Astronomy Binoculars or small Telescope

[Sandyn]

Calling on all you woodworking astronomers!! My daughter (in her 30's) is quite interested in the night sky. She lives out in the country away from direct light pollution, so pretty good for sky gazing. We were planning to get her a birthday present to help her look at stars. Budget about £200 so nothing too fancy. I think a reasonable set of binoculars might be easier for her to use, just more portable and easier to set up, but would be interested to hear opinions.

 

[paulrbarnard]

A good pair of binoculars work great for casual star gazing and have a second life for birdwatching, sports or general nosyness. A telescope is a one trick pony and for £200 you’re not getting a high quality mount, which is actually the more important part with a telescope.

 

[novocaine]

Moon. Binos.
Jupiter moons. Tele

 

[jimmy_s]

for £200 budget I'd go for binoculars.

 

[MARK.B.]

Binoculars and a good tripod that can extend high enough to be comfortable

 

[PetePontoValentino]

Agree with Bimo's. I have Celestion Skymaster 20x80's. They are pretty good and affordable too SkyMaster 20x80 Binoculars | Celestron and am pretty pleased. They are specifically made for Astronomy (having very large lenses to maximise the amount of light). I paid CHF 206 for them. Direct conversion would bring them in under GBP 200 and as nothing is cheap in Switzerland I suspect you can do better than that.

Steer clear of telescopes until she knows what she wants to do. People use different equipment for viewing vs. Astrophotography. I am probably going to head in the photography direction as there are things called "image stackers". The idea is that you take a whole load of pictures at the same time and then overlay the images using software. Amateurs product some outrageous results. Take a look at some of the Facebook groups. I follow Backyard Astronomy and Astronomy for beginners. When people post pics they normally list the equipment used. The first example I came across is attached. Not bad really.

 

[John15]

A telescope with angled eye piece on a decent tripod is the best way for serious star gazing . You can lock onto a subject or traverse the sky with ease without any shaking or neck pain. This is difficult to achieve with binoculars.
The downside to the telescope option is the cost which will exceed your £200 budget. Binoculars are much cheaper.

John

 

[Sandyn]

Thanks everyone for the replies. They were really helpful. I think Binoculars are definitely the way to go, she also enjoys bird-watching, so they would have a second use. After doing a bit of research. I'm down to two models, The Celestion 20X80 suggested by Pete and the Opticron Oregon Observation 20X80. They seem very similar, but the Opticron has a shorter near focus, 20m compared to the Celestion 33m, which would make them more useful for bird-watching as well. They both come in under budget, so I could get her a tripod as well.
Thanks!!!

 

[Frank House]

The customary recommendation for binoculars for "general" astronomy used to be 7X50 (back in the '50s when I started out). A compromise between magnification, light gathering, pupil size, weight, cost, and availability second hand. Look for long eye relief if there is any choice, getting really close to the eyepieces in darkness can be a bit exciting (DAMHIKT).

I currently have a pair of binoculars roughly that specification and a very sturdy tripod both picked up at boot fairs for about £50 total some 30 years ago. Could be problems now of course.

Specifically designed new optics are of course to be preferred if they can be afforded, but I echo previous advice in this thread, once she is bitten by the bug she will probably want to specialise.

General purpose binoculars do not have the fitting to engage the screw on a standard tripod, but it is easy to make an adapter. Indeed, as she has a woodworker in the family it may practical to commission a suitable support and put more money into optics.

Consider portability, will the kit have to be carried over muddy fields to find a dark spot? With respect, best to make things easy when starting out, even for adults -- the move to a home in a dark area and building an observatory can come later.

Frank.

 

[paulrbarnard]

Agree with Bimo's. I have Celestion Skymaster 20x80's. They are pretty good and affordable too SkyMaster 20x80 Binoculars | Celestron and am pretty pleased. They are specifically made for Astronomy (having very large lenses to maximise the amount of light). I paid CHF 206 for them. Direct conversion would bring them in under GBP 200 and as nothing is cheap in Switzerland I suspect you can do better than that.

Steer clear of telescopes until she knows what she wants to do. People use different equipment for viewing vs. Astrophotography. I am probably going to head in the photography direction as there are things called "image stackers". The idea is that you take a whole load of pictures at the same time and then overlay the images using software. Amateurs product some outrageous results. Take a look at some of the Facebook groups. I follow Backyard Astronomy and Astronomy for beginners. When people post pics they normally list the equipment used. The first example I came across is attached. Not bad really.

This was my first attempt.

taken with my camera and a zoom lens.

