Eyepiece Cheat Codes: Binocular astronomy

One of the common pieces of advice for amateur astronomers who are just starting out is to get binoculars. The reasons are that you can get a decent pair for less than a mediocre telescope, they are intuitive, compact, and easy to use, they help you learn the sky, and they will be useful no matter how experienced an observer you become. In addition, you can also use them for nature viewing, sports, and many other situations.

The main drawback to binoculars is that they don't magnify as much as telescopes and you can't change that magnification, at least for handheld binoculars. There are larger binoculars and  binocular telescopes that do both, but these tend to be very heavy and very expensive.

A second complaint is that it's difficult to take advantage of them fully for astronomy because holding them introduces shakiness and fatigue. Try keeping your hand on a telescope while you observe with it and you see how much it degrades the image.

But the beauty of binoculars are manifold. They allow you to use both of your eyes. They are eminently portable. They are uncomplicated: just point and focus. They have a wide field of view. They are inexpensive for the quality you get. They are widely available in many different size and magnification combinations. They are versatile. They are the ultimate "grab-n-go" astronomy gear.

Astroboy cartoon by Astronomerica.

Mounting binoculars

Besides learning how to hold it steady, you are going to get better views by mounting your binoculars in some way. For lower powered binoculars like 7x35 or 7x50 you can keep them pretty steady handheld, but once you get to around 10x50, even with a steady hold, you will still not get the good views that you would get if you mounted them. Also, any binoculars get tiring after holding them up with your arms for a few minutes.

For those reasons, many astronomers mount their binoculars. Most use a photo tripod or a monopod, but this limits the freedom of movement somewhat and certainly makes it uncomfortable to observe high in the sky, where the sky is usually darkest and most transparent. You can observe sitting down, but not in a reclining chair without difficulty. The best uses of a tripod are for objects lower in the sky, which is often the southern summer Milky Way for North American observers, and comets, which are often close to the Sun and visibly at their best shortly after sunset or before sunrise. I find a tripod very limiting overall.

Another option is the parallelogram mount. These are commercially available or you can build your own. I built one from plans in Astronomy magazine years ago, and while it worked okay, it was bulky and heavy. You have to adjust it if you move your chair to look at a different part of the sky. Commercial options are somewhat limited lately, and they are relatively expensive. Because I have to travel to observe in a darker sky, I don't have much room left after the Dobsonian telescope and other gear is loaded, so I don't want another big piece of gear and a tripod to mess with.

Some people don't bother with mounting and buy image stabilized binoculars instead. I've tried them and they're okay, but I get a bit dizzy using them. They are also quite expensive. You still have the fatigue of holding them up, and they are generally heavier than the same size non-stabilized binoculars.

My own preference is to build and use the compact, simple, and inexpensive Bino Body Mount (left), which you can use to observe anywhere in the sky (best up high) in a zero gravity chair for maximum flexibility and comfort. This lets you keep your elbows down by your side and transfers most of the weight to your shoulders directly, rather than through your eye sockets and arms. It preserves the freedom of motion of handheld binoculars and you can get views so steady that only your heartbeat is discernible.

What other equipment do I need?

Binoculars are the only essential equipment. There are many articles and videos about choosing binoculars. Generally, the higher the power the narrower the field of view. The larger the objective lens, the fainter and finer detail you will be able to see.

My recommendation is 7x50s if you are in the first half of your life and just beginning. They are easier to hold steady, have a wider field, lower power, big exit pupil (second number divided by the first, i.e., 50/7=7.1mm exit pupil) that young eyes can fully take advantage of. I recommend 10x50s, 15x70s, or 20x80s especially if you are older or interested in viewing more than starry vistas and want to locate individual objects like smaller star clusters, globular clusters, some nebulas, galaxies, and the like. These are the binoculars I recommend for my binocular audio guides "Space Walk Among the Stars."

But you'll really improve your observing and comfort with a reclining chair. A zero gravity chair is best because, unlike most other recliners, you don't need to manipulate the arms with both hands to change the reclining angle. Instead, you just transfer your weight between your feet and shoulders to change the angle, or altitude. The only drawback is the same as any chair: you have to get up and move it to view a different part of the sky. This leads some DIYers to build rotating platforms for their chairs. I recently built one, although I haven't got it quite right yet.

