Observing with glasses advice ????

[kirkster501]

I need to have my over-the-top glasses on (because I wear contact lenses) to read the star map.  Then take them off again to look through the EP.  I'm finding this increasingly complex and irritating. 

The alternative is to not wear my contact lenses and to wear my bifocals but I find it hard to look through the EP with glasses on; sort of presses the glasses against your cheeks and face and is also annoying and I find it hard to see the object in the EP.

What do you guys do?

[Cosmic Geoff]

I'm short sighted. I wear my glasses for using the finders but not for looking through the eyepiece. The general advice is not to wear glasses at the eyepiece, unless you need them to correct a defect like astigmatism that cannot be corrected by a twist of the focuser knob.

[Gina]

I'm short sighted and with astigmatism.  I think that's why I found observing awkward and went for imaging.  Sorry, that's not helpful.  It used to be possible to get cylindrical lenses made up to your astigmatism prescription but whether that's still available I don't know.  You could ask your optician.

[ollypenrice]

3 minutes ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

I'm short sighted. I wear my glasses for using the finders but not for looking through the eyepiece. The general advice is not to wear glasses at the eyepiece, unless you need them to correct a defect like astigmatism that cannot be corrected by a twist of the focuser knob.

Yup, I think this is good advice. Glasses are certainly a pest for observing. I use the magnetic split-in-the-middle magnifying ones so they can stay round my neck when not needed for star charts. My regular glasses do help with naked eye observing but I rarely bother with them and never at the EP.

https://www.amazon.com/Clic-Magnetic-Reading-Glasses-2-00/dp/B002B8RF1Q?th=1

Olly

[AKB]

40 minutes ago, Gina said:

that's why I found observing awkward and went for imaging.

I’m with Gina on that one, but there is an in-between... EAA (aka Video Astronomy.)

A small sensitive CCD, or these days CMOS, typically those used for guiders, instead of an eyepiece, allows views that exceed the sensitivity of observing.  Of course, you don’t get the fidelity, but you do get speed, enabling you to view dozens of targets a night, instead of the usual dozens of nights per target for imaging.

[Ronclarke]

I bought a cord from the opticians that I attach to each side of my glasses and just have them hanging around my neck when I'm observing through an EP.

I also moved on to AP !!

 

Cheers

Ron

[paulastro]

I have astigmatism in both eyes, and need to use specs observing.  I used to use bifocals which were terrible, and a real pain.  I now use vary-focal which I much prefer.  Clearly not ideal, and some short eye relief eyepieces are a pain.  I have used other peoples on occasions and for planetary or lunar I have even used a mono in the past, though clearly with a reduced field from the mean field you get anyway.  Still enough to get any planet in the field of view though.

I know all about these screwy in bits for some eyepieces to counter astigmatism, but to me they would be more of a nuisance than using specs.  I wouldn't want to be limited by using only the eyepieces that use these accessories. (or spend the money on them!)  I go for longer focal lengths with better eye relief like many glasses wearers.  This isn't very limiting since my main interest is lunar and planetary when I nearly always use a binoviewer.  When using my refractor I have to have a x2 barlow element in the nosepiece to come to focus so longer focal length eyepieces (and better eye relief of course) are fine.  My 180mm Mak has a focal length of 2700mm which is long enough to ensure I can use comparatively long focal length eyepieces anyway.  For  wide field views I use a 35mm original Ultima or 35mm Eudiascopic (the later a clone of the former) or a 32mm 70 degree PanaView.  Both give nice immersive views which I can easily see the whole field with my glasses on, with a nice hard edge to the field. 

Of course there are many fine wide eye relief eyepieces available now with short focal lengths - the Pentax XWs down to 3.5mm come to mind.  Mind you, they are usually rather expensive because of the wide fields and rather heavy!

My most used eyepieces are the following.   x2 Baader Mk 111 zooms for binoviewing (with the bit on the front screwed off which much improves eye relief).  x2 16.8 orthos for binoviewing.  The Ultima and Eudiascopic 35mm eyepieces used as a pair, and as single eyepieces for wide field. (both superb for spec users and very high quality), giving the max view available with a 1.25 eyepiece. A 24mm Hyperion for wide field (compare with a 24mm Panoptic, they compare really well in all but short focal length systems).  A x2 original Ultima barlow for 1.25 eyepieces.  I have a few other eyepieces knocking around but rarely use any of them.

