Night sky with binoculars - Autumn galaxies in 16x70 binoculars

[dexter77]

Date: November 8, 2023
Binoculars: APM 16x70 ED
Location: Central Europe (Poland)

I took all the photos with my smartphone.

Have you ever had the opportunity to go alone outside the city for night observations? If not, I sincerely recommend it. Amazing experience. And I'm not talking about some nearby area. Just pack your equipment in the car and drive to the countryside under the dark sky. Some time ago this was unthinkable to me. Not for social reasons, I just didn't have the courage to go completely alone to a wild field, where visibility ends only a few meters away, and then only darkness and the specific sounds of forest animals nearby.

A clear night in November is such a rare occurrence that I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity. I only took 16x70 binoculars with me, so setting up the entire set took me only a few seconds. As soon as I looked at the starry sky, I immediately knew that it was worth it. In the blink of an eye, I was immersed in the views and forgot about the local world around me. The best thing about solitary observations is that we fully focus on the objects, we drift among the stars and are not distracted by anything. In addition, extremely good adaptation of eyesight in the dark, maximum enlargement of the pupil, which really gets a "kick" when no unplanned light reach us from any direction.

I had two main binocular challenges, the rest was recreation. The first of them was the spiral galaxy NGC 7331 in Pegasus with a brightness of 9.2 magnitude, which is not an easy object to observe with small binoculars. I aimed at the corner of the constellation Pegasus and bounced to the star Matar, which became my guide. I found the location of the galaxy quite quickly in the field of view thanks to the characteristic three stars right next to it. As for the facility itself, I had big doubts, but I wasn't going to give up. I stared at the place for quite a long time, until at some point a small, slightly elongated glow began to appear. To gain confidence, I took several approaches until I reached such a level of visual adaptation that the galaxy basically loomed straight ahead. There are several other challenges at this facility, such as: "Stephan's Quintet", but I leave that for a much larger aperture.

Cetus A, a spiral galaxy numbered M71, was another challenge for my 16x70 binoculars. The constellation Cetus was already diving towards the horizon, but its tail was still quite high. After finding the Delta Cet star, the galaxy I was looking for appeared quite quickly. This time it was definitely easier. It resembled a delicate, small fluffy ball. All because of its location relative to us, some 33 million light years away. The distance is impressive.

 

As I immersed myself in the autumn deep sky objects, I basically forgot about the darkness surrounding me. The focus on the stars was so strong that I wouldn't even notice a passing "forest creature" if it decided to come closer. Out of curiosity, I took a look at Saturn, which was about to disappear over the horizon. To my surprise, conditions were so good that for the first time in my life I saw something more than an egg-shaped ball in small binoculars. There were moments when the snapping focus gave a characteristic shape to the rings, almost separating them from the planet itself. Well, maybe "almost". Small, but still - Saturn in all its beauty through 16x70 binoculars. A rare sight.

 

As the minutes passed, I was able to see basically any objects within the range of the binoculars. However classic deep sky objects made the greatest impression. The Double Cluster in Perseus, which was bursting with countless stars. The Andromeda Galaxy, which stretched across the field of view along with its neighbors M110 and M32. The Pleiades, which showed their nebular glow, and finally the open clusters in Auriga, which spread like diamonds in the sky. Finally, for the first time this season, I was able to take a longer look at Orion and M42, or at the Monkey Head Nebula NGC 2174, which was an easy object for 16x70 binoculars that night, even without filters.

I must admit that it was probably one of the best autumn nights I have ever had in terms of observations. I don't remember such a crystal clear sky at this time of year. You could choose from both simple and more difficult objects. The slight cold didn't bother at all, and the humidity wasn't too bad either. It was good to get out of the city in the middle of the week and look at the night sky, even if it didn't suit anyone else at the time. Observing alone outside your comfort zone is a completely different experience. On the one hand, a little adrenaline that something might happen, and on the other, the feeling of exploring unknown regions of the sky with total concentration, making you feel like a space explorer. It was worth it.

Hear you soon!
Regards!

[DirkSteele]

Nice write up and photos.  Makes me want to do the same.

 

[Epick Crom]

Very good observing report using extremely handy 16x70mm binoculars! Yes, it's great to get out of the city and observe in dark skies in the middle of nowhere. 

It sounds like you had a fantastic time, well done 👍👏👌

 

Clear Skies

Joe

[Bugdozer]

Sounds like a great night and some lovely pictures. Your mention of forest creatures reminds me - there's a fox that regularly comes and sits just a few metres away from us when we go out to our dark site, I'm sure it's the same one each time. It's quite fearless.

[josefk]

Sounds brilliant and the pictures are great. Really nice. 

[dexter77]

Thank you for your kind words, more reports coming soon!