Binoculars taught me a lesson...

[ewomack]

I'm still a relative newbie. I have looked at the (amazing) full moon, but I have yet to sky-hop very much with binoculars.

I initially bought a pair of Celestron Skymaster 25x70s. I completely understand why numerous people told me that they might not provide the best beginner experience. We humans can be stubborn critters, so sometimes we only learn the hard way. I take full responsibility for my fallibility. It wasn't a total loss, though, because the moon looks absolutely stunning in these massive things, of course using a tripod, and it's also very easy to find.

But I quickly learned, and many of you tried to tell me, that these might make sky-hopping difficult or even frustrating. At least I now completely understand the concept of "field of view" and the SkyMasters only have one of 2.7°. Again, I know that I will use them again, so I don't regret buying them. Anyone who wants an amazing view of the moon will enjoy these. Once I get better at finding things in the sky, I'm also guessing that these will provide some incredible sights.

So, to balance those monsters, I picked up a pair of much smaller Nikon A211 Aculon 10x50s that have a 6.5° field of view (I think @notFritzArgelander recommended these). Using the two in tandem, I see the advantages of the 11x50s for finding smaller things with their much wider field of view. I think I'll enjoy finding tiny things in the sky with these.

There is a tree with small red berries across the street. Looking at it with both binoculars really helped me appreciate their differences. The 11x50s are shown on top and the 25x70s underneath. With one I can see the tree and with the other I can see the berries.

And onward the learning goes.

[Frankskywatcher]

If I may ask do you own a telescope or just the two sets of binoculars ?

[ewomack]

If I may ask do you own a telescope or just the two sets of binoculars ?

I did build a very cheap, potentially bordering on useless, telescope as described in this thread, but I'm not sure if I count that as "owning a telescope." I put it together more to learn about telescope innards than for serious use, though I still plan to try it out. I also have a Galileoscope that someone on another forum graciously sent to me for free, but I have yet to assemble it. I think it will serve a similar purpose to the first telescope kit mentioned, but some people have claimed that it has some legitimate uses.

As of now, I really only have the two pairs of binoculars. I'm reading up on telescopes and just read the section that discussed them in Terence Dickinson's "Nightwatch," which taught me quite a bit. Hopefully, I'll buy one sometime in the future, but I want to buy a decent one and that means spending more money. I would rather not shell out money without doing considerable research first, so I'm planning on taking the binocular route as I learn and get more experienced.

That was probably more than you wanted to know.

[Frankskywatcher]

Thank you for respond and answering my question .
The reason I ask is because I started out with just a pair of 7 x 50 old binoculars that someone gave me.
I am also new to the hobby but I live out on a country road with no lights the only light pollution I have is a neighbor two houses down with his garage lights but it really doesn’t affect me that much. Now I don’t know what your light pollution situation is but if it’s low you should really think about getting a telescope.
The binoculars are great especially for people Who have a hard time with just looking through with one eye trying to close the other eye.
Once I knew that I really wanted to dig deeper into this hobby I bought a 10 inch DOB from High Point scientifics apertura A.D. 10 .
They have gone up in price I think since I got mine but if you see even the 8 inch one is somewhat reasonable. https://www.highpointscientific.com/tel ... telescopes
Once you buy a halfway decent telescope you’ll never look back !

[Bigzmey]

It is nice to have both options. 25x70 is harder to operate, but once you get a hang of it you will find that they will show fainter targets and resolve more details. To help with navigation you can attach a simple lightweight red dot finder, or even green laser (but be careful not to shine it on planes).

[Frankskywatcher]

Thank you for responding and answering my question .
The reason I ask is because I started out with just a pair of 7 x 50 old binoculars that someone gave me.
I am also new to the hobby but I live out on a country road with no lights,the only light pollution I have is a neighbor two houses down with his garage lights but it really doesn’t affect me that much.
Now I don’t know what your light pollution situation is but if it’s low you should really think about getting a telescope.
The binoculars are great especially for people Who have a hard time with just looking through with one eye trying to close the other eye.
Once I knew that I really wanted to dig deeper into this hobby I bought a 10 inch DOB from High Point scientifics apertura A.D. 10 .
They have gone up in price I think since I got mine but if you see even the 8 inch one is somewhat reasonable. https://www.highpointscientific.com/tel ... telescopes
Once you buy a halfway decent telescope you’ll never look back !

[jrkirkham]

I looks like you have a good combination for some serious viewing. I like my 10x50s for scanning the night sky. I've had a pair since my college years, even when I did not have a telescope. I have seen most of the Messier objects through them. The 25x70s may help you focus a little more on specific targets. The Astronomical League has several observing programs especially for binoculars.

I also have a small Galileoscope. I have spent a lot of time with that little telescope and enjoyed it a lot. I did make a couple of improvements. I place it on an old camera tripod and usually used one of my other eyepieces. I liked it so much that I once parked my regular scopes an spent over a year just using that one.

[Richard]

Yes binos are fantastic , I use an old 7x50 , great to start star hopping , then moved on to 15x70 that I need a Tripod or sometimes a Monopod to use , I also have 10x50 but for some reason like old cant hold them as steady as the 7x50 , so dont use them much
I have had a lot of different telescopes in the last 10 years or so , this was before Covid hit us , I would get a used one fix it up and then either sell, give it away , or keep , so that gave me hands on experience of how all the different scopes work

[gregl]

I recall an observing session our club had up in the mountains where I got a look through a 20-inch Obsession dob and a pair of 20x binos. Both were fun. I don't consider one better than the other. Rather, they are different. What I saw through the Obsession was the Swan nebula, and it was spectacular. I don't remember what I saw through the binos but it was something large that wouldn't have fitted into the f.o.v. of the Obsession, and it was also spectacular. As I have a decent scope I was strongly tempted to get a pair of 20x binos just for what they can do.

[pakarinen]

I use my 10x50 Aculons for quick looks and general use since they're very light and portable. I took them to a Bortle 2 site once and never bothered using my scope b/c there were so many objects visible in the binos. For more serious observing I use my Orion 15x70s on a tripod with a fluid head.

Neither pair is that great under my home light polluted skies, but they can knock your socks off at a dark site. There are a lot of bino-only observers and several good books on bino observing like Moore's, Harrington's, Sironek's, usw.

[gregl]

... There are a lot of bino-only observers and several good books on bino observing like Moore's, Harrington's, Sironek's, usw.

I've mentioned before the astronomy prof. at the local community college who has 17 telescopes but uses his Canon image-stabilized binos almost exclusively. He let me try them and they are fantastic. They do an excellent job of taking the minor shakes an jiggles out of hand-held bino looking.