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I am thinking of an upgrade, and the binos are so cheap that I am drawn to them, so what can I see? Celestron Skymaster 15x70 (4.4 deg fov): https://tejraj.com/celestron-skymaster-15x70-binocular.html Also, can I make a tripod for these or should I buy them? Tripod: https://www.amazon.in/PRO-Tripod-Camera-Operating-Height/dp/B095WFFMB1/ref=sr_1_5?crid=37FG43JW6R9HH&keywords=binocular%2Btripod&qid=1648274102&sprefix=binocular%2Btripo%2Caps%2C477&sr=8-5&th=1 Also, what about these book: https://tejraj.com/night-sky-observation-book.html All comments are accepted, thank you! Starry nights

As the poor weather and short nights are limiting my observing projects, I have been busy finishing a heavy duty aluminium and stainless steel parallelogram mount for my large 100mm APM binoculars. Here is a summary description of its build: http://refreshingvie...rammount.htm�.� It has been derived from a wooden version that I built last summer. I plan to give away the wooden model to a fellow SPOG astronomer who wants to do some bino observing while his camera is capturing photons on the scope. The parallelogram mount is an extremely comfortable to observe the night sky – the eyepieces really do seem to float in front of your eyes. If you are observing at the zenith, simply push the binos higher or if you are looking at the horizon, simply lower them down. This really does make a refreshing change from my Newtonian where the eyepiece remains where it wants to and I have to crick my neck down to meet it!! I have yet to use it for serious astronomy as the awful weather and long summer days are getting in the way. That being said, I have managed a few sessions at dusk scanning the brighter stars against a blue sky before it gets properly dark. To put the mount through its paces, I have had great fun tracking numerous airliners and high flying birds. The mount moves with ease across the sky with wonderfully smooth and controlled motions in pan and tilt at all altitudes. It is quite something to see high altitude airliners in detail from the ground as they slowly cross the sky! This mount is clearly going to be a pleasure to use once the observing season starts up again. This setup is definitely a keeper and will be used my observatory and under the dark skies of Salisbury Plain.

The latest edition of the Binocular Sky Newsletter is ready. The nights are getting longer so, as well as the usual overview of DSOs, variable and double stars, this month we have: * Several lunar occultations, including a (somewhat tricky) graze of HIP 38975 for observers in Eire and the north of England * Uranus and Neptune are now observable in the evening (as well as the morning) * Ceres and Vesta are difficult, but back! * A mini-review of the Levenhuk Sherman PRO 10x50 binocular To grab your (free!) copy, or to subscribe, log on to http://binocularsky.com and click on the Newsletter tab