Left: Reader Mike (Telescope Guy) using his homemade rotating chair mount with his Bino Body Mount. Can't get much better than that!

For cold or cooler nights, besides dressing appropriately, a blanket laid on the chair will help insulate you from the cold air between the underside of your chair and the ground. I like to use a cheap moving blanket, but any blanket will do.

Unless you are just casually scanning the sky only, you will need some type of star chart, planisphere, or app. I use an app (Sky Safari Pro) with night vision turned on. Some will argue that this little bit of red light still disturbs your night vision, but I haven't found that to be the case unless I am observing in a super dark location, which doesn't happen very often. You'll have the same issue if you use a dim red flashlight and a paper chart, which to me is way too fussy for observing with binoculars. Even if  you don't have a specific observing list in mind, it's nice to be able to look up something you spotted to see what it is. I just attach my phone to the arm of my chair so I know where it is and it doesn't end up on the ground.

If you observe where dew is prevalent, you can add a pair of USB dew heaters made for camera lenses and power them with a phone power bank, which I recommend you carry in a pouch around your neck. If it's really dewy, and I've experienced this, or you are sweating from setting up, you can use a small battery operated pocket fan to clear the eyepiece lenses periodically.

What to look at

Well really, the sky's the limit. You can look at anything you want. But some things are too small and dim and are best left to telescopes.

The "Space Walk Among the Stars: Binocular Edition" audio guides are a great way to learn different areas of the sky and what objects are there. I suggest that you start with them.

Besides the Space Walks, here is a list of the types of objects you can view well in binoculars, with some examples for Northern Hemisphere observers. It's difficult to simulate the binocular view for each, other than adjusting the scale and dimming it down some from images, which I have done just to try to give you an idea of scale and brightness. But images just can't capture the sparkling beauty, color, and contrast with the sky that stars show visually. You'll find that these objects will appear much more entrancing in your binoculars, and you may end up staring at them longer than you expect. 

I've compiled an observing list of all the named objects below plus a few more, except comets and asteroids, in .skylist format for Sky Safari Plus and Pro. Download to your phone or tablet and import into Sky Safari Pro or Plus. Do this by emailing the .skylist file to yourself, open the email on your device, download it, then select the file, select "open with" and choose Sky Safari. You'll get an acknowledgment that it was imported. The list will show up as "Imported List" followed by the date and time. You can rename it in Sky Safari. 

1. Comets. I think brighter comets are best viewed in binoculars. The really good ones require a large field of view, larger than most telescopes, the tail shows best, and they're easiest to find quickly in binoculars. These tend to be brightest, with the longest tails, when they are closest to the  Sun. Therefore, low in the west in the evening and in the east in the morning is where you'll often be looking. The window for best viewing in these situations is often fairly short, so you want to be able to hop out before or after work or school and catch them.

Above: Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) by Kevin Gill, via Flickr, CC by 2.0.

2. Star fields. One of the truly amazing sights in amateur astronomy is getting out to a dark sky and just scanning the Milky Way with binoculars. Sometimes that's all I do, and I may not even set up my telescope. Binoculars (and the unaided eye in a dark sky) are the best instrument for these wide field vistas. A wide field refractor can be great, too, but being able to lie back, using two eyes, and the freedom to move around the sky easily with an orientation matching your unaided eye are huge advantages for binoculars. Check out M24, the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud, the area around Sadr in Cygnus, and the Belt of Orion for some standouts.

Above: Simulated binocular view of a star field in Sagittarius (adapted from Aladin Lite)

3. Open star clusters. There are many larger and brighter open clusters that are easily visible in even small binoculars. Some of the best are the Hyades and the Pleiades in Taurus, the Double Cluster (NGC 869 and 884) and M34 in Perseus, M35 in Gemini, IC 4756 in Serpens (Cauda), M44 (the Beehive) in Cancer, M23 in Sagittarius, M7 in Scorpius, NGC 752 in Andromeda, NGC 7209 in Lacerta, NGC 6940 in Vulpecula, M46 in Puppis, and NGC 2360 in Canis Major. Many globular clusters can also be spotted in binoculars, but they invariably look like little fuzzballs unless you have very large binoculars.

