I’m getting a pair of 10×50 binoculars this week, what will I be able to see?

11 Comments

1. starryskyn says:

   February 23, 2010 at 6:35 am

   Moon, stars, star clusters, star clouds, and any comets if they go by.
2. Will says:

   February 23, 2010 at 6:52 am

   With a tripod and/or very steady hands you will be able to see the four galilean moons of Jupiter. In a dark sky you will be able to see many open clusters and some of the bright globular clusters. M45 (the pleiades), M42 (the orion nebula), and M13 (the hercules cluster) should all be pretty impressive. Also make sure you scan around the milky way in between Altair, Deneb, and Vega. The multitude of stars there is quite impressive. I would suggest that you join a local astronomy club or try and at least get out to some of their public star parties. Many of the members will have large telescopes that will provide beautiful views without the cost or hassle of dealing with your own large telescope.

   I hope this helps!
3. lindajune says:

   February 23, 2010 at 7:34 am

   The moon of course will give you hours of interesting observing, since the angle of sunlight changes every night, changing the texture and relief shadows. Watch the terminator (the line where sunlight and darkness meet) for very interesting shadows and features.

   You will be able to see Jupiter’s moons (but just a small dots) – it may be interesting watching them change position each night.

   Saturn isn’t much to see, since its rings are almost edge on for several more months, but watch it change week to week as its tilt changes.

   Andromeda Galaxy will be lovely – not much detail but you should be able to see at least some spiral structure.

   Any globular clusters will be visible, as will any open cluster (one lovely one is the Pleiades in Taurus).

   The Orion Nebula is beautiful, as are any other nebula you find (some are faint but some can be quite easy to see in 10×50’s).

   See if you can find a book by Terence Dickinson or Phil Harrington on observing the night sky – both talk about binocular observations.
4. Boatman1 says:

   February 23, 2010 at 8:11 am

   Most of the Messier objects– the Astronomical League has SEVERAL Binocular Observing Award Clubs—- see this list for all of the binocular award programs- along with instructions on how to get the award.

   http://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/EquipmentObservingClubs.html
5. Phil says:

   February 23, 2010 at 9:20 am

   One possible source for an answer: http://www.cloudynights.com/byauthor.php?author_id=765
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   February 28, 2010 at 7:37 am

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7. hyslimonar alimorrawi says:

   March 7, 2010 at 4:53 pm

   Makes me larf – these comments by septics on a programme which was made in England for the English. It’s just one of many programmes at the time, and this is the only clip on YouTube. Of course you septics don’t understand irony. You should see Millicent Martin’s tribute to JFK on this show.
8. vaparenno says:

   March 12, 2010 at 2:03 pm

   I used to think us euros had geography right, but last week I heard someone saying Lethonia is in the Balkans so I guess not
9. jone mazzi says:

   March 27, 2010 at 11:37 am

   Aman komşuları gözlemeye başlama da…
10. hubakra hasken says:

    April 4, 2010 at 7:53 am

    Jon? Is that you?
11. vaa burghir says:

    April 5, 2010 at 9:41 am

    Amazon.com: Stephen James O'Meara's Observing the Night Sky with Binoculars: A Simple Guide to the Heavens (9780521721707): Stephen James O'Meara: Books