Binoculars- WOW, I'm impressed!

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

Hi all,

Thought I'd share an experience I had tonight under the stars at home in Sydney.

I was mucking around with a scope playing 'dodge that cloud' when I noticed the constellation Corvus in the east- that ment only one thing to me : SOMBRERO GALAXY.

Being at home, I always have my cheapie 10X50 binos with me. Used it with a star atlas to locate 'the hat'.

Locate it! I was able to SEE IT through the binos in Sydney! Through all the light pollution and cloud dodging, there was the Sombrero in my 50mm binos! Woohoo.

Well, if you can see the Sombrero, how about M83? BANG! There it was too. Truly amazing.

I had seen them in a 6X30 finder, at a dark site, but I never thought that 50mm binos would show them at home!

Couldn't do any more spotting after that, the clouds got too nasty, and the mozzies had me on the dinner menu.

Mental.

[PCH (Paul)]

Alex,

how awesome

What level of detail were you able to discern of the Sombrero and the spiral M83?
Cheers

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Wonderful!!
I love Binocular Astronomy.

[Waxing_Gibbous (Peter)]

Originally Posted by jjjnettie

Wonderful!!
I love Binocular Astronomy.

They're weird and unnatural, but if you get good "scope"* I suppose its OK.




*This is a new term I'm promoting. Its got that edgy, street-cred thing going IMHO.
It should be self-explanatory, but it refers to the confluence of seeing, transparency, 'scope quality and 'X' factor.
Your thoughts?

[lacad01 (Adam)]

Who'd a thought! Good stuff Alex, I'll have to give it a crack next clear night

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

The Sombrero was a small candle flame shape, with a discernably bright core, pale blueish in colour. Too squished to be a globular cluster.

M83 was the same size, but more round in shape. Not knowing any better I would have said it resembeled a small but intense globular cluster.

I am so totally stoked!

[Paddy (Patrick)]

That's very impressive from Sydney! I wouldn't have thought it possible.

[AG Hybrid (Adrian)]

Wow thats awesome Alex! Try this I must!

[mercedes_sl1970]

Excellent. I love just cruising around with binos.

Andrew

[hickny (Peter)]

Alex showed me how to locate the Sombrero earlier tonight on the oval at Randwick Girls' High School. Sure enough it was there in the binoculars and looked fantastic in my Odyssey I, (13.1" mirror). Unfortunately just after locating it the cloud rolled in and before long rain followed. Luckily we had decided to pack up just as the first drops started to fall.