Speaker: Phyllis Lang
For our April meeting, long time RAC member Phyllis Lang gave an excellent talk on Binocular Astronomy. Phyllis described the different types of binoculars available for astronomy use, how to get the most out of them and what objects look best in binoculars. Many people assume that the best astronomy observing is done with the biggest telescopes. But many objects – the moon, large open clusters and large nebula look as good or better through binoculars. Binoculars offer a wider field of view than telescopes and can provide a much better showcase for large objects or rich starfield patches of night sky.
Phyllis covered the following topics:
- basic types of binoculars
- mounts and tripods that make binoculars easier to use
- best objects to view: moon, planets, large clusters etc
- best book and magazine resources for binocular use
- lists of best binocular objects to observe
- and much more…
The RAC website article, Resources Mentioned in Astronomy with Binoculars, provides a list of books and observing programs for binocular astronomy.
A recording of this meeting is available on the RAC YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XalFogSAEHI
In the business portion of the meeting, club officers discussed RAC support for the Morehead Planetarium’s Statewide Star Party events and upcoming officer elections. Doug Lively, the club’s Astronomical League Coordinator; handed out the following AL observing awards:
- Caldwell Award to Al Hamrick for observing 80+ Caldwell list objects
- Outreach Award (all levels) to Doug Lively for significant astronomy outreach work spanning years
Congrats to Al and Doug for their awards!
