Binoculars and what i think is Jupiter, help?!?!

[KerryAnn23]

Hi all, i have been waiting ages to get my binoculars (15x70 celestron) and they arrived yesterday so i did a little looking around last night and found 1 or 2 of the constellations. But tonight i was told the space station and jupiter were in view, i have just been looking at something for the last 30 minutes and really cant decide if its Jupiter. has anyone got these bino's and no what they are looking at, please help as i dont think i will sleep till i no, pretty pleaseeeeee :-))

[Peter Drew]

Hello KerryAnne.

The ISS would pass by in just a few minutes so the object you have been viewing is more likely to be Jupiter. At this time of night it will be low in the NE. With 15x70's you should easily be able to see Jupiter's main moons, if you can hold them steady enough. .

[KerryAnn23]

Ha well the holding steady is proving difficult. I new what i was looking at probably wasnt the station but it is soooo bright, i was just closing my blind and i spotted it so couldnt help having a look, i think it will be Jupiter but i'm just not sure how to confirm it to myself lol, it is very low as well as immense brightness but not sure about moons as i'm shaking with excitement...... oh dear, i need a tripod!!! that will be a new post for me i guess :-)

[JamesM]

Hi There. Well Jupiter can be seen on the horizon at about 10.20pm in the East but this won't provide a great view being so low. Better to wait till after 12.00pm when it's a little higher in the sky (...still in the East) and from then on it will climb higher and provide better views. It's not possible for me to tell you what you might have seen without some kind of direction or time of viewing. Jupiter is a bright object and will be a very bright light that does not 'flicker' like the stars around it.

Hope that helps but more information would be better.

James

[JamesF]

Jupiter is pretty low on the horizon, almost due east at midnight at the moment. It will be one of the brighter objects in the sky though. With the 15x70s I reckon you should be able to see the clearly circular shape of the planet with two small points of light to one side (Ganymede and Callisto) and one to the other (Io). Europa is possibly too "close" to Jupiter itself from our point of view to be able to make out with bins at the moment.

I'd check myself but there's too much cloud in that direction right now.

James

[KerryAnn23]

Well its 12.10am now but i;m not sure how to tell you where i'm looking lol, i do think it is Jupiter now as i managed to have a few seconds without wobbling and i seen 2 very dim lights close to it, if i manage to stay up i will have another look when its even higher, thanks for answering guys :-))

[JamesF]

Anything will do to help keep the binoculars steady -- lean against a wall or fence, or hold a stick (resting on the floor) in one hand, rest against a window frame if you're inside. If you have a chair you can lean back in, use that. Even a rotary washing line might work as a temporary support in a pinch.

James

[KerryAnn23]

Thanks, i was leaning against my window but i think i'm just so excited to even find something like Jupiter yet and obviously playing with my new aquisition that i'm shaking from the inside so i dont no if anything will help me :-( i really do need a tripod and mount as i'm going to a star party and dont think my arms will do any good after 5 mins :-)

[M4lcs67]

Just been out in my east facing garden tonight and have just seen Jupiter and it's moons for the very first time. I set everything up in the garden while it was still light then went back indoors until darkness fell, then right on cue the blinking cloud rolled in, so I thought sod it and brought the scope in. Yes you are right. The moment I brought it in the clouds decided to part, so I set the scope back up outside and I am glad I did as I have just been tracking Jupiter for the past hour or so. Even the wife got out of bed, put her dressing gown and slippers on and came into the garden to have a look through the scope. She was impressed. Well pleased.

[JamesF]

I just managed to get a quick look with the bins myself. I found it hard to make out more than two planets even leaning on a fence, so if you are looking at Jupiter then what you will probably see is the clearly circular disc of the planet itself with a bright dot on the right (Io) and one about twice as far away on the left (Ganymede).

James

[KerryAnn23]

Thank you, i'm going to have another look soon before i have to force myself to bed, glad i dont have work tomorrow :-)

[GJBC]

Hi KerryAnne

If you are looking east and just above the horizon though it should be a little higher by now it is practically certain to be Jupiter it will be the brightest thing in that region by far. take a look to the left a bit and you will see M45 (the seven sisters, paladies, subaru all the same object) if you can see these as well it will be jupiter you were looking at.

No work tomorrow why go to bed if its clear with you dress up warm and get out there. Go on you know you want to. any way have fun.

