Steve Sloan II wrote: > > Kevin Tarr wrote: > > > Anyway I have binoculars. I could always get a great pair > > of binocs first. Ahh, it doesn't matter. What I need is time. > > I always hear that it's best to start out learning with > binoculars.
Just be careful where you go if you're interested in seeing something low on the horizon. I know someone who got hassled by a cop in December 1986 when he was out with binoculars looking for a particular comet that was near the horizon....
The problem with binoculars, or anything else that's not mounted on a stand, is keeping things steady. What I found worked best for me, anyway, was leaning my elbows on a car one way or another. Sitting on the trunk, leaning back on the back window and having the elbows on the car that way is a little awkward, but did a decent job of steadying me the last time I tried it (which was sometime in the past 9 years). Just leaning on the hood or the trunk and parking my elbows there worked reasonably well for stuff near the horizon. If you've got some other way that works to keep things steady, use that (and let me know what it is!).
Yes. It's called a "tripod" . . .
-- Ronn! :)
Ronn Blankenship Instructor of Astronomy/Planetary Science University of Montevallo Montevallo, AL
Disclaimer: Unless specifically stated otherwise, any opinions contained herein are the personal opinions of the author and do not represent the official position of the University of Montevallo.
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