Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
In this Discussion
- Betelgeuse February 9
- canopus7 March 7
- Champagnerocker February 20
- Drewster February 24
- Hazy February 13
- johno350 February 14
- karl February 24
Are my Binoculars OK for starting out?
-
Hello, I have just bought a pair of Celestron UpClose 10x50 binoculars for looking at the stars and planets from my bedroom windows in my flat. This is the very first time I've looked at the night sky with anything other than my naked eye and the first time I saw the moon up close was amazing. But now I want to see more detail and I'm not sure if my bino's are up to the job.
I have restricted view from where I live as I can only see to the west from my front window and to the east from my back (this is great though for viewing the sun rising and setting) and I can't see very high up into the sky either. Because I live in a flat and on an estate, it's difficult to go out at night looking at the stars (I don't have a garden unfortunately).
I live quite close to Saddleworth so it's kind of between town and the countryside. Anyway, I've been using Stellarium and your website (particularly the "Night Sky With Binoculars Tonight" page) to see what I should be able to see out of my windows at night but as I said, I mainly restricted to only seeing things that are in roughly western or eastern direction.
There's quite a bit of light pollution too where I live but for the most part I can see a lot more of the stars and some planets. I think I've been able to observe Venus and Jupiter and possibly Mars last night although they all appear mainly as bright stars in the sky and with a little tweaking of my binoculars' focus knob, I can sort of see a bigger but more blurred version of the object.
So, getting back to my original question, are these 10x50 bino's fine or should I upgrade to some 15/20x70 pairs? I know with a bigger pair I would probably need a tripod and this may prove a problem unless I could get some kind of desktop mount that I could put on my windowsill.
Sorry for the long post but thanks for any advice. -
10x50s are fine. The views you get with the larger binoculars won't be that much better and you would need to use a tripod with them.
-
Hi Drewster yes 10x50's are perfect, and very often recommended for starting in astronomy.
If I were you I'd get out to a dark site with your 10x50's, it is well worth it. You're on the edge of the Peak District National Park to your south. Head into the park as far as you can from areas of population for dark skies. Or for even darker skies you could always head further north into the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Start by scanning around the band of the Milky Way, picking out star clusters, etc. You'll probably be amazed at just how many stars you can see, even without the binos
The great thing about binoculars is they're extremely portable, able to take anywhere. I think if you went to real dark skies and realised just what you could see with them, you won't be wanting a bigger pair. -
Thanks for the replies, I just wanted some reassurance really. Last night I was able to see Mars and the moon to the East and Jupiter to the West. The planets just looked like particularly bright stars and I wasn't able to see any detail but at least I knew what they were and that I could see them.
I'm hoping to be able to get out on the Saddleworth moors one night with my binos and hopefully see a lot more stars etc. With the weather being as it is now, I think I'll have to wait a while.
I know there'll be no chance of looking at the sky tonight as it's going to snow all night but I'll have a look at Stellarium and see what I'm missing. -
Hi Drewster I to have 10x50's and are good fun.I like my binoculars more then my telescope's because like betelgeuse says they are very portable and you can take them anywhere.
I have 5 pairs of binoculars 4 in the house and 1 in the car.
Just got a new pair of 20x80 celestrons (BIG) but the wife will not let me play with them before my birthday at the end of the month lol.
Try and get yourself a tripod for your binoculars you can then see the night skys in more detail.
Have fun and Enjoy
karl -
I think your original problem was not due to your binoculars, but more your location. In a light polluted area with restricted view you're going to be very limited.
Let your binoculars run free in a big dark sky :-) -
hya,Drewster,i'm a newbie,and 10x50 are a great tool,i used to use 20x50 when i did a lot of astronomy when i was younger a lot of movement due to the mag but brilliant when you can steady them,i use 12x50 at the mo and a 18-54x60 spotting scope makes a lot of difference if you are limited to space,and the 12x50 enable you to see jupiters largest moon,Ganymede,the spotting scope shows the 4 largest it is a cheap alternative but well worth it.clear sky's every one,and as suggested grab a tripod and clamp,but check your thread as all sizes do not fit all makes as i found out last week,.
-
I think I may invest in a tripod to aid keeping the binoculars more steady. I've looked at some of the spotting scopes you suggested Johno but I'm afraid they're too expensive for me, plus I'm not sure I'd get away with having something that size permanently set up by my window as I have neighbours directly opposite and they may get a little suspicious.
