Productive failure

[ulfp]

I've been frustrated with Hercules and Lyra for the past couple of weeks. Basically, I had no problem finding Vega. No problem seeing the double star off to the left, but traversing into Lyra to find M57.... frustration. And I couldn't even pick out Hercules itself, let alone M13.

So, I bought a pair of Celestron 8x56 binoculars, trekked with my 130p, tripod, trigger grip (fantastic invention) I went out to an industrial area where there's less light. I'm in Denmark, and I was observing from approx 23:50 to 01:50. Summer skies--pretty, but pretty light.

The seeing last night was lousy, tons of shimmering everywhere, but a bit better than in my back yard. Anyway, this was more of a shakedown equipment test (or so I thought).

Anyway, I set the binoculars up as well as the telescope, and started.

Everyone should have binoculars. Not only is everything right side up, with no mirroring, but you can actually see the constellations. I have 5.8deg FOV, which is vastly easier than the telescope.

One thing I hadn't thought about, poring over the maps, is how the size of the constellation translates to the sky. How big is Hercules anyway when you're standing on good old Terra Firma?

Ignoring the telescope, I stuck with the bins, and managed to get all around Lyra (no M57, of course). So major goal reached. First time I've managed to do that.

But try as I might, I couldn't find Hercules. And then something clicked. Follow the tail from Ursa Major to land on Arcturus. Continue on to Zeta Hercules..... Wait a minute, that's not Zeta H, that's something else, that's.... Corona Borealis (Alphekka), and mid way between Alpha CrB and Vega.... Yep, there's Zeta Hercules.

I'm sure most of you have tried it before, but when it happens for the first time, it's like magic. Once I could see ZetHer, the keystone magically appeared before me. Wow.

So, there's UrsMaj, there's Arcturus (Bootes), there's Alphekka (I didn't know the name at the time, just CrB), There's ZetHer, there's Vega, there's Deneb. Holy Cow, I traversed a large patch of the heavens without mapping aids!!!! Something actually stuck. No GoTo for me (at least for a year or so--when I'm comfortable I'll consider it. A bit like learning stick shift before getting an automatic, I guess).

And like one of those stereoscopic images where it won't go away once you've cracked it, I could look away, drink some coffee, play with the dog, and when I looked back, yep, Hercules was still there.

So why did I call it a failure? Because I didn't get to use the telescope. The reason was rather prosaic. I decided to slap a Telrad on it, which works great. Much better than the rdf. However, in my garden I have it on a table. I didn't have a table with me <facepalm>, which meant I was literally lying on the ground to star hop. The dew began to fall early, so it became very uncomfortable, very fast. So, I'll bring a little table with me the next time.

The binoculars performed fantastically! Especially with the trigger grip. I bought those that Steve Tonkin recommends on binocularsky.com, rock steady grip, and vibrations dampen out really fast.

But I'm very pleased, because for once I feel that I'm beginning to have a little glimmer of how to navigate the sky, and even more important, understanding the scales involved, especially wrt constellations.

A fantastic evening, and finally all that poring over charts is beginning to pay off.

/ulf

[Stu]

Nice one ulf. That seems like major progress to me, soon all those constellations will make sense to you.

Binoculars are idea for doing this, also for finding targets in conjunction with a Telescope. If you find where the object is with binoculars, it becomes much easier to use the Telrad to get the scope pointed in the right place.

Have fun!

[xtreemchaos]

cool report mate, im not into goto systems l would go for a good star map anyday.thanks for sharing,clear skys....charl.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Great report. Did you spot M13 with the bins? When you have got the keystone, finding it is quite easy. I remember it was my first DSO find with bins (8x40s) way back in 1979

[ulfp]

Great report. Did you spot M13 with the bins? When you have got the keystone, finding it is quite easy. I remember it was my first DSO find with bins (8x40s) way back in 1979

Yes, but it was rather faint. Unmistakable, nonetheless. My first DSO as well 

[brantuk]

Nice report and good to see someone persisting to get the early experience needed to really make progress in the hobby. Too many folks take one look through a scope, decide instantly that they can't hack it, and pack it away forever. When all that's needed is a little practise in order to really get going. Well done Ulf.

[Tommohawk]

Nice one! I'm alll Go To now... but I miss the "thrill of the chase".

Might get some better bins sometime and just go for an occasional tour on "manual".

[Astro Imp]

Great report Ulf.

It's amazing how difficult those first few steps in navigating the sky are but persistence pays off in the end and it gradually becomes easier. 

The excitement of finding that first DSO by star hopping will stay with you for a long time.

[happy-kat]

An inspiring read

[RT65CB-SWL]

Good report Ulf. I always resort to using my binoculars when I don't fancy getting the 'scopes out, (especially after a 12 hour shift at LHR), for those grab'n'go sessions. (even more so during the summer months).

[Piero]

Very nice to read about your initial experience. That's the way, and if you persist, you will see more and more. 

It is all about patience, being relaxed, and having some time. 

Some time ago, I created a document for navigating between constellations:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1m_bBHcP4BMfLB_B0oqiAeYH0Qj-hcGwBvkRnKhFZVh8&authuser=0

It might be useful if you are starting. 

It works for both the hemisphere as I intentionally selected a location with low latitude, but it is easy to find out the constellations using the navigational stars.

Piero

[ulfp]

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. I was out again last night, and this time the seeing was much better. The Milky Way through binos is fantastic!

Piero, thanks for that, that's some really nice work. I'll be sure to use it. Appreciated.

/ulf