4 ms·

This (or some sort of very similar comparison) prompted me to figure out how to locate Andromeda. And I could not see anything, So I bought a nice pair of binoc

by somat 4y ago

This (or some sort of very similar comparison) prompted me to figure out how to locate Andromeda. And I could not see anything, So I bought a nice pair of binoculars, and perhaps I could see something, but it was impossible to tell for sure. until I went camping in Arizona, I was looking at the stars, I remembered how to find Andromeda, remembered my binoculars. everything had came together and there it was! it looked like a blue mist. But really it was a nearly spiritual experience. Out in the cold Arizona desert, more stars than I have ever seen in my life and you bring up a pair of binoculars to what looks like an empty area of sky and it too is full of stars, And there is this blue mist, the furthest thing you can see with the naked eye(at least with better eyes than mine) with billions and billions of stars contained within. I don't know, but you feel stuff under those circumstances.

ISL 4y ago
I often recommend to beginning sky-watchers that they try looking at the night sky with a large pair of binoculars (look for large objective-lenses and not too much magnification) rather than a telescope. The nebulae and larger Messier objects are beautiful and approachable with bright handheld optics.
- pophenat 4y ago
  A small bit of advice from me: consider the weight of the binoculars when buying them. They can be too heavy to hold for more than a minute - especially large ones made for astronomy. You will either want a tripod (which is inconvenient to carry around and set up), or you’d want the binoculars to be smaller in size.
  - bumbledraven 4y ago
    Or you can buy image stabilizing binoculars which mechanically keep the image steady in your view despite the slight motion of your hands.
    - sph 4y ago
      I didn't know this was a thing. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image-stabilized_binoculars https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image-stabilized_binoculars
  - vl 4y ago
    For any practical viewing with binoculars you do need a good tripod - otherwise instead of stars you’ll see shaky lines. Unlike daytime viewing your eye/brain doesn’t eliminate small shakes, or maybe it’s just harder to stabilize binoculars when looking up.
lightbulbjim 4y ago
There's something special about the actual photons hitting your eyeball, instead of just looking at a picture.
- Gordonjcp 4y ago
  I just about fell on my arse the first time I saw Saturn through my telescope, actually looking at it and seeing the rings. Rings, right around a planet, right there. I couldn't see a lot of of detail because it's a fairly small refractor but there it was, a planet with rings. Rings. Right around a whole fucking planet. Right there for everyone with a couple of hundred quid's worth of glass and aluminium and a reasonable view of the night sky to see. Just, right there in the sky, bright and clear.
  - dm319 4y ago
    I know exactly what you mean. I saw it with a £40 amazon telescope. You know that weird feeling when you, for whatever reason, take another route from somewhere you know well, find you've arrived at an unusual end of another place you know well. The moment of connection, realisation that these two places are linked in this way. I felt that, but on a huge level seeing Saturn's rings for the first time. For years outerspace, without me realising, occupied a place in my encyclopedias, books, internet images from NASA. Maybe subconscious me didn't really 'believe' it was actually just above my head this whole time.
    - Hallucinaut 4y ago
      Great analogy. Lovely way of thinking about it.
tempestn 4y ago
How amazing would it be if it were as bright as in the photo though? We'd probably take it for granted, but at the same time, maybe not always. I'll sometimes marvel at the moon when you can really see its details and three-dimensionality, and that's just a moon. I expect being able to look up and see a whole galaxy with your naked eyes like that would be a pretty incredible experience.
saiya-jin 4y ago
I mean, in Southern Hemisphere you can see ie Large Magellanic Cloud with naked eye, and its by definition another (albeit smaller) galaxy. I do love astronomy and can stare at starry skies on top of mountains for half a night, but you don't need to buy some crazy equipment to see similar things, just travel a bit (or not if you live there). I believe mankind would be mentally in a bit better place of all folks that want enjoyed starry nights more often, and maybe grokked a bit what they actually see. Humility and all.
Medox 4y ago
> billions and billions of stars contained within. I don't know, but you feel stuff under those circumstances. Obligatory link to Gigapixels of Andromeda[1]. There are other Gigapixels of Andromeda videos out there but this one also has the perfect background music. Crazy how "billions and billions" might be an understatement, looking at how many stars appear after the 2min mark alone. And Andromeda is not even a huge galaxy[2]. 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udAL48P5NJU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udAL48P5NJU 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_galaxies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_galaxies
theandrewbailey 4y ago
If you have good eyesight (or good glasses/contacts prescription), you can see it without binoculars (at least the brighter core of the galaxy). Just don't look directly at it or it disappears, because you don't have rod cells in the middle of your field of view.

