Star Search

“So, I was sitting in the Planetarium at Wayne State University last night (Lord knows that's the only way to see stars in the middle of Detroit!) when the instructor tried to persuade us to save our pennies to buy telescopes.

I started wondering, who takes binoculars or a telescope on the trail or camping? If you don't, why not? Have you thought about taking a telescope with you? Is it a weight issue? If you do, what things can you find in the sky?”

“Telescopes are too heavy and bulky. You need at least a good pair of 10x50 binocs to really get much light for astronomy. These are fairly bulky.

There are still plenty of things to see with the naked eye. You can pick out constellations. The Andromeda Galaxy is visible with the naked eye.

I would like to take some binocs up on a bald if the opportunity ever came.”

“I've always wanted a telescope to bring into the backcountry. In addition to weight, they're pretty expensive, even for a smaller one. You also have to drag in a tripod, so that adds some weight. If I ever seriously get into astronomy, I'll probably break down and buy a collapsable model. I just use some 10x25 Minolta binocs to do any stargazing I want.”

“I often carry a pair of 10 x 35 binoculars. You can see quite a few stars with them.”

“Dayhiker -

The instructor dude showed us Andromeda, said you could see it with the naked eye, but binocs or a telescope would give a much better picture.

Rosey - the instructor also mentioned you'd need a stand/tripod for the binocs since we wiggle so much. I asume you do OK w/o a tripod?

I think I'd opt for some binocs if I wanted to be serious about stargazing on the trail.”

“SG: They get a little wiggly, you just have to brace your elbows against your chest or on you knee to really steady them for stargazing.

I always carry a pair of binocs for scoping cross-country and trail routes.”

“i took an astronomy class, so i can find a few things in the sky... mainly delta ceph, a variable star in the constellation cephius... lots of fun. but yeah, i usually enjoy just staring up at the stars w/o any magnification, no reason really, unless you're studying a star like delta ceph.

i mean, great you see a galaxy, a little blur... and what's that list of things you're supposed to find... i can't remember. i guess if you're into that kind of thing it's interesting. and i have binocs, and a telescope, and a spotting scope that i have used to look at the stars, but i'd prefer to lay on my back and enjoy. :)”

“simer is right. Most of the galaxies and cluster look like fuzzy dust balls. Just do a search on the Messier objects. This lists the top 130 or so non single star objects. They are mainly galaxies (bunches of stars), star clusters, nebulas, and other misc. stuff.”

“I have a pocket pair of Swarovski's, 10 x 25 I think. Anyway, I have looked through them, at night, and found them to help quite a bit. A perfect example is Pleiades, also know as the seven sisters or seven daughters.

With the naked eye you can count six stars (the seventh sister is lost), with the bino's ,there are hundreds, if not thousands of stars in that one constellation.

Try it, it works.”

“Has someone been perusing those Steiners in the Sierra Trading Post catalog? Pretty spiffy...

Yes, I lug around a pair of 8x21s. You can't see a whole lot, but they do come in handy for more than the stargazing.

If only there weren't so many damn trees down here in the southeast... where's Gordon when you need him?


How's THIS for a vantage point...



(click on the image)”

“That's fake!”

“till a rainbow people made off with it at ONF last year. (ok...i left my pack unattended for 5 minutes...my bad.)
anyway...it worked swell for moon gazing and seeing the rings of saturn.and the orion nebula and such.... ( u can use a hiking pole to steady it upon)...but just lying back and gazing up at the constellations is a fine past time with just nekkid eyes too......”

“Bummer about your scope OM!! That sucks!

I never carry any gear like that. Heck, I'd have no clue what I'z looking at anyway. Stars are like wild flowers. They're neat to look at and that's all I care to know about 'em.”

“we need a thread entitled;
I BROKE MY TELESCOPE ON THE TRAIL




i always carry a small pair of binaucs. as tilt and rosey said, they are a valuable tool. they are good for viewing wildlife too! i call them my luxury item, lol. didn't need them for stars up in WY though. that was the most amazing array of light i could ever imagine. i was totally dumbfounded. the big dipper looked 4 times larger than i had ever seen. there were actually more points of light that the darkness inbetween them. i stood there taking a pee at 3:30AM and looked up and then 10 minutes later i realized i still had Mr cyclops in my hand cuz i spaced out so bad looking at the stars.”

“Those folks do tend to 'live off the land' (and whatever isn't nailed down) don't they?

Modern Hunter-Gatherers...


Trust me, Walkindude. The names of constellations and whatnot are LOTS easier to remember than that wacky Latin nomenclature they hang on those plants... and you have to use the Latin names because the 'common names' vary from place to place...

It's a nightmare, <G>.”