Specs vs. contact lenses.

[Myopicus]

Hi All, 

I find the whole process of 'glasses on to look at the star chart and look through the finder, glasses off to observe (find somewhere to put them), glasses on again to change EP, glasses off again, observe & repeat' quite a logistic handful.  And I really want to start astro-sketching which will just complicate matters further.

How do contact lens wearers find they get on at the eyepiece? Any issues with dry eyes or loss of clarity?

And have other speccy types got any tips?

Thanks, m

[Oddsocks]

Was complaining to my optician about the exact same problem last year, "Why don't you keep an old pair of frames with one lens removed?" he queried.

Obvious really, and it works quite well once you get used to it.

I use Televue eyepieces with the optional astigmatism corrector "DIOPTRIX" to suit my left eye prescription so I only need to adjust the focus on the scope to match the right side glasses element and can look away from the eyepiece at the star chart or laptop etc without any problem.

[LukeSkywatcher]

This is always a hot topic when it comes up. There is no right or wrong answer because everyone's eyes are totally different. Personally, i could never bring myself to stick something in my eyes so i wear specs. I dont,however wear specs while observing. I just find it too uncomfortable and my eye cant get close enough to the EP. I'm sure this has some bearing on how i see things because when i take off my glasses before an observing session, it takes a couple of hours for my eyes to come back into their natural focus. 

[Langy]

I just keep the specs on, made sure that when I got my last EP it had good Eye Relief.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Was complaining to my optician about the exact same problem last year, "Why don't you keep an old pair of frames with one lens removed?" he queried. Obvious really, and it works quite well once you get used to it.

Great idea.

[Myopicus]

Was complaining to my optician about the exact same problem last year, "Why don't you keep an old pair of frames with one lens removed?" he queried. Obvious really, and it works quite well once you get used to it.

Brilliant! Or a monocle, a la Sir Moore? 

[Rockrae78]

Contact lenses do not work for me when observing. I just do the whole glasses on, glasses off thing, but did get a lanyard for my glasses to make it easier to whip them on and off and so that I don't lose them in the dark!

[LukeSkywatcher]

Brilliant! Or a monocle, a la Sir Moore? 

A monocle on one eye and an eye patch on the other.

I see a new fashion trend amongst astronomers coming on.

[Ulaw]

I wear contact lenses and I do find that if im staring down the EP for a while my contact lenses go out of focus, Look away from the EP and blink a few times and its back to normal seeing conditions. Other than that its all good, havn't tried viewing with my glasses yet though.

[nmoushon]

I've used contacts since high school and have had no problems with them observing. They don't dry out on me at all. Though I havent observed when its pretty windy out so maybe with the wind it might dry them out a bit but I doubt it. I play sports and drive with the windows down and they dont dry out then either.

Though if you are use to wear only glasses and switch the contacts you could get a problem then. Just because your eye aren't use to them. I know my wife just got contacts and switched from dailies to bi-weekly contacts and she can't keep them in all day as they get to dry for her. I should say some days are like that not all the time. But I wear bi-weeklies also and never have had that problem. But the contact brand is important...don't go cheap with them they will just be uncomfortable and end up wasting your money.

[Moonshane]

I put my contacts in, wear them, sleep in them and do everything in them for a month or so and then throw them away. then put the next pair in. they are quite liberating in a way. I find them excellent for observing. occasionally you do get what seems like a wave of moisture at the front of the lens when looking down (creating smeary views) but this is easily cleared by blinking which you do naturally anyway.

I'd recommend them. I also sketch and in all truth do sometimes have to readjust my eyes as my arms are starting to get too short (i.e. I need readers soon) but I am also considering using only one when observing.

As above though people are all different. for me it's like laser eye surgery but without the cost / scariness.

[clairete]

Got to see the optometrist on Friday. Was wondering about contacts but now think if they are expensive and uncomfortable I will just get specs. I will try a few pairs on and push them up on top of my head - see if they stay put for observing.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I had an eye test about 2 months ago and bought new glasses at the same time even though my optician said i dont really need a new prescription (it had changed so little in the 5 yrs since my last test). I get them anyway and with the new prescription the optician told me that my eyesight is better (much better) than 20/20. She said without my glasses, i'm up a creek without a paddle and some people would almost (i said ALMOST) deem me legally blind. I really want to try observing without my glasses on but its hard to let old habits die. Ive only been wearing glasses full time (out of habit) for about 10 yrs. I have been observing for about 34 yrs now.

[Myopicus]

A monocle on one eye and an eye patch on the other.

I see a new fashion trend amongst astronomers coming on.

I might have to go for a leather patch. With studs.

(Not my usual mode, you understand;  but it would really freak out the squares!  

I put my contacts in, wear them, sleep in them and do everything in them for a month or so and then throw them away. then put the next pair in. they are quite liberating in a way. I find them excellent for observing. occasionally you do get what seems like a wave of moisture at the front of the lens when looking down (creating smeary views) but this is easily cleared by blinking which you do naturally anyway.

I'd recommend them. I also sketch and in all truth do sometimes have to readjust my eyes as my arms are starting to get too short (i.e. I need readers soon) but I am also considering using only one when observing.

As above though people are all different. for me it's like laser eye surgery but without the cost / scariness.