Above: M35 in Gemini. (Astrophoto Andy, via Flickr, CC by 2.0, brightess/contrast adjusted, cropped and rotated)

4. Asterisms. These are groups of stars that form patterns even if they may not be actual gravitationally bound clusters. You can probably find your own by scanning the sky, and many of them are best seen with the naked eye (Big Dipper or the Plough in Ursa Major, the Backwards Question Mark in Leo, the Keystone in Hercules, the Teapot in Sagittarius), but a couple of the most famous ones for binoculars are the Coathanger (Collinder 399) in Vulpecula, and Kemble's Cascade in Camelopardalis.

Above: The Coathanger asterism. Simulated binocular view.

5. Nebulas. You need a darker sky to view most nebulas in binoculars. Some of the brightest are the Orion Nebula (M42), which will show up even in bad light pollution, the North American Nebula (NGC 7000) and the Veil Nebula (NGC 6992 and NGC 6960, etc.) in Cygnus, the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) in Aquarius, the Lagoon Nebula (M8) in Sagittarius, and the Dumbbell Nebula (M27) in Vulpecula. If you're in a really dark sky, you might also be able to pick out dark nebulas, which are clouds of obscuring dust that make it seem like there is a ragged black hole in the star field.

Above: The Helix Nebula, NGC 7293. Simulated binocular view adapted from Aladin Lite.

6. Galaxies. Most galaxies are relatively small objects, and some of the smaller but brighter ones can be seen in binoculars. The bigger, brighter ones are the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) in Andromeda, M33 in Triangulum (need a pretty dark sky), and NGC 5128 in Centaurus (if you're far enough south).

Left: Galaxy M33. Simulated binocular view adapted from Aladin Lite.

7. Interesting stars. Many double stars, variables, and colorful stars are good for binoculars. A very steady hold with 10x or higher binoculars will split the colorful double Albireo. Any stars with reasonably close magnitudes with a separation of about 30 arc seconds or more are fair game for binocular observation. You might do better or worse, but that's about the practical limit for most people with 10x binoculars.

Above: Double star Nu Draconis (Kuma). Although this simulated binocular view adapted from Aladin Lite makes it look very difficult to split, at 62.3 arcseconds separation, mounted or steadily held 10x50s can do half that.

8. Asteroids. Asteroids look like stars except they appear to change position over a matter of hours or days, depending on the magnification you are using. Binoculars can be used to view stars and asteroids to approximately 11th magnitude, depending on your sky, your binoculars, your observing experience, and the density of the star field. Here's a list of 25 asteroids that are often viewable in binoculars. Magnitudes of asteroids do vary as they orbit the Sun, so sometimes you can catch dimmer ones during a favorable apparition. Sketch their position from one night to the next to verify you have the right "star." Apps like Sky Safari Pro let you do a canned search on the night's brightest asteroids. I looked at tonight's list, and there are 14 asteroids brighter than 11th magnitude, however not all of them are well placed in the sky to view at any given time.

Above: Asteroids vary tremendously in shape and size. This diminutive walnut-shaped asteroid, Dinkinesh, shows a typically irregular shape. Only the largest asteroids become somewhat spherical, and they are some of the brightest, consistently visible in binoculars, unlike this dinky guy. (NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL/NOIRLab/Brian May (yes, the Queen guitarist)/Claudia Manzoni). This is a parallel view stereogram. How to view.

9. The Moon and planets. All eight planets can be spotted in binoculars at different times of the year. You won't see any details (except for Earth!), but Saturn looks oblong when the rings are tilted and you can see up to four of the moons of Jupiter, depending on where they are in their orbits. The Moon supposedly shows 100 craters in binoculars, but I haven't counted, and I think it would drive me crazy trying to sort out the ones in the southern hemisphere. Larger objectives may blow out your vision on the Moon. I can't take the full Moon in my 15x70s without some kind of filter.

