Using binoculars to view the moon and beyond?
April 27, 2010 by
Filed under Zoom Binoculars
What are a good pair of astronomy binoculars that would give a good close up of the moon and stars? How strong a zoom should they have etc.
Comments
5 Responses to “Using binoculars to view the moon and beyond?”Speak Your Mind
Tell us what you're thinking...and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
go for telescopes binoculars not good for this
Binoculars are suggestive for Sight seeing et al. But better use telescope
I’ve found that best all around size of binocular is a 10×50: 10 power, 50mm objectives. This is easy for most people to hand hold, but has enough magnification and aperture for astronomical use.
Avoid “zoom” binoculars: they are inferior optically to single magnification ones. Also avoid fixed focus binoculars…they won’t focus properly on the stars. Stick to the major brands like Nikon, Canon, and Pentax. The best range of binoculars comes from Orion:
http://www.telescope.com/control/category/~category_id=binocular_standard/~VIEW_INDEX=0/~VIEW_SIZE=1000000
Their Scenix 10×50s at $99.95 seem to offer particularly good value:
http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=binocular_standard/~pcategory=binocular_standard/~product_id=09333
My own 10×50s are Celestron Pros, no longer manufactured, but very similar to the Orion UltraViews:
http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=binocular_standard/~product_id=09351
I have more powerful binoculars, Orion 15×70s, but I hardly ever use them because they are heavy and hard to hold steady.
[Edit] The people who answered that binoculars were not useful in astronomy obviously have little experience in astronomy. I’ve been an amateur astronomer for over 50 years, and my binoculars are my most used instrument. I have 10 telescopes, but my binoculars are always around my neck when I’m using any of them. Binoculars are useful in and of themselves for wide-field views of the Milky Way and large objects. They’re also an essential tool in starhopping, which is the technique most astronomers use to find objects. You work out your starhop using the star atlas and binoculars, and then transfer this to the finder and telescope. Probably you don’t need binoculars if you never look at anything except the Moon and planets, but for everything else, binoculars are essential.
binoculars are far better to start off with than a telescope. They are easier to use. There is something about using both eyes that brings out the beauty in the sky compared to a telescope with one eye, and if you find you don’t like astronomy, you can still use them for other stuff.
That being said, I have 10×50’s but 7×50’s would be good too. You dont want too much zoom, anything much over 10x would be difficult to keep steady without a mount. You also want to gather as much light as possible. A dim object viewed in 10×25’s would be much dimmer than if it were viewed in 10×50’s even though they have the same zoom, because the larger apperature of the 10×50’s.
Many beginners start out with a pair of binoculars and a star chart. There are even Binocular observing clubs where you can win a certificate and a pin from the Astronomical League.
http://www.astroleague.org/
Most all amateur astronomers own and use binoculars as a suppliment to their telescope viewing. Good answers above. 7×50 or 10x 50 try them both and decide which one you can hold without shaking.
Personally I own a 10×50 and a 20×80 binocular.