Bino Sessions - 20 and 22 October

[asteria]

Hi all - back from work rather late but the sky is beautiful. What to do but grab the Lidl binos... These binos are great value for the money and excellent when time is short but the sky is clear.

I rated the viewing better than average, but not really great. With dark adapted eyes, I could get down to around mag. 4. The light pollution was not too bad so transparency was OK. Seeing was steady.

Now I know my way around the sky a bit better, I tried to get down to see some of the fainter deep sky objects from the Messier catalogue.

To warm up I tracked down the old favourites M13 and M92. Both looked good in the binos, especially M13 on the first night when the sky seemed just that bit clearer. M92 was just about visible, with averted vision making a bit of a difference.

On to M31 - the Andromeda Galaxy looked great on the first night. This was the best I had seen through binos, with a real sense of the scale of the thing. The haze seemed to fill out the centre of the view, with a bright centre. A real treat.

I tracked down M15 again. This is a tricky glob to spot, nestled in a little triangle of stars. Averted vision made a big difference here, pulling the object out of the dark sky. Due south I found M2 on the second night. Again, a nice find, first time I had got this at all, binos or scope. A faint glob, but again averted vision did the trick.

The cluster due south of Mirphak (alpha Per) was fantastically bright on the first evening. Long looping chains of stars, almost like a necklace hanging down in the sky. This was a great view, and binos gave the wide field needed to see the whole spectacle in its context. Beautiful.

The binos are great for small constellations - Delphinus looked stunning both nights, with the bright stars in the body showing well. Sagitta was also a great sight. On the second night I tried to track down the planetary nebula M27 just north of gamma Sge. I'm pretty sure I picked up the Dumbbell. Not as clear as through a scope, but the dim light of the dumbbell shape was quite discernible.

On both nights I could track down M34, the open cluster near Algol (beta Per). It was possible to make out a few stars, but mostly the view was just the dim glow of starlight.

Also looked up a few of the easier objects - epsilon Lyr, Vega, Alcor and Mizar, scanning through Cassiopeia and Cygnus. All in all, well worth getting out with the binos just for an hour to journey through the night sky.

Clear skies to all

Ed

[russ]

Excellent report Ed.

It's been a while since i used my 10x50's in anger but you have ignited the spark to go dig them out.

btw i highly recommend the 15x70 from Telescope House. They are surprisingly light to hold but pack a serious punch for viewing

[asteria]

Hi Rus - thanks for the feedback. There is something very immediate about using binos, I really like them. I've been thinking about 15x70s - just that bit more light grasp. But I've been a bit worried about the weight and the narrower field of view. The great thing about the 10x50s is the wide view. Also, how easy are they to hold steady? The extra mag. might make the handshake a bit headache inducing!

Ed

[thing]

I have 15x70's and TBH you need them on a tripod. My 8x30's are my favourite bino's. Great report Ed, you're right about the immediacy of bino's, instant stargazing. I always keep mine by the back door.

[Doc]

Great report.

Just goes to show hoW much you can see in Bino's.

Beginners should read this. As I firmly believe that before buying an expensive scope one should learn a little of the sky with bino's first.

[thing]

Great report.

Just goes to show hoW much you can see in Bino's.

Beginners should read this. As I firmly believe that before buying an expensive scope one should learn a little of the sky with bino's first.

Absolutely. I used bino's for about 20 years before getting my first scope. I didn't see the need for one until I decided to do imaging.

[ChrisEdu]

I had my binoculars out the other night trying to find M31 and having a general look around. I did find them good for viewing the Spinnaker Tower, in Portsmouth, from the top of Bignor Hill, but that's another story entirely!

[Greg]

Excellent report...

Never underestimate the power of bino's Superb as the ultimate grab n go.

Greg