That's why I like the binoculars because they are portable so I can keep an eye out for neighbours or people walking past who may wonder if I'm spying on them.
I already have a Joby Gorillapod, would I be able to attach my binoculars to that? -
i know what you mean i was lucky with my spotting scope freebie from my work,you need a bino adaptor but ensure the thread at the base of the binos,will fit i got mine from ebay about £6.00,but didnt check the thread,most binos should fit though.
-
My girlfriend got me a pair of 25x70 bins for Xmas, and they're really good. Good enough for me, I just want to take them out on a clear night to look at the Orion Nebula, Jupiter and the Moon etc. But I really really need to buy a tripod. To see Jupiters moons in December I had to rest them on a broom. Otherwise all I'd see is jut Jupiter on its own because of the shaking. As soon as I supported the bins I could see the moons
-
I really need to look into either a tripod adapter for my Joby Gorillapod or an actual tripod for my binoculars. I'll probably get it sorted by next month. I'm not able to see fine detail on most of the planets and I can't see Jupiter's moons at all.
Tonight is a good night as it's fairly clear skies with a little cloud but I can see both Venus and Jupiter quite near each other in the south to south west.
I just wanted to ask about using the center focussing wheel on my binos. When adjusted all the way to the left (or counter-clockwise) then most planets appear as bright stars but in relatively good focus. However when I turn the wheel to the right (clockwise) then planets appear much bigger but extremely out of focus. I guess because my hands are shaking and I'm not using a tripod, this is making the blur look worse.
What I wanted to know is, am I supposed to turn the wheel clockwise to make the object appear bigger? I assume this is what I'll do when viewing planets like Jupiter and wanting to see its moons but I'm not 100% sure I'm using the focussing wheel correctly. -
dont forget to adjust the right eye piece that has it's own individual focus,sometimes helps i have a pair of 12x50 binos,and i can clearly make out the largest of the moons,i used to own a pair of 20x 50 binos i regret getting rid of them .be sure to close your left eye when focusing the right eye piece and vice versa. i think thats right.
-
Can anyone recommend me a good budget-tripod and an adapter for my binoculars? I'm hoping that by putting them on a tripod it will be steady and give me better focus. I still can't seem to see any particular detail when looking at planets (particularly Jupiter and Venus). I can't seem to see Jupiter's four moons for example.
Perhaps that's just the limitations of my 10 x 50 bins but most thing just look like particularly bright stars.
I'm tempted to upgrade to some 15 x 70 bins but I don't know if that extra money is really going to make that massive of a difference and seeing as I'm just starting out, perhaps it's better to get used to my 10 x 50's first.
I could see Mars last night as well as Jupiter and Venus but as I said, they just appear as bigger, brighter stars really. I think I managed to locate Orion's Belt too which seemed to be fairly close to Jupiter later in the evening (around 11pm). I definitely saw three stars in a horizontal line and assumed that's what I was looking at. -
I bought a "Hama Star 63 Tripod" off amazon for ~£15 that i use with my 20x70 binoculars which does the job well - unless it is blowing a gale (in which case i probably won't be outside).
-
Thanks for the tip Champagnerocker. I'm tempted to get a pair of 15 x 70 binos as I really can't see much detail of the planets like Jupiter and Venus. Especially with Jupiter, I'm finding it very hard to see the four moons with my 20 x 50's. I was wondering what bino's where used for the images of Jupiter and Venus shown on the "The Night Sky With Binoculars Tonight" and "Planets To See In The Sky Tonight" pages? Or are those just stock images/what you may be able to see through a telescope?
At the moment the only thing I can see any detail with is the moon. -
I cant see that much detail on jupiter or venus with 20x80 just Dont expect to much from binoculars. To see any planet detail you will need a 130+telescope
And last thing on a clear night i can see jupiter's 4 moons just wtih my eye's.
atb karl -
I use a 8x42 monocular,as its half the size of binoculars,seen quite a lot with it,always use M71 in Sagitta as a test.I live in Oxford and in the country west of Oxford u can just see it with the 8x42.Have seen it[M71] with 8x20 binoculars from the Isle of Arran,Scotland,2 Octobers ago.I dont own a car and walk out to the country after work so u have to weigh up telescopes,monoculars, binoculars with your capacity.M51s escaped me so far but working on it!
