h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I bought a new pair of binoculars today in the Astronomy Ireland shop. They're Celestron 15 x 70 and they cost €97.

The 15 is the magnification. This is about the maximum that can be managed in hand-held binoculars; even so, the image jumps around a bit and I'll need to develop a steady hand. The 70 is the light gathering ability - 70 is quite big, so they should give a good bright image. So far all I've done with them is look at the Andromeda Galaxy which isn't hard to find and looks like a grey smudge. I'll have a look at Jupiter later when it rises up above the trees.

I plan to bring the binoculars with me to Donegal where the skies should be nice and dark.

**mentally replaces 'the skies should be nice and dark' with 'there's a woman on a remote island who gets undressed with the curtains open'**

B

*giggles*

Well, really. If you'd said you'd bought a telescope, we might have dredged up some respect. Binoculars are just the preserve of strange men with beards.

Hang on...

B

Oi - I have a pair of binoculars. So less of the 'beards', thank you.

I have binoculars, and I've not got a beard, nor am I a strange man!

I'm at Gnomon's new toy though

Jupiter was very impressive, with three moons. I really need to develop a steady hand, though. I got the impression I might have seen the weather patterns on the planet if I could have held it steady.

Jupiter is at its closest since 1999 and it won't be this close again for yonks, so get out there everybody over the next month and observe!

I’ve found that one of the handiest gadgets for binnie operation, without shake, is a telescopic monopole. I use one quite regularly now, and it does help eliminate a lot of the shake associated with higher magnifications. Most of the time it's only necessary to use it in the collapsed position, as just the extra weight hanging under the binnies helps to steady them. The one I use was fairly cheap from a photography suppliers at a county-show stall and it‘s been one of the more useful pieces of paraphernalia I’ve picked up. If you feel like going that route, check that you’ve got the fitting screw hole in your binoculars though.

Jupiter is at opposition on 21 Sept and is quite magnificent at the moment. It‘s coming up to its closest approach to us for ummm… years. It is also undergoing a change at the moment and one of its most prominant features, the Southern Equatorial belt has faded almost completely away, while the Great Red Spot and the northern belt appear darker. A white ish band replaces the southern belt and the GRB is on its own.

Deke

Not that it's easy to see with binoculars, but Neptune was in opposition two days ago. There were several news stories last week proclaiming that next month would mark one Neptunian year since its discovery in 1846 but that was premature. Next year Neptune will complete one orbit since its discovery.

This article tells you where to look if you want to find it.
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/neptune-first-orbit-around-sun-since-discovery-100818.html

Uranus is supposed to be really easy to find in September, as it will be only one degree from Jupiter. I presume that's on a particular day in September, though.

Patrick Moore always recommended binoculars I seem to recall.

It's called a monopole is it? Disappointing -- I expected it would be a monopod, to match tripod. Saw someone using one with a camera, and it made good sense.

I've always called it a monopod. A monopole is a hypothetical particle that has only one magnetic pole. But, yea, it's basically a pole. I seem to recall seeing simple instructions to build a wooden "T" to rest binoculars on... can't recall where... somewhere from my childhood, I think.

Wooden T do well?

"Patrick Moore always recommended binoculars I seem to recall."

That seems particularly ironic given that he is renowned for having different strengths of sight in left and right eyes. Unless he just wears that monocle for effect.

B

Well it was somebody astronomical anyway. A friend of mine bought a telescope and lamented that a good pair of binoculars would have been better.

Anyway, binoculars always have one eyepiece adjustable, to take care of eye imbalance.

Dual-purpose beanbags are a useful alternative. I have a tripod and a monopod; but they are not always convenient to carry around. So! I went into a local chemist and purchased (for about 4 squid), one of those largish black cosmetic bags with a zip; filled it with bird seed and hey presto! you have a steadying item that you can plonk down almost anywhere - tree stump/wall/picnic table/stone slab etc; and during the day, you can spread a little seed around to attract the birds etc when you want to photograph them.