Dawn Session 12-30-17 JST Clear Skies at Last! AFTER NEARLY 2 weeks of cloudy to mostly cloudy skies, the weather forecasts and weather apps indicated clearing for several hours before / after sunrise. So, today being a Saturday, I could afford to climb out of bed at 4:30am and do some comparative viewing with my Celestron Skymaster 15x70 and recently- purchased Vixen Ascot ZR10x50 WP. I live in a suburban area halfway between Osaka and Wakayama, Japan and my balcony affords a view of the skies from the southeast to the southwest. I started out gazing up at Jupiter and Mars which were in close proximity. Just above Jupiter was a clear, bright dot seen in both pairs of binos. This turned out to be a combination of Ganymede and Europa. In my sleepy state I had forgotten to bring out my tripod and didn’t feel like going back inside to get it. At the 7 o’clock position just below Jupiter was Callisto. This was more clearly evident in the 15x70’s when I managed to hold them still for a few seconds at a time. Io was too close into the glare of Jupiter to make out in either pair of binoculars. Between Jupiter and Mars, Zubenelgenubi. The separation between Alpha 1 and Alpha 2 Librae was clearly evident in both 10x50 and 15x70. Just to the upper left of Zubenelgenubi was an arrow-head-like semi-circle consisting of 6 stars, only 5 of which were evident in the Vixens, though there was a hint of the 6th with averted vision. The 6th, which the Celestrons plainly showed is 8th magnitude HD131009 — 1,700 ly away (that sort of thing always blows me away). So, there are times when the extra 5x of the 15x70’s IS noticeable. Welcome to the Breakfast Show The main event of this session was catching a glimpse of almost simultaneously-rising Antares and Mercury. It was 4 degrees C when I began viewing but as dawn approached the temperature dropped another degree. It may or not be my imagination but the skies to the east and south seemed to sharpen. Just after 5:30am, my favorite star, Antares, peeked up over the hills to the southeast, sparkling red and blue. Soon after, slightly eastward came Mercury, at first, similarly sparkling with alternating colors before turning into a clear, whitish orb. What was particularly satisfying about this Mercury-rise, besides the fact that it’s been about 9 or 10 months since I last saw it, was the fact that the sky was still dark and I recently read that, “because Mercury is always close to the sun, it is usually only seen in the lighter skies of dawn or dusk and only rarely is it seen in darkness.” Cool - - a rarity! Around Antares, even as the sky continued to lighten, some of the main Scorpio stars were holding their own. Tau Scorpii to the south, sigma Scorpii to the northeast and i Scorpii to the northwest. Of course, higher up, Acrab, Dschubba and Pi Scorpii. To the left / east of Mercury, Sabik was easily seen in both pairs of binoculars. Then, I noticed that further eastward from Sabik, 4th magnitude Nu Serpentis had pushed beyond the roof of the house next door and was noticeable in both binoculars despite the creamy color of the sky. Antares and Mercury were still naked eye sights but beginning to fade. I continued to scan this section of the sky for a time until I noted that Nu Serpentis had disappeared while using the Vixen 10x50s. Shifting back to the Celestron 15x70s it was still there. It was nearly 6:30AM and quite light now. The crows that come to town from the nearby mountains every morning were cawing their approach. I directed the 10x50s at them and tracked a flock of five heading my way — and then, white planet Mercury appeared behind the 5 black birds in the otherwise silent surroundings. Pretty mystical ambiance but I had to get inside as my toes were aching from the cold. As you are aware, shoes are not worn indoors in Jap an but sandal-like slippers are used on balconies for such tasks as hanging laundry. So I was only wearing sandals for 2 hours in the cold. My arms and back were aching from holding the binoculars for the same time period (tripod you fool!) but it was worth it, IMHO.

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: Several lunar occultations, including one of AldebaranComet Catalina now visible in the morning skyMeteors from Asteroid 3200 PhaethonA mini-review of Vixen's SG 2.1x42 binocularI hope you find it useful. To get your (free!) copy, go to http://binocularsky.com and click on the newsletter tab.

The February 2016 edition of the Binocular Sky Newsletter is ready. As well as the usual overview of DSOs, variable and double stars, this month we have: * Several lunar occultations, including a graze of 64 Cet * Two asteroid occultations * A mini-review of the Helios Stellar II 10x50 binocular I hope you find it useful. To get your (free!) copy, go to http://binocularsky.com and click on the newsletter tab.

Hi, newbie here! I’m hoping to get some advice on some star-gazing binoculars. I’ve read through the forum and I’ve decided to stay away from zoom bino’s because I’m just starting out, and I will eventually look into telescopes and whatnot if I wish to see the skies in more detail! So I’ve pretty much settled on something between 8 x 42 and 10 x 50. Please let me know the best ones in this range!!! I’ve read some reviews on the Helios Lightquest HR 10x50’s so any advice on those would be great too! I’m open to suggestions but what I’m really hoping to get is a sturdy pair of first binoculars that I can keep around for the long run, and hopefully drag around on many adventures. I’m willing to invest in a tripod as well for focused gazing, although I plant to keep them around my neck for a while so I can get used to them! I’m also unsure of how to find a great lightweight tripod so any links would be great! Love the forum so far and I’m excited to start observing the skies! Happy Stargazing, thehappypleiades

There is an asteroid occultation on 2013 April 30 that will be visible from parts of the UK. See http://www.astrosurf.com/eaon/Cartes/April%202013/22185_Stiavnica_3UC251-097751.htm 50mm or larger binoculars recommended.

Hi! My 8x40 has no click-stop eyecups, to avoid adjusting the eye relief I set it with O-rings. Protect the lens, clamp the binoc, slide the O-ring down a cone; if the O-ring has been stretched too hard and has to break, it will do so one or two days later, you'll find its corpse hanging around the eyepiece barrel. Otherwise these have been there for at least two years. I have no large O-rings left, that's why I'm showing this with a rubber band instead.

