SingAstro

Hi all SingAstroians!

I've recently taken an interest in Astronomy after going to SSC's observatory some time ago. I'm facinated by the vastness of the skies and the many objects in the skies.

Found my Dad's old binocs (I think it's still working well despite having both lens caps missing) and I'm wondering if it'll be enough to fuel my interest even further with it. I'm not intending to buy any equipment at the moment because I haven't been managing my pocket money well. (Haha.)

It says:
EXPLORE
8x32mm
Ruby-coated
FULLYCOATED
366FT/1000YDS
122M/1000M

Will this be sufficient for me to look at objects in the skies? And how would you guys suggest that I start this interest going?

TIA~

Well, it is good enough to get you started and to see star clusters and brighter nebulae.

Read up on how to use a star chart and you can start right now as there are interesting objects up at this time of the year.

That's not a bad bino you got there. You'll easily see a difference between looking up at the sky with your naked eyes and what your binos can show you.

Hi,
Welcome to SingAstro!!

This bino is good enough to get you started. Go library and borrow those books with star chart to learn the sky and constellation. You can also download those free star chart program and print out custom star chart. Below is the link to one of them:
http://www.stargazing.net/astropc/

Have fun and have a nice day.

HELLO. WELCOME TO SINGASTRO

lucky you, you already have ur dad's old bino. at least you dont have to fork out any money!

Hi all! Thanks for all the welcome greetings. I think I just might have identified my first constellation myself! I saw the lepus constellation last night from my balcony last night. I'm not sure if it is, but it looks like it.

I first spotted some stars. Look through my binoculars albeit the annoying window grills (!!!!). After that, I opened Stellarium to check what I saw.

Is that the right way? :S

Haha, there is no right or wrong way. Only thing is to enjoy the night sky! (:

Hi,Siren
The most easily recognise constellation in the sky is Orion--you go out in early evening;look at the western part of the sky and you cant miss it.Then around midnight;look up vertically toward the east is Scorpius.With these two constellations as starting point and with a star map;you can navigate to recognise other constellations;but bear in mind--DUE TO AIR AND LIGHT POLLUTION,NOT ALL CONSTELLATION ARE VISIBLE AND ALSO YOU WILL FIND A LOT OF MISSING STAR IN THE SKY WHEN YOU COMPARE THE ACTUAL SKY AND YOUR STAR MAP.Just enjoy the trip.

perhaps you could buy a sky map and start finding stars using the binocs and don't forget to bring a soul mate along, it really keeps your interest going and high

Hi Zane, superiorstream and Shamus. Thanks for the replies! Don't know where I can get a sky map though. Using stellarium on my lappy now. Quite tedious to lug the laptop around and the battery's a problem as well. I was thinking of making a star wheel which I saw somewhere on this forum.