Above: Jupiter will show up as a tiny disk with no detail. Up to four moons can be seen, depending on their positions in orbit around the planet. Simulated binocular view.

While some people may observe the Sun with proper filters on their binoculars, I don't recommend it because you are looking in its direction and you can be blinded if you pull the binoculars away from your eyes even momentarily.

Technique

Advanced binocular observers often say you can get steady views and reduce fatigue with proper handheld technique (the way you cup your hands around the binoculars and rest them on your eye socket bone structure, etc.), but most people intuitively gravitate to a technique that works for them. That's the beauty of binoculars. But you still won't get the steadiest views without some kind of mounting (see above). 

Some people also say that they rest their arms on the chair arms to steady the view. Well, I don't know what kind of chair they are using, but for every chair I've ever used, the arms are way too low for that and I end up scrunching way down so my head is where my butt should be. Not comfortable or healthy!

Most multipurpose binoculars have a center-focus wheel that you turn with one or two fingers to focus both eyepieces at the same time. This allows you to quickly refocus for terrestrial viewing and is best if your binoculars are not strictly for astronomy. They will have a diopter adjustment on the right eyepiece that allows you to turn a ring to adjust for the inevitable difference between how your two eyes focus. 

Right: The diopter adjuster ring is usually on the right eyepiece. In the case of these 8x42s, adjustment marks are molded into the rubber armor just below the ring. This binocular also has eyecups that adjust by twisting them in or out for the desired eye relief, great for glasses wearers or to get just the right eye placement.

To use the diopter, first find a bright star field, close your right eye, and use the main focus wheel to focus for your left eye only. Stars should be pinpoints, or at least as small as you can make them. Then, close your left eye and using only the diopter ring, focus for your right eye only. Then look with both eyes and tweak the adjustment as needed.

Left: My 15x70s have individually focused eyepieces.That's true with many larger binoculars made for astronomy or long distance viewing only.

For astronomy, many binoculars focus each eyepiece individually, because once you are focused at infinity, you shouldn't need to refocus. You just turn the ring on the outside of each eyepiece and you shouldn't need to mess with it again. In my experience, individual focusing eyepieces hold their focus better and prevent my obsessive-compulsive tendencies from causing me to be continuously tweaking focus, so I like them better for astronomy.

When viewing a specific object, first look at it or the area with the unaided eye, facing it straight on, then without moving your face or gaze, bring the binoculars up between your eyes and the object. If you consistently have your binoculars too high or too low, make the adjustment until you typically have them right on the object each time. With practice you'll find objects more reliably this way, although it can still be frustrating even with practice. Don't get bent out of shape if you can't find something the first time. You can always scan around and compare the view to a chart to see where you are. Especially in a dark sky, it's easy to get lost among the stars. But that's kind of the point, isn't it!

Reducing glare

Unfortunately, we often have to observe with lights around us, not just skyglow. You can set up some screens or other objects to block out the lights (I'm working on an article for a DIY light screen), but you can't always block all of them. Even in a dark sky there's usually some light somewhere and the general glow from parts of the sky or the Moon.

Above: The Bino Bandit glare shield.

I find the Bino Bandit binocular glare shield to be a worthy investment, despite the relatively high cost for what it is. I've tried making something similar and failed miserably. It's made of neoprene and has two holes in it that stretch over your binocular eyepieces. You can get rubber eyeguards, but the Bino Bandit blocks the light from all angles. In addition, it leaves a little more air around your eyes so the lenses won't fog up as easily, and works with eyeglasses. It's easy to switch it from one pair of binoculars to another. I find it great for daytime viewing, too.

Using filters

Filters have limited use for binoculars, but they can help on certain nebulas. The problem is that they are designed to be fitted at the bottom end of the eyepiece, but with binoculars they must be threaded in front of the eyepiece, if the binoculars even have threaded eyepieces. This degrades the view, but can still help in some cases. I wouldn't buy a filter just for binocular observing, but if you have one for your telescope you might try it out.

If your eyepieces aren't threaded, you can try holding a filter between your eye and the eyepiece, which is not easy to do. A 2" filter is easier. 

