this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2025
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Astronomy
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Alright, seeing the moons was harder than I remember with 10x50 Nikon AE. Handheld, about 80deg up. For a few moments, I could pick them out, but the shakes got too intense to see them again reliably. That's with decent knowledge of what to expect. My memory is probably based on the one time I actually used my homebuilt parallelogram mount. Or maybe when jupiter was 30deg up and my elbows were on a railing
Hey, it's cool that you followed up with this! It would make sense that the shaking is too intense for the fine details, especially at that high angle. I feel like I've heard of people using image-stabilized binos for stargazing, maybe that could make a difference?
Looking at the prices, my cheap ass would sacrifice some portability and opt for a tripod and a lightly fabricated aluminum or oak stick (read: drill 3 holes) to make a 24-36" offset mounting plank and carry a 5lb counterweight