Bike trip for some top notch binocularing

[Size9Hex]

It's fair to say I've not used the binos as much since getting a scope. After a couple of recent sessions dedicated to the binos at a dark(ish) site within cycling distance from home, it feels like a mistake. They really are serious astronomy kit, whereas I've been treating them as something useful just for a quick casual look. Any thoughts that I should have made the effort to drive the dob to the New Forest soon faded.

In terms of light collection, the 10x50s are closer to the 10" dob than to the unaided eye. Plus you get a bonus eyeball to help make sense of it all! I can see about 0.5 magnitudes deeper (NELM 6 vs. 5.5) just a couple miles up the road which is enough for the dark site bicycle binos to outperform the 10" dob at home on some targets (not all, I hasten to add). Who needs a light bucket?! The wide field view is very special too.

 A few highlights in case it inspires anyone else.

Orion

The whole sword visible at once - a stunner! M42 beautiful and perfect in miniature, extending much of the way out toward Iota Orionis. Fish mouth and the Scimitar glimpsed but small at this scale. M43 was faint. The brightest southern region of the Running Man also appeared with some concentration as a faint glow, capped by the coarse sparkle of NGC 1981.

Drifting up the next great view. The Orion's Belt region of sky is incredibly rich with stars. I've never noticed this in the dob. Largely Collinder 70 I think, but many other bright streamers too. The Flame was not seen. Panning up and left from the belt led to the faint glow of the M78 and NGC 2071 reflection nebulae. Catching the latter was quite unexpected.

Auriga - Gemini

The highlight view contained the Flying Minnow, the M38 Starfish cluster (appearing as a beautiful cross above a hazy background), the grinning Cheshire Cat with NGC 1907 faintly glowing on its cheek and the diminutive M36 pinwheel. Just out of view below were the bright hazy M37 and (into Gemini) M35 - a sparkly wonder even in binos!

Taurus

In honesty, the binos don't quite punch deep enough on the Pleiades for me. They're not far off, but the with its extra oomph, the 4" fast frac takes the win (and the 10" just looks straight through them and out the other side!). But... they really do frame it fantastically against the surrounding sky. The asymmetrical pale wash of the Merope Nebula was detected with difficulty.

The Hyades, V shaped from home became a Z under dark skies with several further streams of stars also appearing. Full of colour and doubles in the binos.

From here, a stream of stars leads into a lovely Taurus counterpart to the Double Cluster NGC 1807 and 1817 each with a faint background and almost parallel bright scratches of brighter stars. A cone shaped asterism of stars above fans out into the impressive NGC 1746.

M1 also spotted, but identified incorrectly initially. I was fooled by a tight faint asterism of stars nearby.

Perseus - Cassiopeia

Without leaving the eyepiece, but requiring a bit of panning... the stars of Trumpler 2 took the shape of a sci-fi rocket ship. Through the Double Cluster (which again I prefer in the 4" scope) past a stream of stars shaped like a ring and onwards into the Stock 2 Muscleman. He's standing on his head at this point in the year! From here, I latched onto NGC 663 and then down into the Owl Cluster. The latter was stunning - small but perfectly formed in the 10x50s with bright eyes and outspread wings.

Lower down in Cassiopeia, NGC 129 led into Caroline's Rose, a beautiful distant glow framed by two bright pairs of stars.

Triangulum - Andromeda

M33 showed a slightly bright core and an pale disc. No dust lanes seen but the overall texture seemed patchy compared to the smooth gloss of M31 nearby.

M31 and friends really were a wonderful view. A bright core and a long pale disc, more sharply defined on one side. The inner dust lane on this edge was suspected briefly but not enough confidence to call it. M32 was a bright fuzzy star and M110 a pale swipe from a dusty finger drawn across the sky.

NGC 752 also visited - another stunner. Stars all over the place!

Other great views

M81 as a faint disk and bright core. M82 as, well, an M82 cigar shape really!

The delicate thread of Kemble's Cascade and bright NGC 1502, awkwardly placed in binos.

The Beehive filled the view flanked by three bright stars. M67 quite charming below in a nicer view than I recall from the dob last year.

