Binocular Astronomy Star Party/Class
Published on Apr 5, 2009 at 2:33 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under amateur astronomy, skywatching.
Last month, I wrote about using binoculars for astronomy. That is really the best way to get started, in my estimation. The cost is less than that of a telescope, they are typically easier to use, and binoculars can be used for many other purposes besides astronomy.
So, what do you need to do binocular astronomy? First of all, you need binoculars. Without a pair of binoculars, you can’t do binocular astronomy! My last post went over some of the issues that go into binocular choice. My next post will cover optical coatings (something that also influences binocular choice). You also need an observing guide. After all, binoculars and telescopes are fine, but unless you know what to look at, you are lost. While you can sometimes just point the binoculars at the sky and slowly scan around looking for things hoping to find something new (after all, something like that is what the first telescopic astronomers did), it is often far less frustrating knowing that there is actually something there to look at! So, a guide helps. That guide can be in the form of a binocular astronomy book. There are several good books out there. The Astronomical League also has a binocular astronomy program. If you are a member of the league (or of an astronomy club that is a member of the league) you can work through the list of objects in the program. These are objects selected because they are accessible to common binoculars. I knew the guy who came up with the list, and he did a very good job of these binocular observing programs. The Astronomical League’s binocular observing programs include the Binocular Messier Club (where you observe 50 Messier objects with binoculars), the Deep Sky Binocular Club (observing beyond the Messier catalog), and the Southern Sky Binocular Club (for observing objects in the southern celestial sky). You can also observe the Moon with binoculars. There are a large number of features visible with just binoculars. But, where do you look for all of these objects? You’ll need a star map of some sort. Some binocular astronomy guides come with a star map, but others require you to have a map of your own. Again, there are a number of good star charts out there.
However, even though binoculars are easier to use than telescopes, they still require a bit of skill to find things in the sky. That is why I often suggest that people get together with some folks who are a bit more experienced in order to learn to use binoculars for astronomy.
To that end, I am working with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to help host a different sort of star party than I normally do. This one is going to focus just on the use of binoculars. There are so many thing things that you can see with just binoculars that it makes sense to have a star party dedicated just to binocular astronomy. Of course, that means that there has to be a bit more involvement from the star party attendees than normal, too. Instead of just walking up to a telescope and looking through it, you’ll have to actually use hold binoculars up to look at something. I will bring a binocular tripod that you can just look through, but the real goal is to get participants to use binoculars themselves. That means that this will have to work sort of like a binocular astronomy class. So, if you have binoculars and want to learn how to use them for astronomy, this is the program for you! If you don’t have binoculars, but still want to learn how to do binocular astronomy, that’s OK. The park has a number of binoculars available to use during the event.
So, you may be asking the important questions of “Where?” and “When?” I will be doing this at Lake Mineral Wells State Park on Saturday, April 18. The binocular astronomy program is free, but you still have to pay the normal state park entrance fee. Since it is clearly not feasible for me to conduct a class for hundreds of people (I have to be able to walk around to help people out), then the park is asking that people register for the program. You can do that by calling the park at (940)328-1171 during normal business hours. Besides limiting the number of people, requiring registration also lets me know how many people to expect so I can prepare handouts. The event will be held, I think, at the amphitheater, but they will let you know for sure when you get there on April 18. Naturally, if it is raining, we’ll have to cancel. Don’t wait too long to register, either, since you don’t want to be left out!
If you’ve never been to Lake Mineral Wells State Park, it is quite nice. Look on the park’s web page (link above) for maps to the park (and of the park). There are plenty of hiking trails there, and if you like to camp, you may wish to reserve a campsite. Normally, they lock the gates at 10pm, but I am pretty sure that won’t be a problem if you are doing the astronomy event.
-Astroprof
Image courtesy Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife
Nathan M. on April 21, 2009 at 6:27 pm: 1
There are lots of things that will look better through a pair of binoculars to such as nearby comets
Binocular Rioval on January 18, 2011 at 4:47 am: 2
yes, i agree with your entry. Binocular is the best way to start stargazing. i use it along time ago.