Last night, having a look around with my 7x50s I was looking at M31, and could clearly see it as an elongated patch, not just the star-like core. Now I was thinking, Sidgwick says that an extended object like M31 cannot appear brighter telescopically than with the naked eye, and I get his math. With my old eyes, and under my less-than-dark skies I'm probably not even getting the full exit pencil of my 7x50s. Therefore, does this mean that I *should* be able to see M31 naked-eye given that it won't appear with greater contrast in the bins than by eye? As they say in examinations, please read the whole of the question before anwering, I'm not asking: "Should I buy bins with a smaller exit pupil"; Possibly, but not just now. "Should I buy a dob"; No, I'm 90% imaging, and don't like alt-az anyway. "Should I move to a darker site": Yes, it's on my to-do list.' If I *could* see M31 naked-eye that would mean I had Bortle 7 skies rather than the borderline 8 that I've assumed. Time was, I *could* see M31 naked-eye in Acton, even further in to London .

Hi, Does using binocular cause any eye pain? I used one binocular it was good but it caused some eye pain so I returned it...

I've just posted a review of the Levenhuk Sherman PRO 10x50 in the Reviews section of http://binocularsky.com TL; DNR version: A lot of very nice features, and nice general binocular for occasional use for astronomy, but better suited to terrestrial. * Pros: Very good control of false colour, ergonomically very good, well-fitting tethered caps, multi-position eye-cups, easy to use/adjust with thick gloves. * Cons: Poor control of stray light, field curvature.

Seems to have come round again very quickly! The latest edition of the Binocular Sky Newsletter is ready. Despite the short, not-very-dark nights, as well as the usual overview of DSOs, variable and double stars, this month we have: * χ Cyg is brightening nicely * Neptune and Uranus are now becoming observable * We have the grand total of 3 observable lunar occultations To grab your (free!) copy, or to subscribe, log on to http://binocularsky.com and click on the Newsletter tab

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: Several lunar occultations, including one of AldebaranComet Catalina now visible in the morning skyAsteroid Vesta in the same part of the sky as Uranus and NeptuneA mini-review of the Helios Stellar-II binocularI hope you find it useful. To get your (free!) copy, go to http://binocularsky.com and click on the newsletter tab.

Whilst browsing on Gumtree on Friday evening just gone I came across an unexpected find of an Orion Paragon plus binocular mount & tripod for sale. Been looking for something way better than my old camera tripod to hold my bins, especially for looking near at zenith. Hadn't planned for any extra further expense in my Astro budget this month, but these were just too good to miss out on. The pictures showed them in excellent condition, and well looked after (thanks Allan ), and even though it meant a long journey to go down to get them I went down yesterday to go collect them. After getting delayed around the M25 to get to where they were on the south coast, the journey although long was well worth it. Here are a few picc of them in the garden with my 15x70 bins attached. Also plan on using them with my 7x50 Marines too. Very pleased with the new mount, and all working well. Now just need the next clear night to enjoy them. Be great to have a wobble free view through my bins of the night sky!

Every pair i've owned has come with this tiny thin strap which is super uncomfortable and I don't think brands put much thought into peoples necks when they throw a neck strap in the bundle last minute. Do you guys buy a camera neck strap to replace yours? If you do replace yours, do you have any recommendations for some based mainly on comfort?

Well the cat -- or, at least, my subscription issue -- is now out of the bag! Just received my (early) copy of April's Sky at Night magazine. Page 58 is the first of a regular monthly "Binocular Tour" of the night sky, penned by yours truly. Proud and chuffed!

While the solar observing specs are on back-order I decided to have a go at making some binocular solar film filters, so ordered an A4 sheet of the Baader solar film and downloaded the Baader instructions. While the translation may have lost out on one or two small things it was very easy to follow the guide to build my own objective filters using the film and some white card. The view through them is better than I had imagined, there is some granularity visible (like a gradient around the edges of the sun giving it a spherical appearance) and right now I could see three large areas of sunspot activity. The colour is white as advertised, with shades of grey and black. I could just make out the branches of a tree that were close to the sun, probably just their shadow I could see as they blocked some of the sun's energy. As per the instructions, I held both filters up to the bright daylight to check for any pin [removed word] holes before using them with the binoculars. They are a snug fit for sure, no chance of them coming off once they are firmly pushed on. [can't believe the profanity filter removed a word meaning to make a small hole with a pin!] These fit my 8x42 Bushnells, I'm sure a larger pair of binoculars would show an even better view. I may attempt to make one for my 102 refractor with the remaining portion of the A4 sheet. All I need now is a safe piece of tupperware to carefully store these in. Would be interested to see what others have made with solar film.

