Observing at sea

[stevetynant]

First of all apologies if this is in the wrong section and mods please feel free to relocate but ....... after 20 years holidaying in the UK I've just booked a 2 week cruise in the Med. Any of you with cruising experience- is there any point in me taking my bins and star maps with me for the odd night on the veranda while we're at sea. I know the place will be lit up like a Christmas tree but out in the Ocean with no light pollution other than the travelling hotel itself I'm just fantasising about a bottle of wine on the veranda and an hour looking skywards in the early hours.

whats the chances?

[Treeden]

Very interesting. I've had similar thoughts myself and would be interested to learn if anyone has any experience of stargazing from the middle of the ocean?

[Ganymede12]

I fit's just the bins and a star atlas then I don't see the harm. I have heard that salty sea air can be bad for telescopes but I'm not sure how true that is for bins.

[Ganymede12]

Sorry! Double post! (Please delete!)

[Ganymede12]

Sorry! Triple post! (Please delete)

[L8-Nite]

Steve,

That sounds like a cool trip. My Wife and I are planning in a cruise in a year or two.

If it interests you, you can have a lend of these. . .

[crashtestdummy]

The problems with telescopes is the magnification not the sea air-the higher the mag the worse the view when looking from a moving object like a ship.the lower the mag the better so i would say low power binos will be ok.but dont expect decent views of anything small and faint.

[endure]

You'll probably be moving at 15-20mph and a ship (no matter how well stabilised) is not a steady platform even in the best of weather.

[coulthamst]

People certainly view eclipses using telescopes from the decks of ocean vessels, so there must be some possibilities. Give it a go and let us know how you get on!

[Richie092]

Sounds great. I have done liveaboard diving trips in the Red Sea and for me it was good enough just finding a quiet spot, getting comfortable, laying back and taking it all in. On a larger (cruise) ship it may well be worth trying the binos.

One thing I can tell you for sure is that holiday, the ocean and dark skies are a fantastic combination.

Have a great time.

[peeceeTal2M]

Bins should be ok on a calm sea, ask permission to view from flying bridge area that should be darker for you or ask purser if there is a dark area for you to view from(these will probably be crew only access areas but you might get lucky

[endure]

Best thing to do is get friendly with one of the Deck Officers (preferably the Mate) although getting access to the bridge might not be possible. They're a lot more security conscious than they were when I was at sea.

[stevetynant]

Thanks folks, its going to be an experience for sure. Bins and one book are all I'm considering taking to be honest and we have our own private balcony so hopefully I can switch the cabin lights off and have a quiet hour to myself though I did notice an open area on the top of the ship called the sky deck so I might take a wander and see if its suitable. Mike thanks for the sextant offer, I think I'll stick with the Moby just this once lol

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[JamesF]

I'm told there are regular presentations on cosmology on the Queen Mary 2 and they have telescopes on deck for people to use then (not been on the QM2 myself I'm sure I recall mallorcasaint of this parish saying that he assisted Dr Francisco Diego on one such cruise two or three years ago.

I've no idea what other cruise ships are like or if they do the same sort of thing. I think Cunard like to view themselves as a rather different experience from many of the "floating hotels" that cruise the Med and Caribbean and might well arrange for a darker area of the ship to view from.

James

[sallystar]

Nothing beats sitting on the deck in the warm air looking at the sky. It's beautiful and a pair of

Binoculars along with a drink is bliss. I have cruised around the Med and the Canaries several times and

Know you will love it. P&O have stopped visits to the bridge now though

[starman1969]

Tell em to turn off the deck lights.

[endure]

If you CAN blag your way onto the bridge it's the only place on the ship where they turn all the lights off

[endure]

This was my first cruise liner

[JamesF]

This was my first cruise liner

I'd not want to have to park it at the shops.

James