NGC 2244 Rosette Cluster, with the part of nebula suspected as a big empty non-black area above the cluster but probably wishful thinking.

Two owls, a badger and deer while pedalling to the site. Bicycle binocularing is not just about the sky! The ride home sure is cold though...! 

[Rhushikesh-Canisminor]

Glad that you didn't leave objects like M1 for bino session! Under clear skies, binoculars never fail to give that "wow nice!" Feeling. I wonder how binoculars will go for a messier marathon under perfect sky conditions!

I plan to get my binoculars on a tripod which will go complimentary with my Telescope during public observations.

[Size9Hex]

Nice one Rhushikesh, the binos definitely thrill at a dark site with their large scale view of the cosmos!

It'd certainly be interesting to try a marathon with binos. After this session with 10x50s, I think they would put up a good fight. 20x100 would smash it I reckon!

I use a very lightweight photo tripod for my binos and the extra stability transforms them, although I'd go for something heavier if I didn't plan to hike/bike with it. A mount of some sort is definitely recommended in getting the most from them though - and useful for pointing them in one place for public sessions too.

[Cjg]

That's a great report Paul.

I've never managed to keep my cold hands still enough for binos, is there a knack to it, or have you a way to steady them?

Chris

[Size9Hex]

Thanks Chris, yep see my reply above. The tripod I've got was about £20. Not super stable but very light. It's a Hama Star something or other. I think Amazon sell them. When handholding, I hold the left side lens with my right hand and the right lens rests on the back of my right wrist. Left hand supports the left lens too. It's more stable than the traditional grip I find. Warm mitts (not gloves) help too. 

[scarp15]

Great report Paul and splendid way to spend an evening, as you say, dark site bicycle bino's. Binoculars at a dark site really do pull out a lot, lovely range of subject, spontaneity and ease at sweeping the sky a relaxing joy. Combined with cycling must be quite liberating and versatile in getting to a spot where you do not need to consider if suitable for a car - Eco minded dark sky astronomy to. As you mention, hope that it inspires others, I keep meaning to apply something a bit more adventurous with my binoculars, such as a cycle ride out of Town or take on an over night hill walk / wild camp, a monopod is also very compact, need to plan.

[Size9Hex]

Thanks Iain, the bike is brilliant for finding a spot that's tucked out of the way. The binos would be astonishing on a wild camp for sure though! Haven't done that for a while since the kids came along though...!

[laudropb]

A very nice report. I often wander down to a local dark site with my bins. The only problem at the moment is that even bins will not see through the permacloud we have had all this year.

[Rhushikesh-Canisminor]

The thing I like about binoculars is that I can just grab them and go for treks while carrying tent, sleeping mats, cooking gear etc. That still weighs less than my telescope.  While everyone is dying to have bigger telescopes, I just go above them (literally!)

I plan to have my marathon in 2018 at the highest place of my state (5600 ft above sea level) with 20x80 binoculars. So I will be travelling for 5 hours, trek for 4 hours to reach the site. Need to be physically fit for that!

[YKSE]

Nice haul, Paul

I tested my 10x50 in my 6.0 dark site the other day, just to verify the commonly regarded most difficult Messiers for light polluted sky, M74 i.e. and it was not that difficult, almost direct vision.

As usual, dark sky is far more important than apertures when hunting faint fuzzies.

[Roy Challen]

Nice report, Paul. I need to use my bike for bino-ing too, combining my two favourite hobbies in one go should be a no-brainer!

You could call it binobiking!

[Size9Hex]

On 23/01/2017 at 12:57, YKSE said:

Nice haul, Paul

I tested my 10x50 in my 6.0 dark site the other day, just to verify the commonly regarded most difficult Messiers for light polluted sky, M74 i.e. and it was not that difficult, almost direct vision.

As usual, dark sky is far more important than apertures when hunting faint fuzzies.

Nice one, that's a cracking effort on M74! Interesting to compare dark site binos vs. a somewhat light polluted dob. I think the aperture compensates fairly well against a little light pollution on open clusters and gives a better view of the bright core of M42 for example, but when the going gets faint, with the target not much brighter than the sky, then it's dark skies all the way with the binos taking the win at the dark site. Darkness + aperture is the magic formula though!