the_felix•1mo agoMost Upvoted

Pro tip: I spent 2 years aiming my binoculars wrong at the night sky

I was holding them too close to my eyes, pressing against my glasses, until a guy at a park in Phoenix pointed out I should back off the eyecups to get a full view of Jupiter's moons, has anyone else been doing this basic thing wrong for ages?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jana1mo ago

That thing about pressing them against your glasses really hits home. I read somewhere that binoculars actually need about 15mm of eye relief, which is the distance your eye should be from the lens. I had the same problem at a star party where a guy showed me to twist the eyecups down for my glasses. Suddenly I could see the whole Pleiades cluster instead of just a fuzzy blob. Felt pretty dumb but at least now I know.

robinson.holly1mo ago

Lol "felt pretty dumb but at least now I know" is basically the motto of anyone who's ever tried to use binoculars with glasses. I spent like two years just pressing my face against the lenses like a weirdo before some random guy at a park told me to twist the eyecups down. Suddenly I could see Jupiter's moons instead of a blurry light blob. Made me wonder what else I've been doing wrong my whole life.