First observation with binoculars - process?

[Taz777]

I believe I have all of the bits required to get started on observing in astronomy now. I have the following bits:

• Celestron 25 x 70 binoculars
• Tripod (with aftermarket metal tripod mount that seems more secure and stable for the binoculars)
• SkySafari on my iPad

What I'd like to know is a typical beginner's process for observing using the above equipment. I'm a little bit overwhelmed with everything at the moment. My idea a couple of nights ago, when the night sky was beautifully clear, was to use SkySafari to map what I was seeing but I couldn't quite work out which star was which. I think that the accuracy of my iPad was slightly out.

So, I need to start again, possibly with something simpler, and am looking for suggestions on how I can make this work smoothly.

[Olhippie]

Your way ahead of me, I got hooked after becoming curious about this star that seemed to flash red in the sky every morning. All I have is a pair of binoculars I have had for years. Came here and started asking questions and now I am hooked, but try Sky View app I have been using it on my android phone and it is very cool, tell you star names and show constellations too.

[domstar]

There's a website called binocularsky.com . That should give you a list of great targets for the month. 

Personally, I'm hopeless with binoculars and I look for one of the very bright stars and hop from there otherwise I'm overwhelmed. For example, you'll know when you've found Orion's belt. Look out for coloured stars too as they can give a hint of where you are. 

Anyway, good luck- someone who knows about binoculars will come along shortly.

[Gfamily]

Seconded for BinocularSky as a website - Steve Tonkin is a great source of information and advice. 

He's recently brought out a book that should help ( Discover the Night Sky through Binoculars ), and in addition I'd suggest getting a 12" planisphere, as that will help in the field to locate stars (personally I've used the Philips ones - often available from "The Works", but avoid the Glow in the Dark ones - a bit gimmicky in my view). 

Although you have the 25x70s, I would suggest you consider getting something smaller and lighter like a pair of 8x50s for scanning, as they'll be easier to use for longer off the tripod. When you have located something with the lighter pair, you can then transfer to the more powerful ones on the tripod. 

[SacRiker]

SkySafari is awesome but I would recommend starting old school and picking up a copy of Turn Left at Orion. You can use the book to easily find good targets (for bins and scopes) depending on the time of year. The book will also teach you how to use the stars to jump around the sky and find certain objects. And just wait a few months until Jupiter is up...great target with bins. The best. 

[Astro Imp]

12 minutes ago, SacRiker said:

I would recommend starting old school and picking up a copy of Turn Left at Orion

This is a great introduction to the night sky and if you progress to a scope will be really helpful for that too.
I know it feels a bit overwhelming at first but once you can identify two or three constellations/asterisms these will help lead you to others.
Good luck and most importantly enjoy the journey.

[Guest]

Maybe best to learn a few of the prominent constellations first and leave the bino's until you can navigate the night sky with the naked eye.  Start with Orion.  It's due south later these evenings.  Orion's Belt and Sword  are probably the most distinctive  pattern in the night sky.  Start from there and gradually work outwards.  It will take time but stick with it and wrap up warm !  

[Ben the Ignorant]

5 hours ago, Taz777 said:

So, I need to start again, possibly with something simpler

Yes, your naked eyes to learn the constellations, the asterisms, the brighter stars and the planets to avoid mistaking them for stars and making constellations unrecognizable.

[SacRiker]

13 hours ago, AstroCiaran123 said:

Orion's Belt and Sword  are probably the most distinctive  pattern in the night sky. 

This. I can't walk outside in the Winter now without looking up and feeling like Orion is bashing me over the head. It's the biggest signpost in the sky this time of year. 

[PeterW]

A pair of 7-8x will help with getting a better idea how things fit together and star hopping from bright stars. You can pick up old pairs online quite cheaply. Once you’ve found something you can then move to the higher power one.

observers Sky Atlas is good, so is touring the universe with binoculars.  

Peter.

[Taz777]

A tiny step forward for me - I now realise that Orion was staring me in the face a few nights ago. I've started using SkySafari a lot more now and watched quite a few YouTube videos on basic stargazing. I didn't need the binoculars to view Orion. I'm still trying to figure out how to get SkySafari to point out Orion to me (I have Constellations --> Show Names enabled in Settings).

One down millions to go!

I'm toying with the idea of less powerful binoculars and have seen a good deal on the Olympus 10x50 DPS-1. Would these complement my Celestron 25x70 binoculars? Or would lower magnification ones be even better? I can see two other options for the DPS-1 on Amazon UK: 8x40 and 7x35.

Being into cycling, I have a box full of spare bicycle lights, and I found one high quality helmet light that has a white light at the front and a red one at the rear. I can cycle through various modes until only the red light is on, and it remembers the last setting. So I could try to use this as a red night light. It has a wide-angle lens so produces a comfortable, broad beam of light:

[Gfamily]

Can't make any recommendations as to whether the 10x50s would be better or worse than 8x40s - have you had a look at the BinocularSky.com website?

 

As for the red light, to me, that brightness looks too much for Astro use - I'd worry it's likely to have an effect on your night vision even though it's red.

I would recommend a head torch with a red light option; this one has separate buttons for red and white lights, so you can use red (as necessary) for observing, and white when it's time for packing up 

https://www.7dayshop.com/products/energizer-vision-hd-focus-headtorch-headlight-with-3-x-aaa-energizer-max-batteries-included-wh2-e300280700

[mark81]

I agree with the other comments about learning a few constellations first and then I think by taking a look at them in a sky atlas online, this way you could pick out a few of the bigger DSOs that are hidden within them like the Beehive cluster in Cancer which would look great in your bins. Orion nebula and a few of the clusters in Monoceros are nicely placed at the moment...

