This article was contributed by David Baumgartner as part of a local series on astronomy. Lea este artículo en español aquí.
A while back, while having breakfast at a local restaurant, I met up with a seemingly nice young fella. He cautiously meanders over to my table to say: aren’t you that old guy that used to write an astronomy column for the local newspaper? I responded, Yes, you got them both right. Well at first if I were anticipating somewhat of a young man’s compliment about how both he and his father would read my column and enjoyed it immensely, this was quickly shattered as he went on.
The young lad mentioned that he remembered the morning so long ago after reading my article about using binoculars for viewing the night sky, “my father said to me: (Okay, now I’m thinking here comes my compliment) why on earth would anyone want to use those tiny little opera spectacles for night sky viewing, he must have skipped his morning meds that day.” The boy goes on; “I was wondering if you could write that article once again and maybe my father will think differently about it this time, now that he’s older and is trying to work his way into heaven.” As the young man walked away he stopped, turned around, and said, “oh, by the way, I really enjoyed your columns. And you know what; I think my dad did too.”
Wait a minute; was that my compliment I was looking for? And as I turned back around to thank him, he was gone, vanished into thin air. Okay, I might have exaggerated just a little bit there, but not about the compliment, it was real.
So after all that, was it real, was it a daydream, or half and half, or did I just make the whole story up? I guess you’ll never really know. So the least I can do was put it in writing once again on using binoculars in the night sky. Hope his dad likes it. I’d better make sure I take my meds before I turn it in to the publisher.
So here it is- article number 38, 2003: The Usefulness of simple binoculars
Why would one even want to use binoculars with all the huge telescopes, equipment and accessories that one has to choose from today? So why even bother with those light, easy to handle, wide field, store anywhere, and less expensive binoculars? I guess I just told you why.
And don’t forget one of the best reasons to use binoculars; two eyes are definitely better than one when it comes to viewing the skies. Your power of resolution and the ability to see faint objects are improved dramatically when using both eyes. Next time you are out in your back yard on a clear night try this test. Cover one eye and notice what faint stars you can see. Then uncover the other eye, you can actually see more stars with both eyes than you can with one. They say (not really sure who “they” are, but they seem to know a lot) you can see about 10% more when viewing with two eyes.
I often have classes from different schools come by to visit and look through my new 14” telescope. I usually start out by showing them the sky with my 20X80 binoculars first. Here they are standing in line waiting to take a peek through the binoculars when all the time they are thinking to themselves; why are we bothering with this when we could be looking through the big telescope?
Well, they do eventually get to use the big scope. But I must admit, I get just as many “wow, look at that” from the kids looking through the binoculars as I do from them looking through the 14” scope. The best advantage the binoculars have over a large telescope is the large area the binoculars can cover in one view. Take the Andromada Galaxy for instance, this is the farthest object we can see with the unaided eye, lying some 2.2 million light years away. I can’t even begin to get the entire galaxy in my view with the large telescope, the object is just too big. But with the binoculars I can see the Andromada Galaxy in its entirety. And what a sight it is.
There are many other fascinating things to see through the binoculars, such as open star clusters, the moon, planets and so much more. With my 20X80’s I can see four of Jupiter’s moons. And our moon, why it almost looks like you can reach out and touch it.
What about the sun? You are now saying to yourself, is he crazy? But yes, the binoculars are a fine instruments for viewing the Sun. However, before looking at the Sun, take this warning: Do not look directly at the sun, not even for an instant!
Without proper safety precautions, permanent eye damage and even blindness can result.
The best and easiest way to view the sun is to use your binoculars to project an image of the sun onto a piece white cardboard. It is fun to check daily to see the movement of the sun spots as they circle around the sun.
You understand now that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to enjoy the evening skies. If you don’t have a pair of binoculars, maybe your dad has a pair that he uses while attending the opera he might let you use, or maybe a friend. Whoever they belong to, make sure you take care when using them, or you may not get the chance to use them again.
So there you are. Two eyes are better than one, along with portability, affordability, and the ease of operation makes binoculars a very simple and enjoyable tool to use when viewing the heavens.
Well I hope my little friend’s father feels better about using binoculars to view the night sky, if so then I would imagine he’ll find himself well on his way to heaven. Not that I’m trying to rush him in any way.
Clear skies.
What’s up there this month?
May 03 Moon passes 2° north of Mars
May 03 Venus passes 2° north of Neptune
May 04 First Quarter Moon
May 05 Eta Aquariid shower peaks
May 10 Moon passes 0.4° south of Spica
May 10 Moon is at apogee (252,428 miles from Earth)
May 12 Full Moon
May 14 Moon passes 0.3° south of Antares
May 18 Moon passes 0.4° south of Pluto
May 20 Last Quarter Moon
May 22 Moon passes 3° north of Saturn
May 22 Moon passes 2° north of Neptune
May 23 Moon passes 4° north of Venus
May 25 Moon is at perigee (223,086 miles from Earth)
May 26 New Moon
May 28 Moon passes 5° north of Jupiter