TheSkySearchers

I had no idea I was going to develop a taste for star gazing and I just bought a straight spotting scope. It's a Vortex Razor 27-60X85. What would be the best way to use it because it's a fantastic scope. Or is a straight scope just impossible to use?

Well, my favourite "scope" for stargazing is a pair of 9x63 binoculars mounted on a photo tripod.

I put the legs all the way up and sit in a lawn chair.
Quite comfortable for me, of course I can't look up at zenith (higher points in the sky) but there's plenty of stuff to see while sitting comfortable.

Have you tried using it at night yet?

Colorado Luckydog wrote: ↑Thu Mar 24, 2022 12:46 pm I had no idea I was going to develop a taste for star gazing and I just bought a straight spotting scope. It's a Vortex Razor 27-60X85. What would be the best way to use it because it's a fantastic scope. Or is a straight scope just impossible to use?

Congratulations on the new gear. Have fun with it.

Colorado Luckydog wrote: ↑Thu Mar 24, 2022 12:46 pm Or is a straight scope just impossible to use?

Not impossible, but you might find it less than comfortable when observing objects high in the sky.

@Colorado Luckydog each type of scope has its merits.

My partner and I each have our own spotting scope. We both have the same brand - Nikon D82 Fieldscope, with a 30x/45x/56x eyepiece.

My eyepiece is straight, but Sophia's is angled.

I find using her angled eyepiece is easier for stargazing, but if we use the straight eyepiece you need to be a bit more creative. Using either a sun lounger or a chair that angles backwards are good options. At least the more comfortable options.

Spotting scopes are good for astronomy to. As others indicated straight version is harder to use but still doable. Me and my daughter observed quite few targets (including planets) with a simple straight 60mm Bushnell spotter on a photo tripod before getting a "real" telescope.

I also have a pair of Steiner Observers 25-80 binos. They are bad ass. I was going to sell those but maybe not now.

Colorado Luckydog wrote: ↑Fri Mar 25, 2022 2:21 am I also have a pair of Steiner Observers 25-80 binos. They are bad ass. I was going to sell those but maybe not now.

Steiners? Um, yeah, you'd probably want to sell those to me.

Those binos will give a stunning image of whatever it is you're looking at. Look into what's called a parallelogram mount for those binos. At 20x you won't be able to hold them by hand to give a steady enough image that's pleasurable, so a tripod is definitely necessary, but a parallelogram mount is a much better option.

Though not ideal any scope can be used for Astronomy , spotting scopes , the quality ones are good , but looking up makes it uncomfortable , I wonder if a parallelogram mount as used for large binos could be fitted , that will make it much easier