Omega Centauri- First night out

[Pat (Patrick)]

It's my first night out with my new bino's in the back yard, nice out if your above the fog.

I managed to spot the Crux after 10 mins of getting my bearings through the bino's. So many stars!!! Learning to move the bino's carefully to your next target is quite an art, star hopping is certainly not easy but I can almost identify the whole of centaurus now.

Anyway I found my way to the Jewel box- my first open cluster spotted!

Next to spot was Omega Centauri. Other than the normal stars, all I managed to find was a faint cloud like blob, I assume this is Omega Centauri. This blob is almost opaque and much wider than a normal faint star.

Can someone confirm what I'm seeing or not seeing?

Another question, I had a bit of dew form on the lenses. Anyway to stop this? Is there such a thing as a dew sheild for bino's?

[dannat (Daniel)]

Pat what sized binos do you have ? you are probably correct in describing OC, most binos cannot resolve it

doyou have waterproof binos? if yes can just wipe the dew

others make a dew shield,most commonly pvc pipe which is painted black (correct diameter) & fits over the objective of the bins, with some felt/velcro tape to make it slide on easier

[Pat (Patrick)]

Size 15 x 70 and mounted.

I don't think they are water proof... is that a problem?

I'll look at some pipe, not sure if I can make it work though.

[erick (Eric)]

Sounds good, Pat! The Jewel Box is lovely through binoculars, small but lovely. Sounds like you did locate Omega Centauri - a bright fuzzy patch.

Here is an article on making some dew shields for a particular set of binoculars:-

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-321-0-0-1-0.html

But if you search, you might find some plastic drink bottles or similar which are the right diameter, Cut them into a form of "pipe" and fit them over. You can spray them black if you get enthusiastic.

It will help if you try to not leave them pointed towards the dark sky when not in use. Tip them down facing the horizon or lower, and cover the eyepieces if you have to step away for a while. Be careful wiping off the condensation - some coatings can be damaged. If you have a warm (not hot) hairdryer to hand, you can drive away the moisture for periods of time.

[Pat (Patrick)]

Thanks Eric,
twas very wet last night! My butt was soaked from my dripping chair.

Is dew always that bad? Or just when there's a big inversion layer keeping it cold and still?

Hopefully tonight is clear too.

[erick (Eric)]

Originally Posted by Pat

Is dew always that bad?

No, sometimes it is worse!

It's that time of year! Mind you, once it gets well under freezing, it turns into ice and won't run anywhere - which is much easier as long as you have some heating into the secondary mirror, eyepieces, finderscope objective of a scope. I must wrap a heater strap around the binocular objectives next time I use them.

[stevoggo (Stephen)]

Hi Pat
if its any help i was also in my backgarden.. on the central coast last night and the dew was unbearable..i am very new to this but i had to give up, i kept wiping the eyepiece etc.. but even when all was clear the resolution of stars etc was not great...compared to the few other nights i have been out viewing was a nightmare. The air seemed "thick" and it was hard to succesfully resolve some objects...
Even tonight was better...
I think due to the heavy rains their is so much moisture in the ground/air and it just covered everything...i noticed the streetlights looked almost as if shrouded in fog....It was thick dew!
cheers
steve

[Rod66 (Rod)]

Hi Pat,

you have the same size bino's as me and that region of the sky is pretty dense with things to look at. Eta Carina and its surrounding clusters will give you plenty to look at. OC is the only globular cluster around that area viewable through the bino's so your description sounds right. Its just visible with the naked eye on a good night. Its like a fuzzy patch of light in 15x70 so you wont see any individual stars, but still quite a beautiful sight. I use it as my reference point as its the first thing I usually look for in the sky this time of year and I can determine what type of sky I have by seeing how bright it is each time.

Have fun with your new Bino's

Rod

[Pat (Patrick)]

Originally Posted by stevoggo

Hi Pat
if its any help i was also in my backgarden.. on the central coast last night and the dew was unbearable..i am very new to this but i had to give up, i kept wiping the eyepiece etc.. but even when all was clear the resolution of stars etc was not great...compared to the few other nights i have been out viewing was a nightmare. The air seemed "thick" and it was hard to succesfully resolve some objects...
Even tonight was better...
I think due to the heavy rains their is so much moisture in the ground/air and it just covered everything...i noticed the streetlights looked almost as if shrouded in fog....It was thick dew!
cheers
steve

Thanks Stevo, nice to know I wasn't being a princess.

Last night was better in respect to dew but I had some light cloud come over.

[Pat (Patrick)]

Originally Posted by Rod66

Hi Pat,

you have the same size bino's as me and that region of the sky is pretty dense with things to look at. Eta Carina and its surrounding clusters will give you plenty to look at. OC is the only globular cluster around that area viewable through the bino's so your description sounds right. Its just visible with the naked eye on a good night. Its like a fuzzy patch of light in 15x70 so you wont see any individual stars, but still quite a beautiful sight. I use it as my reference point as its the first thing I usually look for in the sky this time of year and I can determine what type of sky I have by seeing how bright it is each time.

Have fun with your new Bino's

Rod

Is Eta Carina ɳ Carinae? What should I be looking for? Just a tiny orange reddish dot or does the nebula shed some light on our goggles?

I had a peek last night before the clouds came round but am not sure what I'm looking at?
I think I'm in the right place, found those 3 stars to the right of the Crux/top left of Carina, then star hopped around the Carina constellation, but didn't manage to find anything (that stood out) where the box with the ɳ is on my planisphere.

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Stubby coolers make perfect dew shields for binos.(and for finder scopes too)
Cut the bottoms off and just slide them on. Too easy.
Keep a hair dryer handy to dry off any condensation that has formed on your lenses.

[Pat (Patrick)]

Originally Posted by Pat

Is Eta Carina ɳ Carinae? What should I be looking for? Just a tiny orange reddish dot or does the nebula shed some light on our goggles?

In the past 15 mins I think I've managed to find it! A cluster of very bright stars when viewed through the binos, but just a faint little speck in the sky when viewed with only with the eye.

[Robh (Rob)]

Originally Posted by jjjnettie

Stubby coolers make perfect dew shields for binos.(and for finder scopes too)
Cut the bottoms off and just slide them on. Too easy.

Handy hint, thanks Jeanette.

Rob