Jump to content

SkySurveyBanner.jpg.21855908fce40597655603b6c9af720d.jpg

Web site: The Binocular Sky

BinocularSky

By BinocularSky
in Observing - with Binoculars

Recommended Posts

KerryAnn23

KerryAnn23

Posted
Posted

had a look at the newsletter, looking good, i will attempt some of the targets if the wind and rain ever go away lol

An idea could be to do a little beginner/experienced section so that observers can jump to the specifics they are looking for. as i class myself as a beginner i know i find it hard to locate things due to not knowing all the constellations and the arc min/sec are also confusing to me at the moment. the pleiades are fantastic and it was just an accident that i seen them otherwise i think i would have searched forever. ok my rambling is over and god knows if i even got my point across now oopppss ;-( lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 91
  • Created
  • Last Reply
BinocularSky

BinocularSky

Posted
  • Author
Posted

An idea could be to do a little beginner/experienced section so that observers can jump to the specifics they are looking for. as i class myself as a beginner i know i find it hard to locate things due to not knowing all the constellations and the arc min/sec are also confusing to me at the moment. the pleiades are fantastic and it was just an accident that i seen them otherwise i think i would have searched forever. ok my rambling is over and god knows if i even got my point across now oopppss ;-( lol

Thanks for that. I realise that, as someone who has been doing this for about 50 years, I have long since forgotten what it is like when just starting out, so I find comments like yours very valuable.

Would it be helpful to have a glossary some of these things (e.g. arcmin, showing how it relates to the size of a binocular field)? If so, let's start compiling a list of things you'd like to see in it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BinocularSky

BinocularSky

Posted
  • Author
Posted
im good with my opinions so hope u dont take them as anything bad. i would like to think that i can help u as im a total beginner x

Not taken as anything bad! It is very helpful to know how a "total beginner" perceives what I'm trying to do and to know what is needed from that perspective. Some things, like learning a few of the brighter constellations as an aid to navigating around the sky, are things that come from practical experience -- just getting out there and doing it, but others, like explaining terminology, are things a web site can help with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ian123

Ian123

Posted
Posted

Good looking site Steve, bookmarked and can see myself using this site often as i only have bins at the mo. As Kaerryanne mentioned like the look of the newsletter but some novices could be put off with no clear distinction of the constellations and exactly where to locate the objects you describe. Thank's to you and people like you who take their own time and effort to produce sites like this, cheers, Ian.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ismangil

ismangil

Posted
Posted
TBH The website looks unprofessional. There are so many sites that are better than this. I think it needs major development. As a beginner myself I find it boring and stale. IMO Sorry. x

Specifically for binoculars? I don't think there's 'so many'.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BinocularSky

BinocularSky

Posted
  • Author
Posted

@spacebabe: Thank you for your comments. Can you be more specific, please, especially about what would improve it for you.

... no clear distinction of the constellations and exactly where to locate the objects you describe.

Firstly, thanks for all your comments but, re the above, I think I must be missing your point: When you call up the object page, the RA and Dec are given, which is about as exact a location as you can get (it's also the standard way of giving locations of astronomical objects). I can't give you exact horizon co-ordinates (altitude and azimuth) because the sky appears to rotate at 15 deg/hour! But I'm sure that can't be what you meant, so do you want to try to again, this time in idiot-proof language that my decaying mind can understand? ;)

As for constellations, I'm not sure what more I can do (but I'm open to suggestions!) -- at the risk of coming across as pedantic and/or elitist, I think that there is a "basic minimum" that every observational astronomer needs to learn for him/herself; in that I would include a few bright constellations to act as sign-posts to the rest of the sky. Perhaps I ought to put a link to Stellarium on the Home page?

@Perry & @pleiades: Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Crunchard

Crunchard

Posted
Posted
TBH The website looks unprofessional. There are so many sites that are better than this. I think it needs major development. As a beginner myself I find it boring and stale. IMO Sorry. x

Website design is a bit of a marmite thing, you either love it or you hate it.

For me, one of the appeals is the simplicity of the site. If you are looking for whirling flash or similar things then I don't think a site dedicated to binocular star gazing would or even should provide that.

The site is about providing detailed content on the subject matter - which is does with a fine degree of professionalism - maybe it's because I look after web pages and appreciate the effort that goes into them ... who knows!

What I would say, though, is that it would be nice if the OP got something constructive, is it the layout, the font, the colours, the information ... exactly what do you find stale and in need of development?

That way it would really help.

All IMHO of course ... :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BinocularSky

BinocularSky

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I think the difference in background between these

http://binocularsky.com/charts/50/hop/oCeth.png

http://binocularsky.com/charts/50/finder/oCetf.png

would be really difficult if you were trying to use the website out in the dark.

Nobody who uses it has mentioned it before but it's an interesting thought -- thanks. I never take a laptop with me when I'm binocular observing, so I've just tried it in a darkened room with rubylith over the screen; I didn't find it a problem.

For me, it's years of ingrained habit: I prefer a dark background when looking at the "naked eye" sky (which is what the top charts are intended for) and a clear background one for use at the eyepiece (probably because I used SA2000 at the eyepiece before I ever had a laptop).

But I'm curious: does anyone who uses this in the field with binoculars find it to be a problem?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BinocularSky

BinocularSky

Posted
  • Author
Posted
You could always give people the option how they want your charts displayed.

It would mean doing another version of each of around 300 charts, which would be very time-consuming, so wouldn't be at the top of my list of priorities, and wouldn't happen overnight, but I'll certainly consider it if enough people ask for it. So, I repeat, "Does anyone who uses this in the field with binoculars find it to be a problem? "

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BinocularSky

BinocularSky

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I'll see if I can run some image processing tool to convert them.

WOW! Thank you. If it was in the form of a GIMP script (or otherwise GIMP-compliant), it would be a double thank-you! :) (I'm not much kop at image processing, except the very, very basic stuff.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BinocularSky

BinocularSky

Posted
  • Author
Posted

In response to some requests, I have now provided a simpler way to print the charts. Merely click on a chart, and you will be taken to a "printer-friendly" page where you confirm that you wish to print it (requires that you have JavaScript enabled).

I'm still working on providing a black-on-white option for all object charts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 9 months later...
themos

themos

Posted
Posted

I'm sorry to say that the white background charts are quite hard to read. I really like your selection of objects (although for some reason I'm told I can observe the Eta Carina nebula from 51 North!). Have you thought of off-loading the "tour" aspect of it to a Stellarium script?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.