Planet viewing and 10x50 binos

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Planet viewing and 10x50 binos

#1

Post by Buckethead 2.0 »


I know that Venus is really easy to view with my 10x50's, because I have already seen it more than once with them. But will I be able to see Saturn, Jupiter, or other planets under orange Bortle scale skies? I know I would have to time it when the moon is new, or not risen yet.
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Re: Planet viewing and 10x50 binos

#2

Post by JayTee »


10X is enough to see Jupiter's moons but no planetary detail. It is not enough magnification to see Saturn's rings. The oblong shape of Saturn becomes noticeable around 15-18X (depending on your eye's ability), but it is only a NOT round object. You can't tell why it's not round, in other words, you can't separate the rings from the planet at such low magnification through binos.

Also, the planets are so bright (everybody inside of Neptune) that the phase of the moon really has no impact on planetary viewing.

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∞ Primary Scopes: #1: Celestron CPC1100 #2: 8" f/7.5 Dob #3: CR150HD f/8 6" frac
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Re: Planet viewing and 10x50 binos

#3

Post by Buckethead 2.0 »


JayTee wrote: Sun May 10, 2020 1:45 am 10X is enough to see Jupiter's moons but no planetary detail. It is not enough magnification to see Saturn's rings. The oblong shape of Saturn becomes noticeable around 15-18X (depending on your eye's ability), but it is only a NOT round object. You can't tell why it's not round, in other words, you can't separate the rings from the planet at such low magnification through binos.

Also, the planets are so bright (everybody inside of Neptune) that the phase of the moon really has no impact on planetary viewing.

Cheers,
JT
Excellent, thank you JT. :D
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Re: Planet viewing and 10x50 binos

#4

Post by John Baars »


There is a little trick...I wished I knew when I was a boy back in 1970.
You can use an eyepiece, even a loup will do. Hold it straight behind the eyepiece of the binoculars. Focussing is done by moving the handheld eyepiece out from the binoculars. In the case of an 25mm eyepiece it will magnify the original 10X magnified image even more. To give it more stability try to arrange it in some sort of tube. The image is not of top-quality of course (a 60mm refractor is far better), but you will be able to see the rings of Saturn!!
Refractors in frequency of use : *SW Evostar 120ED F/7.5 (all round ), * Vixen 102ED F/9 (vintage), both on Vixen GPDX.
GrabnGo on Alt/AZ : *SW Startravel 102 F/5 refractor( widefield, Sun, push-to), *OMC140 Maksutov F/14.3 ( planets).
Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5.
Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS, *Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40
Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt.
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Re: Planet viewing and 10x50 binos

#5

Post by Ruud »


That's interesting, [mention]John Baars[/mention]. I must try this trick!

Earth is the planet best seen through binoculars, but that's a personal opinion. The best moons are Earth's moon followed by Jupiter's.
7x50 Helios Apollo 8x42 Bresser Everest 73mm f/5.9 WO APO 4" f/5 TeleVue Genesis 6" f/10 Celestron 6SE 0.63x reducer 1.8, 2, 2.5 and 3x Barlows eyepieces from 4.5 to 34mm
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Re: Planet viewing and 10x50 binos

#6

Post by John Baars »


I just retried. And got a very very contrastarm image on infinity. Focussing is a major problem, one overshoots focus in a wink. I forgot all about that. The memory was romanticized.... :lol:

I used to show my and other kids the Moon with it when we were on a holiday once and I had no telescope with me. I remember making the cardboard tube in the afternoon together with the little boys. It is absolutely no alternative for a decent telescope, no matter how small. It seems the Moon is about the only object that reflects enough light to get an image. No decent images I am afraid. So forget I mentioned it. Sorry.
Refractors in frequency of use : *SW Evostar 120ED F/7.5 (all round ), * Vixen 102ED F/9 (vintage), both on Vixen GPDX.
GrabnGo on Alt/AZ : *SW Startravel 102 F/5 refractor( widefield, Sun, push-to), *OMC140 Maksutov F/14.3 ( planets).
Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5.
Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS, *Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40
Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt.
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Re: Planet viewing and 10x50 binos

#7

Post by Refractordude »


John Baars wrote: Sun May 10, 2020 9:29 am There is a little trick...I wished I knew when I was a boy back in 1970.
You can use an eyepiece, even a loup will do. Hold it straight behind the eyepiece of the binoculars. Focussing is done by moving the handheld eyepiece out from the binoculars. In the case of an 25mm eyepiece it will magnify the original 10X magnified image even more. To give it more stability try to arrange it in some sort of tube. The image is not of top-quality of course (a 60mm refractor is far better), but you will be able to see the rings of Saturn!!
cool
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