[KerryAnn23]

Haha GJBC i was really tempted to go out as well but i was so tired. i am definately sure it was Jupiter as i did manage to steady myself after a beer and have another look, i could definately see the 2 moons which i'm really proud of as i didnt think i would see something like this after only having my bins for a day. I thought i would look at the moon and then the constellations and bright stars then manage to progress to something a little harder like the planets, it was completely by chance i seen it tho as i was just utting my blind down and seen the bright object and wanted to know what it was so i looked and was amazed i'd just identified a planet lol really proud of myself actually :-)

[chemtom24]

as gjbc said, you cannot mistake jupiter - it will be very very very bright. at the moment its in the low south east part of the sky from 11pm onwards.

[Nexus 6]

In case you do not have it already download this. Stellarium

just set it to your location and your off. Will be a great aid in checking what to see, what you may have seen and what's coming up.

[KerryAnn23]

Yes i'v got stellarium, and it did help me with my options last night/this morning. Hope for a clear sky again tonight early on coz iv got work in the morning so want to try get a little sleep in lol

[JimStan]

Jupiter will be low in the eastern sky for another few weeks, but then it will start climbing higher and higher as the Earth spins around the Sun and things line up for the Winter Constellations!

Without some sort of support, it is very difficult to hold a set of binocs steady enough to see what you should. Does your set have a tripod mount on the bottom? You should see a fairly large diameter threaded hole that will allow you to fasten them to a camera tripod. In such astronomy supply catalogs, you can often find a set of parallelogram arms that will allow you to raise and lower, and swing the binocs around from object to object, but remain fixed on one position in the sky, until you point them elsewhere. Although that accessory is not necessary for bino viewing, it sure is a nice accessory!

You should be able to see the dance of the 4 brightest moons as they whirl around the planet. Sometimes you will only see two or three, but often all four will be visible, depending on their position in each of their orbital paths.

Have fun, watch Jupiter, but don't forget all the other wonderful things you will be able to see in the months ahead. M31, The Pleides, The Double Cluster M 13, etc. etc. All easily visible in a good set of binocs.

Clear skies! Jim S.

[JamesF]

Without some sort of support, it is very difficult to hold a set of binocs steady enough to see what you should. Does your set have a tripod mount on the bottom? You should see a fairly large diameter threaded hole that will allow you to fasten them to a camera tripod.

My Celestron 15x70s came with a plastic arm which has a bolt through one end. This, I assume, fits into a thread in the end (furthest from the eyepieces) of the "hinge" (there is a better word, but I'm too tired to think of it right now) where the two halves of the bins join.

This plastic arm also has a threaded foot that accepts a bolt to fix it to a tripod, I guess.

The entire plastic arm does look inadequately substantial to me though and I'm not entirely sure I'd trust the binoculars to it. Perhaps it might work in the short term, but I think I'd want something a bit more robust for regular use.

James

[brantuk]

These "L" shaped adaptors are more substantial than the plastic ones and more suitable for 15x70's and other heavier binocs. They come in two or three sizes so have a look around:

SkyWatcher Small Binocular Tripod L Adaptor

[Capricorn]

Have you a set of "normal" 8x42 binoculars? If so use them.

The image doesn't bounce round and they show Jupiter as a small disk and they do pick out the 4 main moons - depending on the amount of light around you.

Leaning yourself against a wall or something stops you moving, the shake is mainly from your arms and is amplified by the magnification of the binoculars. If no tripod sit the front of the binoculars on something convenient and then look.

You are going to have to work out which direction you are looingk towards. That and the time is probably the best start to identifing anything.

[KerryAnn23]

No they didnt come with a tripod but i got an adapter with them which i have bin told is worthless, i have been looking at tripods and found 2 that will work for me just need the head thingy, i loved looking at jupiter even tho i couldnt hold it steady as im only just starting out and just happened upon it. i thought id be getting used to constellations and bright stars first lol

[mdstuart]

My Dad has a large solid old Hama tripod which he no longer wants. I am sure he would be happy to send it you for the cost of postage plus say £10...

If you are interested PM me.

Jupiter is pretty small in any bins even 15x...but you can as you saw pick up the four main satelites. It is fun to make a drawing and then check which moons you saw..

Try those binoculars on Albeiro in Cygnus as they should show the orange and blue double star well. Also try the double cluster down and left of the W of cassiopea which look good in dark skies in those bins...

Regards

Mark (Bristol)

[GeeO]

I read a good tip somewhere about the best way to hand hold binos unsupported. It involved holding them right at the eye pieces, which can make big bins very front end heavy, wrapping your thumbs around the inside of the eye pieces and cupping your hands around the outside pressing your hands against your face as if you were trying to peer through a window at night. Your thumbs run up each side of your nose effectively you are using your head as a support.

[lw24]

Here's a few tips on how to hold binoculars steady.

May have been what GeeO was thinking of?

Clear Skies

Luke

[listy]

If you have a smart phone you can use google skymaps its fantastic