I did wear contacts, about twenty years ago, for about a year (OMG walking in the rain for the first time! Being able to see it! A-MA-ZING!  ). They were high maintenance, daily cleaning, expensive.  I guess they're a cheaper more disposable option these days? I tried disposables about ten years ago but they were massive. Didn't get on with them. Perhaps I should talk to my optician . . . blag a trial or something.  

[Moonshane]

I went through about three different ones at specsavers before settling on the ones I now use (easy vision aquayes). I literally wear them 24/7 for a full month and then swap for a new pair. cost is £15 per month. it's worth it.

[Myopicus]

I went through about three different ones at specsavers before settling on the ones I now use (easy vision aquayes). I literally wear them 24/7 for a full month and then swap for a new pair. cost is £15 per month. it's worth it.

So I'm guessing that if you can sleep in them they're gas permeable?

[Moonshane]

I presume so!

[acey]

I need glasses for long distance, no glasses for reading. I refocused my finder so that I can view through it without glasses, meaning I can go between finder and map with ease. To refocus a Skywatcher finder you just loosen the ring towards the front end and give it a twist. I begin my star hop from a bright naked-eye star which I can see (as a blur) without glasses. Only time I need to put my glasses on is when I want to take a break and admire the sky naked-eye.  Or go and make a cup of tea.

[Myopicus]

I need glasses for long distance, no glasses for reading. I refocused my finder so that I can view through it without glasses, meaning I can go between finder and map with ease. To refocus a Skywatcher finder you just loosen the ring towards the front end and give it a twist. I begin my star hop from a bright naked-eye star which I can see (as a blur) without glasses. Only time I need to put my glasses on is when I want to take a break and admire the sky naked-eye.  Or go and make a cup of tea.

Ah.  I did away with the crooked neck SW finder and replaced it with a Baader sky surfer RDF.  Refocussing finder not an option. And I am . . . well . . . myopic.  Can't see anything beyond about 2' clearly.

[acey]

I'm myopic too, and never need clear vision beyond a couple of feet while observing, unless it's to admire the sky between observations. Once I've acquired my initial naked-eye star I do everything through the main scope using a very detailed map (Great Atlas Of The Sky, which plots stars down to about 12 mag). No neck ache, and it gets me exactly to my target. Whether I can actually see the target once I get there is another matter...

I think it sounds like your biggest issue is with presbyopia, i.e. needing glasses to read the map. My lifelong myopia has so far spared me from that. I do find, though, that it helps to use a magnifying glass while map reading - this allows me to use a much dimmer red light. I keep the glass covered when not in use, otherwise it steams up. I also find it useful to keep my specs on one of those awful round-the-neck chords (they always remind me of Larry Grayson on The Generation Game years ago). But who cares about style when you're alone in the dark.

I'm glad I never got laser surgery for my short-sightedness, otherwise I'd now be using reading glasses all the time. Same would be the case if I wore contact lenses. Worst I've had to put up with is specs on a string.

Everyone's eyes and needs are different, and we just make the best of what we've got.

[scarp15]

I have reached the stage where I ought to be prescribed reading glasses, however so far I dont, but then I am stubborn. I guess I have a fear of becoming too independent to them, which may be a hindrance, especially where visual astronomy is concerned. I also use a magnifying glass coupled with a dim LED head torch for reading charts.

[DaveGarland]

I always use my contact lenses for observing and they cause me no problem whatsoever. I use toric lenses to correct my astigmatism and they work perfectly.

I tried wearing my glasses once and hated it. It wasn't the inconvenience of taking them off/on all the time, it was just the general feeling of seeing the sky through a goldfish bowl. With lenses of course there is no frame around the clear part of vision. Just full field clarity. Woooooo look at all them stars! [emoji7]

[Astro Imp]

I wear varifocals and used to leave them on all them time. Recently however I have been removing them to observe and did consider having them on a lanyard but reckoned I would get it caught up with my scope/mount. My solution is to wear an outer garment with a top pocket. Having said all that I must admit that having to wear specs. is a pain but accept this is inevitable as age takes it's toll.

[vlebo]

If you had a pair of glasses made for observing would they need to be glasses focusing at infinity or glasses focusing at extremely close objects because you are looking at an object in the eyepiece ?

[acey]

If you had a pair of glasses made for observing would they need to be glasses focusing at infinity or glasses focusing at extremely close objects because you are looking at an object in the eyepiece ?

Most people, I suspect, use near focusing when looking through an eyepiece (I know that I do). This does, though, have the psychological effect of making things look near and small (i.e. people talk about Jupiter looking "pea sized").

If the eye problem is purely long or short sight then glasses for telescope observing are unneccessary since you just adjust the focus accordingly. The only reason why you might wear glasses while observing is to correct a defect such as astigmatism (which I have). Any such eye defect is likely to be minimised when the exit pupil is small. so it's only really a potential issue for low-power observing. I don't bother with my specs at all while observing - if there's astigmatism at low-power then I don't notice it (if it's there at high power then it's more likely the scope that's at fault).

So to answer your question - the specs would correct for astigmatism, and the issue of distance is irrelevant. If people without astigmatism feel like wearing their reading or long-distance specs while looking through a telescope then that's up to them. If they don't, then that's what the focusing knob's for.