Left: A UHC (Ultra High Contrast) type filter on one eyepiece will enhance a bright nebula, and the non-filtered eyepiece will still give you the full star field: the best of both worlds.

If you do have threaded eyepieces, use a UHC narrowband filter and thread it on one of them. This will give you a filtered view that enhances the nebula but dims down the stars in one eye, and gives an unfiltered, fully illuminated view in the other eye. 

I find a UHC filter helps on the larger and brighter binocular nebulas such as the North Ameircan Nebula, the Helix Nebula, and some of the brighter summer southern Milky Way nebulas. I don't have an OIII filter, but you might try that on the Veil Nebula or Helix Nebula if your sky is relatively dark. I can usually see the Eastern Veil from a Bortle 4 or 5 sky without any filter.

Bino Body Mount - build a travel mount for binocular astronomy

I recently took a dark sky vacation to Arizona. I wanted to bring my 15x70 Garrett Optical binoculars, but they are 5.5 lbs., and I can't hand hold that with any kind of steadiness. I had previously built a zero gravity chair mount, but I wouldn't have access to a zero gravity chair. 

I was pondering compact and, of course, inexpensive solutions, and came upon this post on Stargazers Lounge. The observer uses a mini-tripod with one leg removed, resting the other two legs on his shoulders. This seemed like a great idea, except you still have to keep your elbows raised, which introduces both unsteadiness and fatigue. 

Taking that idea a step further, I devised a very simple apparatus that I call the Bino Body Mount, which solves the problem of having to raise your arms by adding a 90 degree handle to each side of a basic wood frame. You don't have to buy a mini-tripod, just a cheap 1x2 furring strip (my go-to wood for this kind of thing), a binocular tripod adapter, a 1" 1/4-20 stud knob, two star knobs, two hanger bolts, a flat washer, two fender washers, two neoprene washers, four wood screws, and two tennis balls (well, three really because they come in 3-packs). See parts and tools list at the end.

The mount breaks down flat for packing by removing three knobs. It's very lightweight, and can be used standing or sitting in any type of chair. Your arms stay at your side to provide comfortable support when standing and rest on the arms of your chair when sitting. As you recline further back toward the zenith, the shoulder bars transfer more and more of the weight to your shoulders, resolving the problem of raising your arms and tiring quickly. The Bino Body Mount also improves the view and fatigue factor with any size binoculars because you don't have to hold them in front of your face with your arms raised. 

For Comet C2023/A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), I sometimes used the mount standing because it was relatively low to the horizon and I really didn't need a chair. It worked great. I wouldn't recommend standing and looking anywhere near the zenith with binoculars, whether handheld, on a Bino Body Mount, or on a tripod. That's just painful and awkward.

For objects near the horizon, you can sit up and rest your arms on the chair arms. 

Note: That's a Bino Bandit around the eyepieces. It's a neoprene eyepiece light shield that I highly recommend despite it's relatively high cost because it works so well. 

You're not going to get rock steady views with this, but surprisingly close, and your arms and neck won't get tired. My brother and I spent many hours on our Arizona vacation using these, and they worked great with almost no fatigue. You will primarily see a jiggle from your heartbeat. You can look around anywhere in the sky that you could just handholding the binoculars. You can loosen the knobs to tilt the bino bar at whatever angle works best for you. You can adjust focus with one or both hands.

At this point, I am using the Bino Body Mount for all of my binocular astronomy observations, regardless of whether I'm traveling or not. It's simple, it's lightweight, it's compact, it's inexpensive, it's easy to build, and it works very well.

Sep. 2025 update: I was out at one of my astronomy club's observing sites recently and spotted a Bino Body Mount made by a fellow club member. He made it without the knobs, but still very serviceable! Mounting a 20x80 Zhumell binocular. 

Here's reader Mike with one of the three Bino Body Mounts that he built. Slick! I like the turntable chair mount, too. This is great if you don't want to have to move your chair to look at a different part of the sky. My kind of astronomy! 

Build it

The critical measurement is the distance from the tripod threads in between the barrels of your binoculars to the end of the eyecups, what I call the "thread-to-eye" measurement. The correct distance places the binocular eyepieces exactly where they would be if you were handholding them. This doesn't need to be super precise- within 1/2 or 1/4" is fine. You can tilt the bino bar when observing to make up for any slight error.

