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what can I do with 8x42 binoculars?
Hi,
I have recently bought a pair of Nikon ATB Monarch 8x42 binoculars mainly for outdoor use and wildlife observation (I live in East Central Florida) and I realize that these are less than ideal for observing stars or planets and that something like a 10x70 (or more) would be better. Still, since I have three kids which I am homeschooling, a green laser and a decent astronomy program on my computers (Kstars) I was wondering what I could do with the binoculars I have. Is 8x42 really useless for night sky observation on can I see some planets besides the Moon? What else, if anything, can one observe with such low power bins? Many thanks for any pointers! M. PS: Any chance of seeing the Space Station? |
#2
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what can I do with 8x42 binoculars?
I have recently bought a pair of Nikon ATB Monarch 8x42 binoculars
mainly for outdoor use and wildlife observation (I live in East Central Florida) and I realize that these are less than ideal for observing stars or planets and that something like a 10x70 (or more) would be better. Still, since I have three kids which I am homeschooling, a green laser and a decent astronomy program on my computers (Kstars) I was wondering what I could do with the binoculars I have. Is 8x42 really useless for night sky observation on can I see some planets besides the Moon? What else, if anything, can one observe with such low power bins? Many thanks for any pointers! M. PS: Any chance of seeing the Space Station? Your binos are a wonderful instrument for doing astronomy! I recommend that you get a mount for them, as 1) steadily hand-holding for astronomy is hard to do, and 2) a mount allows the binos to stay positioned on a target while you and your children share viewing. This mount is very inexpensive and very high quality: http://www.burgessoptical.com/Mounts/TinyTitanII.html You will need some kind of tripod to attach it to - a simple photo tripod is fine. So far as observing goes, if your sky is reasonably dark then there is a lifetime of astronomy to be done with your binos. This isn't to say that you might not want more apperture at some point, but rather that you won't run out of things to observe and study. I am sure that you will get a lot of tips on what to observe here, and it will be good info. For instance, right now you can observe Jupiter and up to four of it's moons, as well as Uranus and maybe Neptune. The Milky Way contains dozens of great targets for naked-eye and small bino observing. You can't go wrong locating and observing any of the bright Messier objects that are available (e.g. M22, M11, M8, M13, and the non-Messier Double Cluster), and your software should help you with this. Finally, you should join your local astronomy club, where you will find folks who are eager to help you and your children figure out how and what to observe. In fact, I wouldn't argue with you discounting everything else I have told you, and following whatever advice your club folks give you. Dennis |
#3
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what can I do with 8x42 binoculars?
On Aug 4, 3:03 pm, "Dennis Woos" wrote:
I have recently bought a pair of Nikon ATB Monarch 8x42 binoculars mainly for outdoor use and wildlife observation (I live in East Central Florida) and I realize that these are less than ideal for observing stars or planets and that something like a 10x70 (or more) would be better. Still, since I have three kids which I am homeschooling, a green laser and a decent astronomy program on my computers (Kstars) I was wondering what I could do with the binoculars I have. Is 8x42 really useless for night sky observation on can I see some planets besides the Moon? What else, if anything, can one observe with such low power bins? Many thanks for any pointers! M. PS: Any chance of seeing the Space Station? Your binos are a wonderful instrument for doing astronomy! I recommend that you get a mount for them, as 1) steadily hand-holding for astronomy is hard to do, and 2) a mount allows the binos to stay positioned on a target while you and your children share viewing. This mount is very inexpensive and very high quality: http://www.burgessoptical.com/Mounts/TinyTitanII.html You will need some kind of tripod to attach it to - a simple photo tripod is fine. So far as observing goes, if your sky is reasonably dark then there is a lifetime of astronomy to be done with your binos. This isn't to say that you might not want more apperture at some point, but rather that you won't run out of things to observe and study. I am sure that you will get a lot of tips on what to observe here, and it will be good info. For instance, right now you can observe Jupiter and up to four of it's moons, as well as Uranus and maybe Neptune. The Milky Way contains dozens of great targets for naked-eye and small bino observing. You can't go wrong locating and observing any of the bright Messier objects that are available (e.g. M22, M11, M8, M13, and the non-Messier Double Cluster), and your software should help you with this. Finally, you should join your local astronomy club, where you will find folks who are eager to help you and your children figure out how and what to observe. In fact, I wouldn't argue with you discounting everything else I have told you, and following whatever advice your club folks give you. Dennis Definitely look for andromeda - I shown it to people of all ages using binocs, and they've all absolutely loved it (without exception). I always expected people to either not see it or not see the significance of the little smudge, but they all get it and appreciate what they're seeing. The other thing is that the milky way itself is cool with binoculars just from the feel of going from quite a lot of stars with the naked eye to millions and millions. Once you then explain the shape of the galaxy, where we are and why you see different numbers of stars in different directions again people get really interested... Then the pleiades aren't bad, and Orions sword is usually visible. As the other poster said, jupiters moons are also quite impressive... Nik |
#4
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what can I do with 8x42 binoculars?
There is an excellent program called "TUBA" short for - TOURING THE
UNIVERSE THROUGH BINOCULARS ATLAS. Freeware and can be found at... http://www.philharrington.net/tuba.htm D/L link is near the bottom of the page. Enjoy! Mark S. |
#5
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what can I do with 8x42 binoculars?
