Wycombe Astronomical Society

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WAS 25 Binocular Project

The WAS Binocular 25 Project

To encourage new members and young members to view the sky whenever possible, we offer our Binocular 25 project and we hope many of you will join in. We hope that you will find it worthwhile to view all these objects, some that you may not have considered up to now. The range is kept varied although all are within the capabilities of modest size binoculars suitable for astronomical viewing.

The Moon, planets, constellations (that many not usually consider studying), star groups, Messier objects that can be found in binoculars (although good seeing conditions may be necessary) and double stars are all included to add variation.

Most items should be possible from your own home location but for some objects you may need to visit a darker site or visit the Society's observatory location, where you can obtain assistance in finding any particularly difficult subjects and perhaps try other members binoculars that are available at the time.

You will see that the Sun is included but only by projection through binoculars onto a suitable surface. A tripod with a suitable attachment to fit your binoculars would be useful.

If you successfully complete 25 out of 30 items in the itinerary and are a member of the Society, we will award a WAS 25 Binocular certificate to you.

Binocular Viewing Tips

For best results consider the following:

• Be Steady. Support your hands, elbows and arms on any object nearby that is suitable for viewing the height of the object you have selected. Alternatively, keep your hands against your body to assist in steadying your binocular view. Holding your breath for a short while can help steady the view. It is sometimes useful to use averted vision by looking to the edge of the eyepiece and therefore seeing the object from the side of your vision.
• Be Comfortable. Use a chair - an adjustable lounger type garden chair is very suitable.
• Be Patient. Be patient and still while finding and viewing an object.
• Avoid Light. Avoid any light pollution by turning your back against it and using any form of screening, i.e. trees and garden sheds.
• Understand the field of view of your binoculars. This will help you to know exactly where you are looking, particularly if you are trying to find an object by referencing a star map.
• Be Warm. Make sure you are suitably clothed and have suitable footwear on. The nights can change quickly in temperature and humidity.

The Object to View

No.   Object

Planets - View and draw as seen (including any stars seen in your field of view)

B1    Venus

B2    Mercury

B3    Mars

B4    Saturn

B5    Jupiter and any Moons seen (First Record)

B6    Jupiter and any Moons seen (Second Record)

B7    Jupiter and any Moons seen (Third Record)  

B8    Sun. WARNING: Project the suns disc onto a suitable surface. DO NOT VIEW THE SUN DIRECTLY  THROUGH THE BINOCULARS OR                   YOU MAY BE PERMANENTLY BLINDED!

B9    Sun. WARNING: Project the suns disc onto a suitable surface. DO NOT VIEW THE SUN DIRECTLY  THROUGH THE BINOCULARS OR                   YOU MAY BE PERMANENTLY BLINDED!

B10   Through your binoculars, view and draw the Moon showing its phase and include some nearby stars in your field of view.

Lunar Project - View and drawn as seen (near to a first quarter Moon)

B11    Mare Crisium

B12    Mare Fecunditatis

B13    Mare Tranquilitatis

B14    Mare Sereneitatis

B15    Tycho

B16    Copernicus

B17    Caucasus/Alpine Mountain area  

B18    Apennine Mountains

Constellations - View and draw as much of the detail that you can see in the field of view of you binoculars

B19    Sagitta

B20    Delphinus

B21    Canis Minor

B22    Triangulum

Star Groups - View and draw as much detail as you can comfortably manage

B23    Alpha Perseus and the "tea cup". Can you see the tea cup?

B24    The sword handle and the Double Cluster

B25    The Coathanger

Extra alternative items you can use in place of any of the above to obtain your total of 25 objects seen

B26     M44 Beehive Cluster in Cancer

B27     M31 Andromeda Galaxy  

          Double Stars

B28     Alpha 1 and Alpha 2 Taurus

B29     Delta 1 and Delta 2 Lyra

B30     Alpha 1 and Alpha 2 Capricorn.

How to record your observations

Your task is to demonstrate to an assessor that you have indeed observed the objects in the list. There are no hard and fast rules about what to record and how. However, you may find using the Observation Log sheet below a useful and consistent way of recording what you have seen

Download Certificate record sheet (MS Word format

Download field of view sheets (GIF image)

WAS Observation Log Sheet