If you have multiple binoculars with different thread-to-eye distances, as is the case with my Meade roof prism binoculars, you just drill a pair of holes in the shoulder bars at the correct distances and you can easily reposition the bino bar as needed. Or you could just make two mounts!

See the parts and tools list at bottom of the post.

Step 1:

Measure and cut

Measure and cut a 1x2 furring strip into five pieces. You can make them whatever lengths that work for you, but I made the two shoulder bars 12" long, which accomodates most porro prism binoculars with an approximately 4" thread-to-eye distance. On a second Bino Body Mount, I cut the bars 13-1/2" long for my Meade roof prisms, since the measurement is about 6" for them. The bino bar (the crosspiece that holds the binoculars) is 11". The two handles are 12". One six or eight foot furring strip will be plenty and leaves some extra in case of "constructor error."

Step 2:

Bino bar

Drill a roughly 11/64" hole in the center of both ends of the bino bar (the 11" piece) and insert a 2" 1/4-20 hanger bolt into each, using the "two-nut" technique (thread two nuts on the end, tighten them together, then screw in by turning the upper nut, screw out by turning the lower nut). The threaded end of the hanger bolt should stick out far enough to accomodate the 5/8" width of a furring strip, another 1/8" for a neoprene washer, 1/16" for a flat washer, leaving about 1/4" for the knob to screw onto. So leave about one screw thread of the wood screw part showing and you should be fine. You can always adjust it.

Drill a 1/4" hole in the middle of the bino bar. This will hold the tripod adapter using the 1" stud knob and flat washer.

Step 3:

Shoulder bars

Drill a 1/4" hole in each shoulder bar where the bino bar crosspiece hanger bolts will be inserted. This should be the measurement above plus about 6 inches. So for a 4" thread-to-eye measurement, drill the hole about 10" from the end of the shoulder bar that will rest on your shoulder. Put a neoprene washer between the bino bar and the shoulder bar, then on the outside of the shoulder bar, a 1/4" flat or fender washer and the knob.  

Step 4:

Test the fit. People's bodies vary, so if the above calculation doesn't work, make an adjustment by drilling a hole a little closer or further from the end. This is the important part, so make sure you get it right and it's comfortable for you. Adding tennis balls will give you a little more distance, and putting a thicker pillow behind your head or wearing a hood will give you a little less. It doesn't have to be perfect, just close enough to work for you. 

Remember you can make minor adjustments by loosening the side knobs and changing the bino bar tilt slightly. I like to have the binoculars tilting slightly downward compared to the shoulder bars (see images above), except when observing near the zenith. In that case, I like to have the binoculars pretty much pointing straight out parallel with the shoulder bars, especially when observing in a chair that doesn't recline very far.

I recommend getting pre-cut tennis balls made for walkers. Much safer. But if you cut your own, cut an X or hole in two tennis balls and stick them on the ends of the shoulder bars so they fit snugly and won't fall off easily. This is harder than it sounds. Tennis balls are tough! I used a large folding knife to poke an initial hole, then cut the rest until it fit snugly on the end of the 1x2. See this video, or if  you have an electric carving knife, this video. I always wear heavy leather gloves when working with sharp things near my hands that could slip. 

Step 5:

Handle bars

Attach the handle bars on the outside of the shoulder bars about 7" from the ends that rest on your shoulders with two wood screws per side. You can also add tennis balls to the handle bars for the ultimate in opulence.

Step 5:

Finishing touches

With fender washers under the two side knobs, a flat washer under the bino mount knob, and neoprene washers on each end of the bino bar (to help keep it from slipping without having to overtighten the knobs), test it all and if no further adjustments are needed, sand and paint the wood pieces. 

The final assembled Bino Body Mount (with my 15x70s mounted).

Front view showing placement of the neoprene washers.

The pieces disassembled for packing in a suitcase. This mount has longer shoulder bars with two sets of holes to accomodate both my porro and roof prism binoculars. No tools required to assemble and disassemble. Just unscrew three knobs.

