Reddit reviews Binocular Highlights: 99 Celestial Sights for Binocular Users (Sky & Telescope Stargazing)
We found 5 Reddit comments about Binocular Highlights: 99 Celestial Sights for Binocular Users (Sky & Telescope Stargazing). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Used Book in Good Condition
These look pretty good. I have a pair of Celestron 15x70's which are almost identical except for the slight difference in magnification. The BAK4 prisms are the way to go and offer pretty awesome views.
Binos are definitely the way to start off if you're new to astronomy. they help you to learn the night sky before you buy a telescope that has a really small field of view. of course you could buy a computerized GoTo style telescope but that takes all the fun out of learning the constellations.
You can't go wrong with a pair of big binos to start with. I would also recommend buying the book Binocular Highlights by Gary Seronik. It's a great guide to the best bino views for every season!
Happy observing!
Astrophotography is a hobby in its own right.
For the budget you have listed, you would most likely end up buying a mount that is not up to the task.
I would suggest a nice pair of 10x50 binoculars and this book first.
If you are committed to getting a scope, then this is my suggestion assuming the $1000 budget is all inclusive meaning scope, accessories, and books.
2)The skywatcher comes with 2 eyepieces (25mm and 10mm IRC) THe light bridge comes with one. In either case I would invest in a NICE barlow like this one Barlows are an inexpensive way to improve your options. A 24 mm EP in a 2x barlow becomes a 12mm a 10mm becomes a 5mm. Its not as great as discrete eps in those sizes, but it is an economical way to get more versatility out of your existing eyepieces. I also can't talk enough about the Televue Panoptic EPs. They are affordable and incredibly nice. Eyepieces are something that will last through many scopes. I have 10 or so but only ever use about 3 of them.
Get a Telrad or a Rigel finder. The Skywatcher has a finderscope, the meade has a red dot finder. Personally I hate red dot finders. I think they are complete junk. Telrad is the defacto standard for zero magnification finders, I prefer the rigel for its smaller size and built in pulse circuit. They are both about the same price. You will need to collimate your scope, a cheshire works great, or a laser collimator will do as well. Many folks use a combination of both. I have gone both ways, cheshire is fine, laser is fine, a combination of both is also fine. Accessories can go on forever, the only other must have that I can think of is a redlight flashlight. This is a good one or you can add red film to an existing flashlight you have or you can do what myself and many others have done and get an LED headlamp and replace the white LEDs with red ones.
I would start with the backyard astronomers guide. Buy that first before you buy anything. It has some very good sections on scopes and observing that can help you answer some questions.
Lastly I always say go with a dobsonian scope. They are easy to setup and use and they force you to learn the sky. Once you are comfortable operating a scope and moving around the night sky, then I would think about investing in an equatorial mount and scope for astrophotography use.
Good luck and Clear Skies!
You can get some good views of the gas giants. Assuming you are in the continental U.S., Saturn should be viewable shortly after sunset and Jupiter should be viewable shortly before sunrise. Saturn would probably look better than Jupiter with your binoculars.
You should also be able to see Andromeda's galaxy around this time of the year. I can't say for certain how much detail you can get out of it but with good light conditions, I'd be willing to bet you'd be able to see the disk.
Star clusters are where binoculars really shine (sometimes even providing better views than telescopes), you might want to take a look at the list of Messier objects to find some good star clusters to look at. Make sure that you take a look at the Seven Sisters this fall, it is definitely my favorite star cluster.
If you are new, you should really invest in a good planisphere such as this one. Just make sure to get one for your correct latitude. You should also get some sort of red light, whether a red LED flashlight, a regular light with a filter, or just a flash light you have lying around with some red cellophane or brake light repair tape on it. There are even books specifically for binocular astronomy that might be a good investment.
Most importantly, have fun and clear skies!
I'm also an xt6 owner.
For software, you can't go wrong with Stellarium. It's free, and it lets you choose your location as well as time and date. Very handy.
For reading material, these two books have served me well:
Nightwatch: contains loads of stargazing tips and general astronomy information. Also contains star charts, and detailed charts of select constellations.
Binocular Highlights: I find myself using this one all the time. Its focus is on binocular astronomy, but you can use it with a telescope as it's a sort of "best-of" of the night sky. Each object has a detailed, zoomed-in map and a brief description. Contains star charts for every season, with every object in the book marked on the charts.
For photography, you'll only really be able to take decent pictures of the Moon and the brighter planets. As others have pointed out, you'll need some fancier equipment to take good pictures of deep-sky objects.
Just for fun, here are some of my favorite objects:
The Orion Nebula (M42): under the heavily light-polluted skies of my backyard, still fuzzy and nebula-like. Glorious under dark skies, when the dusty arms and finer details become apparent.
Andromeda Galaxy (M31): Looks like a big hazy smudge through the eyepiece. Its companion (M32, I think) is also visible in the same field of view.
Ring Nebula (M57): Even under light-polluted skies, I can pick this one out pretty easily by star-hopping. Looks like a small, blue donut.
Double Cluster: absolutely brilliant collection of stars in a single field of view.
I agree. I started with a telescope but now use 10x50 binos. I find the binos much easier to use for "star-hopping". I find this book to be invaluable: https://www.amazon.ca/Binocular-Highlights-Gary-Seronik/dp/1931559430/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496767125&sr=1-3&keywords=night+sky+binoculars
The majority of the objects the author highlights in his book are viewable from urban areas.