Short session on my lunch break.

[Kirscovitch]

Today was very clear but cold. Highs were only 5F. This is the first sunny we day we have had in over 2 weeks. So when I left for work at 2:30 (I work the night shift) I threw my 10x50's in the car with me, hoping the skies would remain clear after dark.

When lunch rolled around at 6:30, I stuck my head out the door and the stars were out. So I grabbed the bins from the car and headed to the back of the building where I would be shielded from all the street lights and waited for my eyes to adjust. After about 10 mins I started with M42. Orion was just clearing the trees and I could make out the nebula quite easily. 

Then it was on to M45. My favorite target with the bins. I love the view with the wide angle. I can't wait to view it with one of the scopes and a new 2" wide angle EP I just got.

Next I tried for M31. The only time I have ever been able to see it was with bins from my parents yard way out in the country under dark skies. Being in town (though it's a small town of about 250 people) I didn't expect much. Much to my surprise I found it quite easily. It was very dim but it was there. The longer I looked the better it became and was a very nice view using averted vision. 

By this time my break was nearing an end and I was getting pretty cold. I swung behind me and Jupiter was just coming up over some trees. Could make out the disk and 1 moon.

Now I was shivering so bad I couldn't keep the bins steady at all so I headed back into work. 

All in all a nice little session. I haven't been able to get either of the scopes out the last few weeks due to clouds. I'm glad I got the bins. I will be taking them with me to work more often just quench my craving. I will have to research more into some other good targets for viewing.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Nice one. I was half expecting a solar session (as I do during my lunch break whenever the sun comes out). Bringing binoculars along for night shift work is a great idea

[Lorne]

^{I must admit I'm a nightshift binocular user too (on my break times of course) the downside is there's only a small area of sky to view due to the LP from Edinburgh. Its surprising what can be seen mind you, brighter galaxies, clusters and planets all pop into view, the clear nights seem few and far between, seems a shame to waste the chance to sneak in a session!}

[Astro_noob]

My parents live at Balgreen looking out toward corstorphine hill. Whenever I visit I see quite a few stars in the evening. There is surprisingly less light pollution there than in my small town in Falkirk.

[Special K]

Those bins really come in handy, don't they?! Nice report. At that time of day, you can pick up Melotte 111 in Coma Berenices. That's such a loose cluster/asterism, it is intended for bins. Getting Aldebaran, Hyades, and the Delta Tau stars in one FOV is awesome too. Red Aldebaran is a big contrast to those Blue Pleiades, for sure! Being at a lower latitude, and if you get a decent Eastern horizon, you'll be able to make some sense of Scorpio and the globs in that area, which I just managed to pick off in a recent session:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/203714-desert-skies-and-10x50-first-light/

[Kirscovitch]

Those bins really come in handy, don't they?! Nice report. At that time of day, you can pick up Melotte 111 in Coma Berenices. That's such a loose cluster/asterism, it is intended for bins. Getting Aldebaran, Hyades, and the Delta Tau stars in one FOV is awesome too. Red Aldebaran is a big contrast to those Blue Pleiades, for sure! Being at a lower latitude, and if you get a decent Eastern horizon, you'll be able to make some sense of Scorpio and the globs in that area, which I just managed to pick off in a recent session:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/203714-desert-skies-and-10x50-first-light/

Thanks for the suggestions. Starting out with bins, I'm not really sure what to look for but I'm learning!

[BinocularSky]

Starting out with bins, I'm not really sure what to look for but I'm learning!

This may help: http://binocularsky.com/binoc_object_query.php