On Aug 4, 7:11*am, wrote:
Is 8x42 really useless for night sky observation on can I see some planets besides the Moon? *What else, if anything, can one observe with such low power bins? As others have stated, 8x42s can be both useful and enjoyable for astronomical observations. My own 8x42s have sometimes been my 'instrument of choice' for observing certain celestial objects -- such as certain comets and Milky Way star fields. From a *dark* sky many deep sky objects (with the aid of a magnitude 6 star atlas) can be detected with 8x42 binoculars. It can be enjoyable to relax and simply look around in the night sky with 8x42s even without an atlas. As for planets; Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are easy to see with the unaided eye. Sometimes Uranus can be seen with the unaided eye from a sufficiently dark observing site. 8x42 binoculars will add Uranus and Neptune to the list of visible planets, but expect to see *no* details on any of those planets. With suitable white-light solar filters securely attached over the objectives you'll be able to see sunspots (when there are sunspots to be seen ;-) A tripod and mount will make it easier to pick out details (most of which will be quite small) on the sun and moon, but for most purposes you should be fine using the binoculars hand-held. PS: Any chance of seeing the Space Station? The space station is bright enough to be seen easily (looking like a bright, rapidly moving 'star') with the unaided eye. You can certainly expect to *see* the space station with 8x42 binoculars, but you shouldn't expect to see any structural detail. If you look around in my blog and website you'll probably find 8x42 binoculars mentioned for some of my observations. Such binoculars get used for astronomy even by people who have larger binoculars and telescopes. Bill Greer To sketch is to see. http://cejour.blogspot.com http://www.rangeweb.net/~sketcher |
#6
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what can I do with 8x42 binoculars?
Dear friends,
First, I want to thank you all for your replies and encouragements. I did not expect at all that 8x42 could be used for amateur astronomy and I am quite delighted. @Dennis: Jupiter's moons?!?!?! I would never have imagined that. I will try, thanks! @ G=EMC^2 : thanks for the tip. I am scouting ebay for some cheapo bins in the 10x50 12x50 range. I know that this is less than ideal quality, but this is all that I can afford right now. @Nik: I will follow on your advice and try to see Andromeda. I can use Kstars to find it or TUBA (which Mark recommended) @ Mark: Thanks for the TUBA tip. Though all my computers are GNU/ Linux (I never use Windows or Apple) I got TUBA and installed it via an emulator (called WINE). It works *perfectly*. Thanks again for the tip! @ Saul: I expect that you Celestron 8x56 can get a *lot* more light than my Nikon ATB Monarch in 8x42. I did consider the Nikon ATB Monarch in 8.5x56 but I just could not afford them (I got my 8x42 at 200 bucks, so I can hardly complain about the price). I suppose that 42 vs. 56 is a huge difference, but I hope to be able to afford some decent x56 or even x70 one day :-) @Bill: thanks for all the info. Is there an easy way to find out where/when to look for the ISS? |
#7
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what can I do with 8x42 binoculars?
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#8
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what can I do with 8x42 binoculars?
wrote in message...
... Dear friends, First, I want to thank you all for your replies and encouragements. I did not expect at all that 8x42 could be used for amateur astronomy and I am quite delighted. @Dennis: Jupiter's moons?!?!?! I would never have imagined that. I will try, thanks! @ G=EMC^2 : thanks for the tip. I am scouting ebay for some cheapo bins in the 10x50 12x50 range. I know that this is less than ideal quality, but this is all that I can afford right now. @Nik: I will follow on your advice and try to see Andromeda. I can use Kstars to find it or TUBA (which Mark recommended) @ Mark: Thanks for the TUBA tip. Though all my computers are GNU/ Linux (I never use Windows or Apple) I got TUBA and installed it via an emulator (called WINE). It works *perfectly*. Thanks again for the tip! @ Saul: I expect that you Celestron 8x56 can get a *lot* more light than my Nikon ATB Monarch in 8x42. I did consider the Nikon ATB Monarch in 8.5x56 but I just could not afford them (I got my 8x42 at 200 bucks, so I can hardly complain about the price). I suppose that 42 vs. 56 is a huge difference, but I hope to be able to afford some decent x56 or even x70 one day :-) @Bill: thanks for all the info. Is there an easy way to find out where/when to look for the ISS? I'm sure all are "you're welcome"ing you, Mamadu! Here's an image that shows where the ISS at any time... http://www.heavens-above.com/ That site also gives location predictions. HTH happy days and... starry starry nights! -- Indelibly yours, Paine Ellsworth P.S.: Thank YOU for reading! P.P.S.: http://painellsworth.net |
#9
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what can I do with 8x42 binoculars?
On Aug 4, 9:11*am, wrote:
Hi, I have recently bought a pair of Nikon ATB Monarch *8x42 binoculars mainly for outdoor use and wildlife observation (I live in East Central Florida) and I realize that these are less than ideal for observing stars or planets and that something like a 10x70 *(or more) would be better. * Still, *since I have three kids which I am homeschooling, a green laser and a decent astronomy program on my computers (Kstars) I was wondering what I could do with the binoculars I have. *Is 8x42 really useless for night sky observation on can I see some planets besides the Moon? *What else, if anything, can one observe with such low power bins? Many thanks for any pointers! M. PS: Any chance of seeing the Space Station? I have the same binos -- purchased them for birding but use them for astronomy. Last night, I checked out most of the objects around Saggitarius -- M20, M22, M23, etc. Had no problem with any of them. Get this book: Binocular Highlights: 99 Celestial Sights for Binocular Users (Spiral- bound) by Gary Seronik You can purchase the book on Amazon.com or from Sky and Telescope. The space station is a naked-eye object -- when it's visible, you can watch it coast across the sky. |
#10
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what can I do with 8x42 binoculars?
@Iordani, Painius @ Saul: thanks - I will use the "heavens above" to
track the ISS @Kickin' Ass and Takin' Names: I just ordered the book from Amazon. Thanks! PS: this is the most newbie-friendly group I have ever come across! Thanks guys, you are all great :-) |
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