappointed to be greeted by clouds. I'm sure everyone else was disappointed too. We've got rain here today, and is forecast to continue for at least the next few days, so not much hope of stargazing for a while 🙁

Well there you have it then Dave - it's your fault and I'm excused 😃

Sorry Dave, I tried to talk nicely to the weather Gods for a nice clear evening but they obviously ignored me 🤭

Plans scuppered due to cloudy skies this evening 🤐

Impressive binoculars Philip.

The simpler solutions usually turn out to be the best there Dave. I think I was just trying to overcomplicate things 😳

Well then, maybe Peter will come to my rescue and save a lady in distress 🤭 Actually, I've slightly gone off the idea of trying to get a mount adapted to my particular bins, as it doesn't sound like an easy solution. It was worth a try though.

Thank you Dr Strange.

Thanks Mark. I'm thinking that the more advice I'm getting here, a reasonably priced telescope is going to be on my wish list.

Thanks Ben. I think I've gone off the idea of trying to find a mount as it's getting a little complicated 🤯.

Dave, sorry if I didn't make it very clear on the posting regarding the adaptor for my digiscoping set up. The adaptor was to connect the camera lens to the field scope so it would screw together, and not a tripod adapter. I think I'm getting into a very complicated area here to have the bins supported on any form of mount. If they were of the design that had a tripod fitting it sounds like it would be a lot simpler. The advice so far has been great, for which I think everyone, but I think I'm just going to have to make do with hand-holding the bins as best I can.

Thanks again Dave. Maybe if you have the number for 'Bob the builder' I may get lucky, otherwise I think that is a bit beyond my capabilities. I reckon Plan B is in order 🤔

Thanks Dave. Unfortunately, the Leica doesn't have a tripod screw option, so I guess I'm going to be out of luck there then. For the time being, I may just have to have as steady a hand as possible (not too much Prosecco before a viewing session 😋).

Well Mark, a man after my own heart. Having just started out to seriously follow this as my new hobby, I am wanting to view the Virgo constellation. As this is my birth sign, I really wanted to start with this one. Seems like you had a decent evening, but alas I'm just using a pair of binoculars at the moment, so I'm not expecting to see a whole bunch of detail. Anything at this stage is a bonus for me 🙂

Thank you Steve.

Apologies if this has already been discussed elsewhere, but a search didn't reveal anything. I am just starting out in astronomy and intend initially to use my Leica 8 x 32 binoculars. Can anyone recommend a suitable mount that would attach to a reclining garden chair frame. I do have a camera tripod as well is there's an adaptor to use with that. Any help appreciated.

As a very new member to this Forum (joined yesterday) I have found the members to be helpful and polite. For me, that is a priority, as you can then take onboard the advice they give as genuine and which you can trust. Having faced very inappropriate comments on Facebook, I find this Forum to be a breath of fresh air. Long may it continue.

Good advice. I've just downloaded an app for my Android phone called Sky Map. It allows you to point the camera at the sky and it tells you what you are looking at. It sounds okay, and gets some good reviews (and it's FREE 👍) so I'll give it a try.

I do have a Planisphere, which probably does the same job as a phone or tablet app, but I think the phone app would have an advantage as it would be easier to see in the dark 🙂 I'll have a look at some of them anyway. I notice that you also live in Hampshire 👍 I never give out my exact location, other than to say I live within the National Park boundary towards the southern end, so I won't ask you where you are.

It's encouraging news to hear that good viewing results of the night sky can be obtained using binoculars, as I didn't want to leap in so early on in my learning experience and spend a lot of money, at least until I know exactly how far I want to take the hobby.

Thanks Dave. Once I'm more familiar navigating myself around the stars with my bins, then I'll probably try to get some photos. I also have the equipment to do some digiscoping, which gives me a bigger range of magnification on various subjects. For that I have a Nikon D60 which I connect to the field scope with a special adaptor, after first removing the camera lens. I have a remote button for activating the shutter release to minimise camera-shake. I've only ever used that set up for photographing birds, so I don't yet know how successful or otherwise that would be for capturing the night sky. It's back to getting to use the camera in manual mode again, which I'm not used to doing. When I mostly shoot wildlife and landscapes I use auto-mode which suits my particular needs and I get the results I want. Anyway, with the current lockdown period, I've got plenty of time to delve into the finer workings of my equipment.

Thank you Mick and Waddensky for that information.

I started most of my introduction to the hobby of astronomy in the Welcome section of the Forum, but this section seems more appropriate to add further conversations. I am lucky to live in the New Forest which has ideal viewing conditions of the night sky. I have only recently rekindled my interest in trying to expand my knowledge of astronomy. I intend to start off quite modestly and see which area of the hobby to focus on. I have a good quality pair of Leica 8 x 32 binoculars and a Leica APO Televid 77 field scope. I use these primarily for bird watching, so I'm hoping they can give me some decent views of the stars too. Initially, I want to identify the Zodiac Constellations, in particular my birth sign of Virgo. I believe Virgo becomes visible in the evening sky from now until June, so armed with my Planisphere I have a starting point to try to locate it. Once I've got that one I can go for the others. I then aim to get some good sightings of the nearest stars, and of course try to get some decent photos of the Moon. I haven't had much luck with photographs just yet, but have been given some things to try by another helpful member. Anyway, as I talk with more members here I'm hoping to gain more knowledge and experience to greatly enhance my new hobby.

I must be psychic James 😄 I'm making notes as I go along for things to try from the advice I'm getting.