I am having trouble observing with my binoculars

[Mettyman]

Early this week I received my Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 binoculars in the mail. Never having looked at the stars with anything but the unaided eye, I was very excited to try these binoculars out. I was not disappointed, the stars were beautiful and the moon was gorgeous.

However, some of the more difficult things to find in the sky, such as the andromeda galaxy or star clusters, just do not seem to show themselves. I have been focusing on the constellation Cassiopeia lately, trying to locate M52, NGC 457, M103 and NGC 663. I plan everything before I go out, draw the constellation on a piece of paper, marking off the places where these objects, according to Stellarium and Google Earth, should be. But it usually ends up with me going home disappointed.

I have been thinking about some possible sources of error, such as the fact that that I live in a somewhat light polluted rural area. (toftlund - Google Maps) I also do not have a tripod for my binoculars yet, which makes it very difficult for me to maintain a steady image. Can anyone here give me some pointers as to what I might be doing wrong? Could the above annoyances be the source of my failure or is there something completely else that I am missing?

[Peter Drew]

Hello Mettyman.

I think you've answered your own question . The main causes for the disappointment that you describe are indeed light pollution and the difficulty of holding binoculars steady. You have certainly approached the task properly as far as preparation is concerned but addressing the problem of hand holding by using a tripod and the light pollution by trying to find a darker site should turn your disappointment into success.

As with most things astronomical, perserverance and practice pay dividends. Good luck!

[brantuk]

Andromeda's a bit low in the western sky right now - wait till autumn and it will be round again nice and high. You can see it naked eye then, and in your binocs it will be a very definite smudge from a very dark site.

A cheap tripod will help to keep the bins steady, though you may have to wait a few seconds for vibration to stop. On mine I also use a "fine tuning head" wich allows alt/az control.

But the killer for you is light pollution - dso's require near total dark. M42 though will be worth a look but again you'll need a few months for Orion to come back round. Have a look for some open clusters - the Beehive is a good one at the moment. Hope that helps

[Mettyman]

Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate it. I do not know anything about tripods, can any of you suggest a good one? I am on a tight budget so it should not be too expensive.

By the way, I just came back from a great observing session. I grabbed my bike, drove a bit away from the city and sneaked into a random field where it was totally dark. I could barely see the milky way across the sky with my eyes. Scanning it from left to right with my binoculars was incredible. All I need now is the tripod!

[tim26792]

Hi,

I got a camlink tp-2500 only £20 still quite wobbly when fully extended and as said before you have to wait a few seconds for things to staedy up after moving, but certainly better than hand holding, I have the same bins and the beehive as mentioned earlier is good to look at right now. Easy to locate too.

Tim