by somat 4y ago

ISL 4y ago

I often recommend to beginning sky-watchers that they try looking at the night sky with a large pair of binoculars (look for large objective-lenses and not too much magnification) rather than a telescope. The nebulae and larger Messier objects are beautiful and approachable with bright handheld optics.

pophenat 4y ago
A small bit of advice from me: consider the weight of the binoculars when buying them. They can be too heavy to hold for more than a minute - especially large ones made for astronomy. You will either want a tripod (which is inconvenient to carry around and set up), or you’d want the binoculars to be smaller in size.
- bumbledraven 4y ago
  Or you can buy image stabilizing binoculars which mechanically keep the image steady in your view despite the slight motion of your hands.
  - sph 4y ago
    I didn't know this was a thing. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image-stabilized_binoculars https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image-stabilized_binoculars
- vl 4y ago
  For any practical viewing with binoculars you do need a good tripod - otherwise instead of stars you’ll see shaky lines. Unlike daytime viewing your eye/brain doesn’t eliminate small shakes, or maybe it’s just harder to stabilize binoculars when looking up.

lightbulbjim 4y ago

There's something special about the actual photons hitting your eyeball, instead of just looking at a picture.

Gordonjcp 4y ago
I just about fell on my arse the first time I saw Saturn through my telescope, actually looking at it and seeing the rings. Rings, right around a planet, right there. I couldn't see a lot of of detail because it's a fairly small refractor but there it was, a planet with rings. Rings. Right around a whole fucking planet. Right there for everyone with a couple of hundred quid's worth of glass and aluminium and a reasonable view of the night sky to see. Just, right there in the sky, bright and clear.
- dm319 4y ago
  I know exactly what you mean. I saw it with a £40 amazon telescope. You know that weird feeling when you, for whatever reason, take another route from somewhere you know well, find you've arrived at an unusual end of another place you know well. The moment of connection, realisation that these two places are linked in this way. I felt that, but on a huge level seeing Saturn's rings for the first time. For years outerspace, without me realising, occupied a place in my encyclopedias, books, internet images from NASA. Maybe subconscious me didn't really 'believe' it was actually just above my head this whole time.
  - Hallucinaut 4y ago
    Great analogy. Lovely way of thinking about it.

tempestn 4y ago

How amazing would it be if it were as bright as in the photo though? We'd probably take it for granted, but at the same time, maybe not always. I'll sometimes marvel at the moon when you can really see its details and three-dimensionality, and that's just a moon. I expect being able to look up and see a whole galaxy with your naked eyes like that would be a pretty incredible experience.

saiya-jin 4y ago

I mean, in Southern Hemisphere you can see ie Large Magellanic Cloud with naked eye, and its by definition another (albeit smaller) galaxy. I do love astronomy and can stare at starry skies on top of mountains for half a night, but you don't need to buy some crazy equipment to see similar things, just travel a bit (or not if you live there). I believe mankind would be mentally in a bit better place of all folks that want enjoyed starry nights more often, and maybe grokked a bit what they actually see. Humility and all.

Medox 4y ago

> billions and billions of stars contained within. I don't know, but you feel stuff under those circumstances. Obligatory link to Gigapixels of Andromeda[1]. There are other Gigapixels of Andromeda videos out there but this one also has the perfect background music. Crazy how "billions and billions" might be an understatement, looking at how many stars appear after the 2min mark alone. And Andromeda is not even a huge galaxy[2]. 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udAL48P5NJU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udAL48P5NJU 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_galaxies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_galaxies

theandrewbailey 4y ago

If you have good eyesight (or good glasses/contacts prescription), you can see it without binoculars (at least the brighter core of the galaxy). Just don't look directly at it or it disappears, because you don't have rod cells in the middle of your field of view.