[pregulla]

I think any good binoculars in the 7x35 - 10x50 range will work well, it's down to personal preference picking higher magnification or wider field and steadier view. I prefer the 10x50. If you can try some under dark skies that would be best.

[Taz777]

I received my 10 x 50 Olympus DPS-I binoculars today. They are very, very nice! I've done the initial setup on them and have been able to read the telephone number from an alarm bell box attached to a house from about 170 feet away, without having to mount them on a tripod. Sadly the weather forecast is cloud and rain so I won't be able to use them for observing for a while yet.

[MaHa]

4 hours ago, Taz777 said:

I received my 10 x 50 Olympus DPS-I binoculars today. They are very, very nice! I've done the initial setup on them and have been able to read the telephone number from an alarm bell box attached to a house from about 170 feet away, without having to mount them on a tripod. Sadly the weather forecast is cloud and rain so I won't be able to use them for observing for a while yet.

Hi Taz, 

I've been outside for a while tonight where I live under wonderfully clear skies, and observed the usual easy go to targets ie the Pleiades, M42 and Andromeda. 

I was comparing the few pairs of binoculars that I own - Olympus DPS-I 10x50 was one of them, and also the 8x40 version. 

For such a reasonable price they're fantastic bins - and I'm absolutely certain that when the clouds clear and you have a dark sky, you will 100% not be disappointed! 

Hope you get to use them soon. 

Mark. 

[Stu]

I would agree that a less powerful pair of binoculars would be useful to help find your way around the sky. A pair of 8x42s for example are easy to hand hold and have a decent field of view; mine are 8.2 degree which take in a decent chunk of sky and allow you to see asterisms in some context.

As far as using Skysafari to assist, I would not bother using it as a pointing device as this is generally not accurate enough to be useful. I would use it on the same way you would a star map, just with the benefit of being able to customise it to your requirements.

Getting a sense of scale is key to understanding what you are seeing through the 25x100s. They have a 3 degree field of view, so set a viewing circle to this size to allow you to get orientated. You can also set the minimum brightness of stars visible so that the view matches what you see more precisely.

Here are a few examples with a 3 degree circle in blue.

[pregulla]

When I was starting with astronomy and binoculars, being able to point SkySafari at stuff was certainly helpful. It is accurate enough so you can figure out what are those brightest stars and work your way from there. As I got more familiar with the night sky I started using it mainly as a star map.

[PeterW]

A useful skill is being able to bring binoculars to your eyes and know where they’re pointing. Then you can more easily starhop from bright stars using skysafari or other map. 

 

Peter

[Taz777]

Thanks all.

I wish the weather would clear up. It looks like cloud and rain for a few days yet. I'm spending the time reading and learning.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I started observing with 10x50 binoculars just over 40 years ago, and started out by first identifying the great summer triangle (Vega, Deneb, Altair), and from those three finding the trapezium of Hercules with the naked eye. To confirm this identification, I then pointed the binoculars at the point in the trapezium where the Great Cluster of Hercules should be, and instantly spotted a small, circular blob. I did quite a little war dance through my parents' garden. From these few starting constellations, which act as a sort of anchors in the sky, I slowly learned more and more, until I reached the point that I can point big binoculars at many Messier objects and have them in the FOV immediately. That took a few decades practice. Take your time, have fun, and you will get there

[Newdobsky]

Make sure you calibrate your phones compass before each session mine needs it doing regular 

[cletrac1922]

On ‎04‎/‎02‎/‎2019 at 01:02, Taz777 said:

A tiny step forward for me - I now realise that Orion was staring me in the face a few nights ago. I've started using SkySafari a lot more now and watched quite a few YouTube videos on basic stargazing. I didn't need the binoculars to view Orion. I'm still trying to figure out how to get SkySafari to point out Orion to me (I have Constellations --> Show Names enabled in Settings).

One down millions to go!

I'm toying with the idea of less powerful binoculars and have seen a good deal on the Olympus 10x50 DPS-1. Would these complement my Celestron 25x70 binoculars? Or would lower magnification ones be even better? I can see two other options for the DPS-1 on Amazon UK: 8x40 and 7x35.

Being into cycling, I have a box full of spare bicycle lights, and I found one high quality helmet light that has a white light at the front and a red one at the rear. I can cycle through various modes until only the red light is on, and it remembers the last setting. So I could try to use this as a red night light. It has a wide-angle lens so produces a comfortable, broad beam of light:

 

Where I am from the auto spare shops, can guy tail light lens paint

Comes in a container about same size as nail polish, and has small brush built into underside of the cap

Available in both red and yellow

Was originally designed for detachable tail lights on older cars, and able to repaint inside of the plastic lens, which has faded with the sun

Use it on torch for astronomy viewing

Just remove glass of torch, and paint inside surface, let dry, and fit torch back together

 

 

[pregulla]

I use red acrylic filter to cut out red lenses for my flashlights

[PeterW]

Keep it DIM... many people have offensively bright red lights, which will still kill your night vision, should be the minimum amount of light you can get away with. 

Look at the field of view (ft at 100yds etc.. can convert online to degrees) and look at charts to see how much you’ll see. 8 degrees (or so), there is no perfect value... 

Peter