 

[jimchelt]

I agree with most, that binoculars are a great way to start off stargazing. In my experience it is often a very good idea to look for a second hand pair of high quality binoculars with a minimum magnification of 8. The larger the objective lens the better so a pair if 8x50 bins would be a good place to start. Don't be afraid to check out some of the older Russian binoculars. They sometimes look a bit crude on the outside but the optics can (not invariably mind) be outstanding.
Instead of a tripod I would definitely consider making a mount which sits on a garden table or the like and the observer sits comfortably at the table, gloved hands in the lap, gazing in wonder at the night sky. The attached picture should show what I mean. It is important, should you wish to make something similar, that the mirror yous use is what is called a first surface mirror i.e. the reflective coating is on the top surface of the glass. If an ordinary mirror is used you get ghosting where one view is reflected from the top surface of the glass and another from the bottom reflective surface, definitely to be avoided.
That's my two penn'orth.

 

[Bodone]

Binos to start, versatile for other stuff too. First light Optics have a good range and great forum.

I used this site for reviews and went with the Opticrons 10x50. Light, good eye relief and easy to use and very reasonably priced. Trying to convince myself to upgrade but would likely need to spend 3x as much.

https://binocularsky.com/

 

[Tris]

Binoculars really require a good reclining garden chair otherwise you will have severe neck ache.

 

[Chris152]

This was my first attempt. View attachment 103504
taken with my camera and a zoom lens.

Presumably with a star tracker and star stacker?!

 

[paulrbarnard]

Presumably with a star tracker and star stacker?!

Home made barn boor tracker, type 4. 10 six second images stacked for this one. I have taken Saturn and Jupiter as single images on just a tripod though a tracker makes a big difference.

 

[Gant]

Thanks everyone for the replies. They were really helpful. I think Binoculars are definitely the way to go, she also enjoys bird-watching, so they would have a second use. After doing a bit of research. I'm down to two models, The Celestion 20X80 suggested by Pete and the Opticron Oregon Observation 20X80. They seem very similar, but the Opticron has a shorter near focus, 20m compared to the Celestion 33m, which would make them more useful for bird-watching as well. They both come in under budget, so I could get her a tripod as well.
Thanks!!!

I’m a birdwatcher not an astronomer, though I do point my binoculars and spotting telescope upwards from time to time. I just want to say a word of warning about buying binoculars with more than 10x magnification. It becomes difficult to find a bird in a wood with ‘too much’ magnification and limited field of view (the width of the image you see), and carrying big binoculars becomes tiresome

However these aren’t the biggest problem. Any moderately priced binoculars with higher magnification than 10x won’t be rewarding for birdwatching or general use. As well as magnifying the image, binoculars magnify any movement or vibration. Beyond 10x this becomes a big issue, especially with lower priced kit which tends to be heavier. This isn’t a big issue for star watching, when you need a support or tripod anyway, but can severely limit enjoyment of wildlife or sports when they need to be handheld.

Unfortunately this means that there needs to be a compromise between portability and magnification, or specialisation for astronomical kit like the models you mention

 

[Sandyn]

Unfortunately this means that there needs to be a compromise between portability and magnification, or specialisation for astronomical kit like the models you mention

Thanks for that good information, things for me to think about and after having a think about it, she would mainly have the binoculars mounted on a tripod for sky watching.
She is more a bird-spotter from the kitchen window type. She already has a small pair of my binoculars I loaned her two years ago (and my 24mm lens!), lol. She has several bird feeders, so I think if she ever used the X20 for bird-watching she would use the binoculars on the tripod watching the bird feeders. As you say, the binoculars are heavy, over 2Kg, so she would never carry them about........but I might when I visit .
Thanks!!

 

[NikNak]

Good morning all... we too were looking for a new set of bins to take on a holiday about 18 months ago, and discovered that London Camera Exchange had a sort of 'open day' at a wildlife haven not too far from us. So we went along and were able to try loads of different makes/types/magnifications, you name it, without any hassle from salesmen. Before we got there i was favouring a pair of Nikon's having done some research. But after trying them i was really disappointed. Ended up buying a brand i'd never even heard of... Hawke. Slightly above your budget, seem to recall they were £250.... but soooo worth the extra.!! I see you're in Scotland(?), don't know if you have any camera/binocular shops near you but would thoroughly suggest you try as many as you can before you decide because all our eyes are different, maybe take your daughter along too... after all she's the one going to be using them

Stay safe everyone....

Nick

 

[Sandyn]

don't know if you have any camera/binocular shops near you but would thoroughly suggest you try as many as you can before you decide because all our eyes are different, maybe take your daughter along too

Thanks Nick. If lockdown ends soon, I will have a look at some shops. WEX have stores locally, they are stockist of the celestron brand I was looking at. We also have Ffordes in Scotland, but no suitable used bargains.

 

[Sandyn]

Instead of a tripod I would definitely consider making a mount which sits on a garden table or the like and the observer sits comfortably at the table,

What a brilliant idea!! and relatively easy to make. Thanks!