My regular news-sheet for binocular observers, the Binocular Sky Newsletter for August 2012, is now available: http://binocularsky.com/newsletter/201208.pdf There is also a printer-friendly version: http://binocularsky.com/newsletter/201208p.pdf

Hello every one .i am from pakistan and i am totaly new to astronomy .i have bought celestron astromaster 76eq .after visiting various forum i have came to realize that i also should have binocular i want u guys to help me following issues 1. I live in lahore,pakistan in the night only some of stars are visible with naked eyes like jupiter ,saturn ,mars,moon,vega and some others so ll my telescope ll be able to show deep sky thing nubale and cluster ?is it worth buying a good binocular for particularly my area? 2. I am planing to buy binocular ,should i buy expensive one(keeping in mind that is live in lahore,pakistan) 3.which binocular u guys will sugest ?i will order it from england as getting things in pakistan is dificult so upgrading frequently is not possible here it is too expensive 4. If i should buy a bino ,what other things i should order along .like filters lens etc .

The Binocular Sky Newsletter for November 2013 is now available. In addition to the usual selection of good DSOs and Solar System objects to observe, in this month's issue we also have: * Three comets * Two asteroid occulations for the UK * Many lunar occultations (including one of Spica) * A selection of variable stars To grab your (free!) copy, go to http://binocularsky.com/ and click on the Newsletter tab. I hope you find it useful.

Last week I've finally got my Opticron Oregon 15x70 binoculars repaired - they've been collecting dust since March when they took a graceful fall from the tripod. So when the skies opened up yesterday night I was ready - binos on the tripod, window open, sky chart and sketch book at hand. And let me tell you - this was one of my best stargazing sessions. What I expected to be a quick glance at the night sky turned into a mind-blowing exploration of the outer Solar System, which until now I've only seen with naked eyes. I'm listing the observations below along with the sketch that I made while observing. And by the way, all the underlined words are links, with extra info. Alright, let's get going! Jupiter I saw it as soon as I opened my window - it was hanging in Aquarius, appallingly bright and very physically present. Two things really struck me when looking at it "zoomed in". First, I saw four little white dots forming a horizonal line on both sides of Jupiter, as if piercing it. From left to right these were: Europa, Ganimede, Io and Callisto. The first two were both affected by Jupiter's brightness, Ganimede still prominent, being the biggest one of the bunch, and Europa only visible with eyes squinted. And second was that Jupiter was a circle. Up until now all space objects (excluding Sun, Moon and hazy dispersed things) looked like dots to me. Even the bright-red Mars looked like a dot, but Jupiter had a white-yellowish body with an outline! I tell you, I really took my time eyeing this little 140 000km wide circle. Saturn A little to the East from Jupiter, in Capricornus, was another little dot, which to my absolute bamboozlement resolved into a disk in my binoculars. Like a little sandy-brown UFO it hung among the stars, mesmerising and enchanting. 15x magnification didn't show me neither the moons of Saturn, nor the separated rings with their coveted Cassini division. But the joined outline of the planet with it's rings looked like what it's meant to be - a planet with rings. And I don't think I will ever forget this celestial pictogram. Neptune After checking Neptune's visual magnitude, which is 7.9, I started star-hopping left from Jupiter: σ Aqr -> Hydor -> φ Aqr -> 96 Aqr. From there I leaped to three YBS(HR) catalogue stars that were poking right into Neptune. Visually, it was a simple dim dot, akin to myriads of stars that don't have a proper name. But don't get an impression that I was disappointed - I was actually stoked to see it, given that it is the furthest planet from Earth visible with my astronomical equipment. I was however surprised that it lacked colour, which I expected to be much more blue. It was instead white, with a veeeery subtle blue tinge. So subtle in fact, that I would've probably mistaken it for a star if I focused on it by chance. Still, I was happy that I have finally met my childhood's favourite planet, the big blue one. Uranus Now this one was a real challenge. First, the Moon's yellow waning crescent was quite close to Uranus. It was not as bright as a full Moon, but still somewhat blinding through the binos. Second, Uranus was hanging at a low altitude, where the sky was yellow from city lights. Third, it was by then 4AM and the sun was about to peek above the horizon - it was only two weeks since summer solstice. And the cherry on the cake - noctilucent clouds were scattered all over Aries, where Uranus was located. I was also quite sleepy, but decided to give it a go nevertheless. I tried star hopping eastwards from the Moon, but soon figured out it's really hard to do when you only see one star. So this idea was scrapped. Then I zoomed in on Uranus in the SkySafari app on my phone (no, they don't pay me), used the accelerometer mode to estimate the planet's position in the sky and pointed my binoculars roughly in that direction. And now for the good part. In-between noctilucent clouds I somehow noticed a vertical pair of stars: π Ari (below) and 40 Ari (above). They were both at least of apparent magnitude of +5 , which was well within the capability of my 70mm binos, but because of the sky brightness, the stars looked extremely dim. Nevertheless, left of these two I spotted another couple, also vertical and sitting closer to each other: ρ2 and ρ3 Ari. And finally, after getting a reference from the app, I made a leap of faith to the right and there it was - Uranus, with ο Ari sitting just right from it. To say I was happy to see the 7th planet would be an understatement. The planet and ο Ari have the same m of ~5.8, but Uranus stood out from the surrounding stars due to it's colder hue. But after the whole ordeal, I was not as much affected by the looks of Uranus, as I was by the peaceful perfection of the entire view before me. In dawning summer skies, covered with ethereal noctilucent clouds, all planets of the outer Solar System lay in front of me, embodying the boundary between Us and the vast Nothing of the Universe. The birds were welcoming the rising sun and I could finally go bed, feeling so at home here, next to our ☉ P.S. I say all planets of the outer Solar System because Pluto was also there, next to Saturn. Though it's m was +14.3, so I'll have to write about it some other time. P.P.S. That night all of the outer planets were aligned in what people call a planet parade. P.P.P.S You might have noticed the Andromeda Galaxy on my sketch. I observed it too, however the viewing conditions were entirely against anything DSO-related, so it's a topic for another write-up.

