What are some interesting things to see using a 17x spotting scope and binoculars?
April 19, 2010 by
Filed under spotting scopes
Everywhere I look I see stars Mighty B.
I can’t see Orion nebula or the nearby crab nebula, nor can I see M81 or M82. But I would like to see something similar.
Geoff G I’m way out in the countryside so city lights aren’t a factor, I’m at 32 degrees north by 88 degrees west.
“Nebula’s look like smoke,” I do see them then.
No moon, just stars.
everything you look at if you appreciate the 17x scope, and know how to focus.
Star clusters (M45 Pleiades, M44 Beehive), Andromeda galaxy, moon, birds, shooting target results. You should be able to see brighter objects. Since you don’t say what size binoculars or scope, I can only estimate.
You should be able to see M42, the Orion nebula. I have seen it easily with 10x binoculars in a light polluted suburban sky.
You should also be able to see M45, the Pleiades star cluster.
However both of those are winter objects and they set pretty early tonight, especially the Pleiades, so look just after dark.
Consult a sky map like the source for help finding them.
Where are you observing from? Is the Moon in the sky? I can see the Orion Nebula in my 10×50 binoculars even in the city. I can see M81 and M82 in a very dark country sky. The Crab Nebula requires a 4-inch telescope in a very dark sky. Do you know what nebulae and galaxies look like? Faint wisps of smoke; nothing at all like the pictures you’ve seen.