Hi!
I'm so excited, just ordered my first pair of binoculars today (Orion resolux 10 x50) to do some star gazing which will arrive tomorrow.
I live at Terrigal nsw, am planning to do some early morning star gazing on my morning walk from 5am.
Any tips on special events at the moment?
Thanks!
Simone
Binoculars are a great investment and incredibly handy for starting out in astronomy.
Your first big bright object is the Moon which rises in the east just after midnight and will be in the sky until sunrise. The Moon may wash out the sky a tad so it may not be perfectly dark but try to sweep from the Southern Cross and Pointers just above the southern horizon, and follow the Milky Way over your head to the north.
10x50s can get a little heavy after holding them up for a while so you might need to rest them occasionally on a fence or invest in a tripod! The best thing I have found with binoculars is laying back on a banana lounge and just sweeping the sky.
Thanks Stephan,
Just downloaded the app for my iPhone so I'll see what it's all about...
I'm enjoying yet am slightly overwhelmed by my lack of knowledge about our universe.
Having the feeling of wow it's all been up there all along and I've not had the inclination until now to look up and know more???!!
I mean sure I look at photos from nasa and Hubble and watch series on TV but to see for myself in more detail, and really feel where I am in this universe, well that's exciting...
Can't wait to get my binoculars tomorrow!!!
Thanks again!
Hi Simone,
Welcome to IceInSpace .
There is a fairly active group of us here on the Central Coast.
We regularly meet at Mangrove Mountain (the Pony Club) on a Saturday close to New Moon for "Dark Site" observing.
These is a session planned for this Saturday.
Please check out the "Star Parties ..." Forum for info and map of how to get there.
This is a good opportunity to talk to like minded people, and look though the various equipment.
Venus will be in the east and overhead (ok, maybe more westerly, but still fairly high) will be Sagittarius and Scorpius, basically the core of the Milky Way so there will be plenty to see in the way of open clusters, and stuff you never thought was there with the naked eye. just hope the 5am sun isn't washing out the feint stars ...
binos are great, just pan around slowly and you will love what you see and wonder why you didn't invest in some sooner :p enjoy Simone.
Hi Simone,
First thing first - do you know how to focus binoculars (getting the image sharp in left eye, then adjusting the dial on the right hand eyepiece to get it sharp)? I ask because I've even met people selling binoculars who didn't know about it.
As you walk, look to the southwest, and you'll see the Milky Way and the constellation Scorpius. Stare at the Milky Way where it is thickest, and you'll see some extra fuzzy patches. Aim you binoculars there and you will see all sorts of star clusters.
I used a planisphere and a dim little flashlight to figure out my way around the constellations, and to learn the brightest stars.
Then, a 5th or 6th magnitude star atlas tells you what things are in the sky. I really like Tirion's Bright Star Atlas, because a lot of what it plots and lists can be seen with 10x50s. But you can print some 5th or 6th magnitude charts if you check the free star atlas sticky thread here.
Crossen's Binocular Astronomy book tells you everything you want to know about the universe, and what you can see of it with 10X50 binoculars. From memory, he claims you can see around 50 galaxies with 10X50s at a really dark sky site.
Venus will be in the east and overhead (ok, maybe more westerly, but still fairly high) will be Sagittarius and Scorpius, basically the core of the Milky Way so there will be plenty to see in the way of open clusters, and stuff you never thought was there with the naked eye. just hope the 5am sun isn't washing out the feint stars ...
binos are great, just pan around slowly and you will love what you see and wonder why you didn't invest in some sooner :p enjoy Simone.
matt
At 5am from Sydney, Venus will be about 16 deg high (altitude) and 70 deg azimuth, (north is 0 deg Az and east is 90 deg Az). Therefore Venus is more northerly from east and not very high. The waning crescent Moon was 46 deg high and 47 deg azimuth this morning.
On the morning of the 25th May and particularly the 26th May, the Moon will make a nice pairing with Venus.
Welcome to the group Simone, be advised of a disease we all seem to get on here. It's called aperture fever and will cost you many hard earned dollars to satisfy the craving..
a useful resource for binocular viewing is www.binocularsky.com/ once you punch in your lat and long in the search engine it brings up a list of objects for your sized aperture that are viewable and has finder charts and "what you should see" through the binos which is handy. I even use it for my telescope just so I know I'm on the right object.
matt
also, Sunday morning at around 5am, Uranus is close to the moon and possibly visable with your binos, and easy to locate.
a useful resource for binocular viewing is www.binocularsky.com/ once you punch in your lat and long in the search engine it brings up a list of objects for your sized aperture that are viewable and has finder charts and "what you should see" through the binos which is handy. I even use it for my telescope just so I know I'm on the right object.
matt
also, Sunday morning at around 5am, Uranus is close to the moon and possibly visable with your binos, and easy to locate.
Nice one Mat - thanks for that!
Have fun Simone - binocs are fantastic when starting out - you'll be gobsmacked what you can see from a really dark site. Mine are coming up on 40yrs old and I wouldn't dream of taking my scopes anywhere without them - e.g. do a bit of milky way wandering when the need strikes.
Have you looked at the moons of Jupiter with them yet? You'll see them move about even over the course of a few hours - just make sure you have your binocs resting on something solid to remove shaking of your hands.
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