Binoviewing the moon

[Timebandit]

 

 

 

 

 

       

 Well yesterday's weather had been a mixed bag to say the least. It went from cloud in the sky to clear blue sky's . It went from brilliant sunshine beaming through ,to then very very heavy storms of rain. So on the weather front I was not expecting a lot of Obs time yesterday.

But as we all know in this hobby predicting the weather is far from an exact science. So yesterday evening I was surprised it was dry and then even more surprised that there were not clouds. The moon was in a nice southern direction at reasonable altitude.

As it's been a while since the SW 120ed has been out then I thought I would give it a treat and allow it out of the box. As an added treat the binoviewers were allowed out also. I was going to keep this a simple Obs session so decided to set up and use only one magnification of eyepiece. The TS Binoviewers were  matched up with the TV Barlow and the William optics diagonal and placed into the scope. I had decided to use the pairs of the SW super 25mm   . These eyepieces were as cheap as chips, but do not let the price fool you . As the SW 25mm really do apply sharpness clarity and good eyerelief way above their price point IMO.

So with the AZ4 set up and the frac and binoviewers cooled ,it was time to set off to the moon. The bright Luna disc was located and the scope slowly brought into focus. Each eyepiece was checked individual for focus and slight adjustment. With the eyepieces in the binoviewers now focusing together then the Luna tour could start. The seeing conditions were surprisingly good, with the usual shimmer of atmosphere turbulence, combined with reasonable long periods of stable clear views.. The eyepieces in the scope combined with the Barlow effect meant I was getting somewhere around the 100x mark. But Woow the lunar surface was extremely sharp and clear with this set up. I was allowing the moon to drift across the fov in the binoviewers to take it the clarity and sharpness of the Luna surface. It was just like flying above the moon looking down. I then decided to concentrate more on the sea of vapours area and working along slowly the Apennine mountains slowly curving up to the Plato crater. The Apennine were just so sharp and defined in this slow flight across this range. The views I was seeing in person was as good as I have seen in pictures at this magnification. Actually I think they were better. It was a pleasure spending an hour or so just trying to take in all the details I was getting from my trip across the peaks of the Apennine. 

I must say anyone who has a quality refractor and also an interest in the Luna landscape. Must IMO get some binoviewers. They not only draw you in completely to the target, as they shut off the outside world completely from your eyes. But IMO they tease out far more details that you can get a lot of the time with just using Cyclops. And best of all it can be done with a sensible price set of binoviewers and some cheap SW super 25  wide angle ,long eye relief eyepieces.

 

 

[Simoncwr]

Timebandit

Many thanks for the excellent report/review. You have finally pushed me over the edge to binoviewer land lol.

Regards

Simon

[Moonshane]

Totally agree 'e binoviewers.  I really feel out if sorts now she using one eye for solar system objects. A side benefit is that both eyes are equally adjusted so cf cycloos kunar views when you step away you can see a bit more and don't suffer from one eye blindness with unequal pupils/ dark adaptation.

[laowhoo]

I know what you mean about the photo-realism, and was actually wondering about this after downloading Kwok C. Pau's Moon Atlas. We like the Orion SkyGlow and only use the moon filters on a waxing gibbous. I wonder how many here know of/use the Edmund 28mm RKEs? Custom-made for the moon (exclusively for us) and a bona fide gimmick EP everyone should have (got ours for $40 each 5 years ago), if you want to swim in an ocean of moon that's spilling over the EPs. But the moon is an example of the advantage of BVing, and does render it in textbook fashion to be sure. After I'd thought about it and about Kwok's book, I dropped the comparison/let it go, but hearing you say it is only a further confirmation.

[Paz]

Great report. Binoviewers are something I've not yet tried but they are on my long term list of things to give a go.

[mariosi]

Very nice report and set up of Binoviewing the moon! 

Marios