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What to do when you’re too tired to observe?


RobertI

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I stepped outside before bedtime, and was greeted by a spectacular sight - Mars, Aldeberan, the Hyades and Pleiades shining brightly against a wonderfully black transparent sky. Not what I expected after a day of rain! Annoyingly, I was too tired to lug out the scopes, but then I remembered the binoculars, which don’t get used enough, and I ended up enjoying a fantastic fifteen minutes of astronomy bliss with my 10x50s. 

First test of transparency was M33 and I was pleased to clearly see the the oval glow in the right place. And with NO dark adaption. This was obviously a good night for DSOs. A quick scan of Auriga revealed M36, M37 and M38 - open clusters with an interesting mix of brightness and size. Then M35 in Gemini which was even better, appearing large and resolved. I’m always amazed at what a magnification of 10x can reveal.

The Hyades filled the field of view, its members having some subtle variances of colour - these binoculars always pick out colour so well - I think the large exit pupil must help. The Pleiades were equally inspiring, with Ally’s Braid showing clearly in the middle. 

Then onto Cassiopeia. Easy to get lost in the mass of stars of the Milky Way, and open clusters abound - NGC663, NGC457 (ET cluster), NGC129, M52 and NGC7789 (Caroline’s Rose) which looked more like a galaxy than a cluster, thanks to its richness. The double cluster in Perseus was just a short jump away. With Orion rising over the rooftops I got first sighting of M42 this year. 

I reluctantly packed away and retired to bed very happy to have made something of the evening.

Thinking about how good this wide field bino-experience was, I shall have to think about how to get a more serious setup that doesn’t involve getting a neck ache, perhaps a better binocular plus parallelogram mount, or possibly a right-angled wide-field bino-scope like the Vixen BT81S. 🙂

Edited by RobertI
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Good going Robertl! I do the same as you when I'm too tired to lug out the dob, I grab my 10x50mm binos. They provide a wonderfully wide, 3D presentation and reveal a surprising amount of detail. Observing starfields and the brighter deep sky objects through them is a joy!

Joe

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A good clutch of targets Robert. 👍

Often with me lately is, when there's a clear spell later in the evening during the working week, I dread breaking the kit down rather than setting up. That's when the binoculars come out to play. Either the 10x50s or 15x70s on a monopod. At home the binoculars are nowhere near as useful compared to a rural location but they satisfy an itch and I find the still of the night to be quite a calming experience.

 

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I have a 50mm RACI finder that I use as a super grab-n-go with a lightweight photo tripod and alt-az mount.  If I keep an EP in it, I'm out the door and observing almost as quickly as walking out with my binos.  It's quite good for those times when I don't feel like messing about with a larger scope.

 

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That’s a fine haul @RobertI. Binos can be a very good option for times when you can’t face putting a scope out. I must say the skies did look very transparent when I was observing Mars, and I picked up a number of the Auriga clusters in my 10x60 finder whilst hunting around for it, quite surprising.

My only comment about getting a more serious setup is that as soon as tripods and mounts are involved, my view is that it’s just as easy to put a small scope out. I don’t often use it, but my old Genesis can give a five degree field and it is much better edge corrected than binoculars I’ve used, plus the viewing position is much more comfortable.

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On 22/11/2022 at 18:40, jjohnson3803 said:

I have a 50mm RACI finder that I use as a super grab-n-go with a lightweight photo tripod and alt-az mount.  If I keep an EP in it, I'm out the door and observing almost as quickly as walking out with my binos.  It's quite good for those times when I don't feel like messing about with a larger scope.

 

On 23/11/2022 at 07:52, Stu said:

That’s a fine haul @RobertI. Binos can be a very good option for times when you can’t face putting a scope out. I must say the skies did look very transparent when I was observing Mars, and I picked up a number of the Auriga clusters in my 10x60 finder whilst hunting around for it, quite surprising.

My only comment about getting a more serious setup is that as soon as tripods and mounts are involved, my view is that it’s just as easy to put a small scope out. I don’t often use it, but my old Genesis can give a five degree field and it is much better edge corrected than binoculars I’ve used, plus the viewing position is much more comfortable.

You guys made me think I need to set up a couple of Grab and Go scopes for super quick sessions. So I put my 60mm RACI finder on a monopod with a 21mm eyepiece in, making a lovely rich-field mini-telescope, with 11x magnification, 6.3 degrees FOV and 5.6mm exit pupil. Actually quite amazing the number of stars and clusters it picked up last night - almost got M36, 37 and 38 in the same FOV! Edge of field aberrations were pretty horrendous, but not surprising at F3.75!! The mono-pod really helped to steady things, even when not on the ground.

I also set up my Heritage 130P on the mini-giro and photo tripod for quick sessions. The Heritage is good as the eyepiece is at the right height to use when standing (so no seat to set up) and is nice and easy to view near the zenith. Actually a very good G&G setup. I tried the 24mm ES, 21mm Hyperion and 17mm Morpheus - the latter giving much the better views and probably the one I will leave in there. A nice transparent night last night with M1 and M33 (my test objects for transparency at this time of year) showing up very clearly.   

So now the decision on which scope to use becomes easy, if I have 5 minutes it's the 60mm, if I have around 30 minutes it's the H130, and if I have longer I set up the 102 and/or C8 depending on what I want to see. Simples.

Edited by RobertI
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Binoculars are my most used astro item Rob, for much the reasons you mention.
My concern with a mount is that they then become an issue for not using them.

Binoculars make a sky enjoyable for me when I am busy, distracted or just too done to set up kit.
A quick 10 minutes with the Binos and I am refreshed again.

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I had a carbon-copy of that just tonight. An entire day of violent VIOLENT squalls rolling in one after another: hail, thunder, lightning, 50-60mph gusts, a power cut. And then, around 1030 it all stopped, the sky cleared and I had to get at least a pair of bins out. Almost the same target list as yours, wonderfully restoring for a few minutes.

Magnus

Edited by Captain Scarlet
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