Another thing that can help when wearing specs is to use a dark hood when appropriate.  Wearing glasses you are more likely not to be up close to the eyepiece when using wide relief occulars, and this can give reflections from extraneous lights creeping into your field of view.  Of course this is also great for dark adaption if you use specs or not.

Look on the bright side.  When some of us more long standing astronomers started out, eyepieces were generally poorer quality and with short eye relief, even if you didn't wear specs, think of the like of the good old Ramsden.  Orthoscopics were a luxury for many of us back then and too expensive.

Even us astronomers who have to use glasses when observing have never had it so good, and there is no real reason for us to suffer - get on and enjoy it ?.

[Alan White]

I use my distance glasses to use the RDF and to look at the sky,
I take them off to use the eyepieces, but all are long eyerelief and
I wear readers when needed for star charts.

You are right glasses are a right pain, but seeing is so good.

[mikeDnight]

I don't need glasses for observing, but when it comes to reading charts, everything within a metre of my face is completely out of focus. Often I'll use a magnifying glass to read charts, or when flitting from eyepiece to charts or sketch pad and back, I wear half cut specs on the end of my nose. It has the added advantage of making me look more intelligent than I actually am!

 

[paulastro]

Mike, I could be cruel and say it's impossible for glasses NOT to make you look more intelligent than you actually are.  But I don't care what anyone else says, I know you're a very intelligent person and a talented artist, and anyway - looks aren't everything, thank goodness!  ?.

[niallk]

I'm short sighted, and usually wear contacts (which dont correct mild astig in my observing eye).

I find that the quality of the view at the EP is somewhat 'blink' dependent: I guess small shifts in the contact lens on my cornea.  Most of the time I do observe with the contacts in.

Best views for me are without my contacts, then it's on and off with the glasses for charts/Telrad, before looking through the EP.  A little annoying, but as I said, results in the best views for me.  I cannot stand looking through EPs wearing my glasses: I like wide fov, and have medium eye relief Ethos EPs. I accept that in time a dioptrx could be in my future!

I wouldn't have the time, patience or the weather for long exposure AP but I greatly admire the amazing images that people can achieve with fascinating setups.

[Demonperformer]

I wear varifocals but remove them at the ep. But then, I don't do a lot of visual.

[Stub Mandrel]

I struggle with eyepieces which is why I do imaging.

I really can't decide which is best. My bins seem to be best without glasses on but I have to be almost at the extreme of the focus range which makes it hard to get a sharp image.

I  spent ages looking for polaris through my polarscope the other day, before realising it was focused for my glasses not without (or was it the other way around?)

 

[cotterless45]

Can't observe with glasses, like paddling in socks. Could do with a solution, use an eyepatch, red head torch and spectacle cords. Some nights all these get in a right tangle on the head ! The eyepatch greatly improves views .

Being very short sighted , I can't see a thing without glasses, including peering up the Telrad. Can't use the glasses with the eyepatch . It's off, on, up and down !

My optician was quite scathing about not observing with glasses on , but I just can't .Think I might try and old pair and cut one side down.

At outreach , I try to get folk to remove their glasses before looking down the ep. Quite surprising how many , especially kids , stick their nose down the ep !

old Nick.

[wookie1965]

I cannot use my glasses I use an eyepatch kindly supplied by Nick, I use a spectacle cord just a bit shorter I drop my glasses down when viewing. Not tried on the Telrad as I have not fitted it to my scope yet.

[Stub Mandrel]

Last night I was struggling as skywatcher 6x30 finder is fiixed focus (use glasses) but C90 Mak was easier to use without them on.

[Buzzard75]

You should get a monocle. And a top hat.

[Captain Scarlet]

I've been a birdwatcher for years and own many pairs of binoculars, for which eyeglasses present no problems, perhaps because they're symmetrical and I push the lenses back equally both sides.

But with single eyepieces, I can't do it. The glasses get pushed back one side only, I find myself looking through at a significant angle, it just doesn't work. Annoying, as the arms are "sprung" to my head, and annoying as anyone else taking a look then has to adjust focus from my 1.5 diopters.

 

[25585]

I have spent a lot on long eye relief eyepieces (min 20mm usable relief), both in finding ones that are good for my eyes and not-so. Imaging is too over my head beyond snapshots of the Moon. 

I have to wear glasses so eps have to work with them. Fortunately there are plenty to choose from for all focal lengths, we the bespectacled are so lucky!