What's better than one Bino Body Mount? Two Bino Body Mounts! One for me and one for my brother. I hope you enjoy yours!

[1/27/2025 update] Some tips on use:

• Always carry the apparatus by holding the binoculars. That way, if you forgot to tighten something or it got loose, it's the mount that will hit something, not your binoculars.
• Apropos the above, periodically check that the three knobs are tight.
• Some tilting of the binoculars from side to side on the tripod adapter is desirable so that if you are looking off to the side a bit it will stay lined up better with your eyes. 
• When observing near the horizon while sitting, I like to rest my palms on the side knobs with my fingers curled around the ends of the handle bars, tucking my elbows in for support

Parts list

1x2 furring strip (6 ft.)

Binocular tripod adapter (example)

1" 1/4-20 stud knob (most come in multi-packs- good for lots of projects)

Two 1/4-20 2" diameter threaded five-star knobs

Two 1/4-20 2" hanger bolts

Three 1/4" hole flat washers 

two 1/4" neoprene washers

Four 1-1/4" wood screws

Two tennis balls or pre-cut tennis balls

Tools:

Tape measure or ruler

Power drill with 1/4" and 11/64" (or close) drill bits, and phillips head bit (or screwdriver, or both)

Hand or power saw

Two 1/4" hex nuts and two 7/16" combination wrenches or pliers (to screw in the hanger bolts)

Sturdy pointed knife and heavy leather gloves to make holes/cuts in tennis balls if you don't buy them pre-cut

Sandpaper, tack cloth, paint, and paintbrush

Nice to have but not essential: 

    Mitre box (to make straight cuts)

    Clamps (to hold the wood for sawing and drilling)

New Binocular Space Walk audio guide - Clusters in Cassiopeia and Perseus

I've added a new Binocular Space Walk audio guide, "Cruising for Clusters in Cassiopeia and Perseus." The guided tour takes you through the northern constellations Cassiopeia and Perseus to find 16 of the brightest open clusters in that part of the sky, as viewed from mid-latitudes in the northern hemisphere. It lasts about half an hour, but provides many opportunities to pause the recording to admire the objects and take breaks. Here's the link to the page, which is also available under Quick Hops on the right. Enjoy!

Binocular Space Walk - Cruising for Clusters in Cassiopeia and Perseus

New Binocular Space Walk audio guide available

I've added a new Binocular Space Walk audio guide. This one takes you through the Summer Southern Milky Way, as viewed from mid-latitudes in the northern hemisphere, looking at open clusters, globular clusters, a double star, and a few nebulae. It lasts about half an hour, but provides many opportunities to pause the recording to admire the objects and take breaks. Here's the link to the page, which is also available under Quick Hops on the right. Enjoy!

Binocular Space Walk - Summer Southern Milky Way

Added a new Space Walk Among the Stars - Binocular Edition

More fun with binoculars! I just added a new Space Walk Among the Stars - Binocular Edition, audio guided tour. This one is for the Winter sky, like the first one, but it uses the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, as a jumping off point to find some really nice star clusters including M41, M93, Collinder 140, M46, M47, M50, NGC 2423, and NGC 2360. 

Give it a try while these are still placed well in the evening once it gets dark, around 9 p.m. EDT. The Moon should be out of the way at that time from about March 28 through April 9, 2024.

Binocular Space Walk - From Sirius

No telescope? No problem. Try the new Binocular Space Walk Among the Stars - Winter Sky

For those of you without a telescope, or those of you like me who like to observe sometimes with just binoculars, I've added a new Space Walk Among the Stars - binocular edition. 

This Space Walk takes you down through the Winter sky in the south, as viewed from the Northern Hemisphere. You'll travel from Taurus, through Auriga, Gemini, Orion, and Canis Major, viewing objects such as the Pleiades, the Hyades, M38, M36, M37, the Great Orion Nebula, M35, and M41, just to name some of the headliners.

As always, the Space Walk includes a chart to get you oriented, but you can just lie back in your chair, grab your binoculars, and follow along with the recording as I guide you through these constellations. Enjoy!

Binocular Space Walk Among the Stars - Winter