I'll start with binocs

For people new to astronomy who want to ask those questions that they were afraid to ask. Receive helpful answers here.
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Clifford60
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Post by Clifford60 »

Configuration window, you will find a tab "location" point to Singapore in the map ...... SAVE b4 you exit.
Norman Soh
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Post by Norman Soh »

Ok, and the program seems to be very sluggish on my comp. Yeah, the best I could do with my mouse was Kuching, Malaysia and somewhere in Indonesia.

By the way, the land behind the school seems undoable. Too many street lamps, even though the place itself was dark, plus it's a cloudy night.

Did manage to find one star, but couldn't find it with my binocs. Next thing you know, the star had disappeared. Probably gone behind some clouds.

So much for my first encounter with the stars. But I'm not discouraged. Understand that this is the monsoon season.
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zong
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Post by zong »

Great that you're not discouraged! Good luck to finding your way around the stars..
Stargazing ... is an excuse to stay up past bedtime that never fails!
Ch33Lin
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Post by Ch33Lin »

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weixing
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Post by weixing »

Hi,
Welcome to SingAstro!! :D
I only saw three star in a row until now...
That's should be Orion Belt in Orion Constellation... It's one of the easiest constellation to recognize and start with.

Happy star gazing and have a nice day.
Yang Weixing
:mrgreen: "The universe is composed mainly of hydrogen and ignorance." :mrgreen:
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rlow
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Post by rlow »

Did manage to find one star, but couldn't find it with my binocs. Next thing you know, the star had disappeared. Probably gone behind some clouds.
Good that you are starting off with a bino; I also started off with an old Russian 10x50 bino for 10 years before getting a scope (because I couldn't afford a scope until I was about 18 years old :) ).

However, your current 20x50 bino may be a little difficult for beginners to use. It may be rather difficult to hand-hold, you really need to mount it on a tripod. I could lend you a bino-bracket and mount/tripod for you to try, if you like . :) Also, for a 20x50 bino, the actual field of view could be rather restricted and dimmer, so it would be a little bit difficult to use it to find objects in the nightsky. A bino with 7x to 10x magnification would serve a beginner better.
Richard Low
Norman Soh
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Post by Norman Soh »

Rlow,

Thanks for your suggestion. Any advice about where to get a bino like the ones that you've mentioned?
Ch33Lin
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Post by Ch33Lin »

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Norman Soh
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Post by Norman Soh »

Why do you say that you got the wrong specs? (So I won't make the same mistake).

BTW, I have a silly question. Should we look at the binos through our glasses or through our naked eyes? I have rather high prescription glasses. Well, at least in one eye.
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weixing
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Favourite scope: Vixen R200SS & Celestron 6" F5 Achro Refractor
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Post by weixing »

Hi,
Although most will recommend a 7x50 or 10x50, but I found that those wide angle sub 50mm bino can be quite useful, especially when you are searching for an object.

Anyway, you may want to check out Nikon binocular, such as the Action series ( http://www.nikon.com.sg/pagearticle.php ... n%20Series ), Nikon Action EX series ( http://www.nikon.com.sg/pagearticle.php ... X%20series ) or Nikon MONARCH series ( http://www.nikon.com.sg/pagearticle.php?pageid=83 ) if you got $$$. They are quite affordable and I think should be quite suitable for astronomy too. May be those had experience with Nikon binocular can give some comments.

Have a nice day.
Yang Weixing
:mrgreen: "The universe is composed mainly of hydrogen and ignorance." :mrgreen:
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