Hello Everyone! I am new here, but have a question I hope to find some answers to! I recently ordered a pair of APM APO ED 7x50s for my first stargazing bino. After further reading I decided maybe the 10x50 variant would be better suited to my needs. I ordered the second pair and now have them both side by side to compare, before returning one. I've considered most of the other differences, but I notice the shade of green reflected by the eye piece are a much darker olive in the 10x50s vs an emerald green in the 7x50s. Is this normal? I am initially concerned it may be a QC issue (for which pair I an unsure), but I'm sure someone in the knowledgeable community will be able to shed some light on my issue! : ) Thank you!

I've been looking for a cheapo solution to attach the cheap and ubiquitous red-dot finder to my Celestron 20x80 but didn't like the official clip thing that Celestron sells. Bad reviews complaining of it easily snapping, and to me, overpriced. After much research and counting of pennies, I went for this all steel, no-snap solution, costing a whopping £6.90 (with free shipping). From the top: 1 x 20mm Dovetail to 11mm Rail adapter. £2.69 with free shipping. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/20mm-Dovetail-to-11mm-Rail-Mount-Weaver-Picatinny-Rail-Scope-Mount-Rail-SA089-P15/32800225228.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.b0d14c4dzyuqK1 1 x Picatinny/Weaver 20mm Rail Base Adapter (used to attach scopes to rifle barrels) . £5.11 with free shipping https://www.aliexpress.com/item/20mm-Picatinny-Weaver-Rail-Mount-Base-Adapter-Tactical-Hunting-Rifle-Gun-Scope-Mount-Converter-Laser-Sight/32792605686.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.b0d14c4dzyuqK1 1 x bit of thick plastic to act as a shim. Anything will do.

Inspired by Steve Tonkin, http://binocularsky.com I put together a monopole for quick reaction viewing with my 15x70 Skymaster binoculars. I did have a standard camera mount which I adapted. 1. get a wooden batten approximately eye height in length. (Ideally this should be high enough to allow you to look directly up with your attached binoculars - you can incline the pole to view nearer the horizon) 2. Drill a hole near one end. 3. Insert a bolt and secure with a nut. 4. Attach your tripod via bolt through the carrying handle. (alternatively you can attach it with a cable tie) It provides a remarkably steady mount for scanning the sky. John