I'm new to star-gazing and want to buy an astronimical binoculars.?

Question

I've read so many books on astronomy and star-gazing, but I never had a chance to really look into space. As a beginner I heard that binoculars are good for starters, before buying an actual telescope. But which ones are good? 7x50, 11x70, what is the best one? Are they expensive? What is eye relief on binoculars? Has anyone ever had a binocular for star-gazing? And what can you actually see in space with one? Oh god, I know too many questions....Sorry.
Thank you!

Answer 1

Binoculars are an excellent intro to astronomy. Don't expect to see planets and detail on them. And of course, never point binoculars (or any other instrument) at the Sun.

When you say 7x50, that means 7 times magnification, 50mm lenses. That is a good pair if you plan to hand hold binoculars. Anything bigger (60mm and above) and they will be heavy after a few minutes and will demand a tripod. IMHO, 7x50 or 10x50 are good starting binoculars for use without a tripod (I've been using 10x50's for over 20 years and never regretted buying them).

Try not to go smaller in lens size, this reduces the amount of light let into them resulting in poorer images. Avoid over 10x magnification, the field of view tends to get narrow by then. 11x70 would be even better but will almost certainly require a tripod (and a good bank balance).

Eye relief: most modern binoculars don't present a problem here but do make sure that they have folding eyecups if you wear glasses. Eye relief is the distance from the lenses you look into, to the focal point of the eye. If this distance is too small binoculars will be difficult to use with glasses. 20mm would seem a reasonable figure for eye relief. Make sure the eyepieces are about 8mm and above in size.

The Moon will look splendid in binoculars, no fine detail but a splendid sight all the same. The planets may appear as discs, no detail, but 10x50's show Saturn's rings (just) and Jupiter's Moons (easily). Star clusters and close groups, the Milky way, comets, some bright nebulae, and all extended objects are seen well in binoculars, indeed often better so that with a telescope, especially small telescopes.

Value-wise binoculars are often better than a small cheap telescope and can be used by day as well if you like things like birds and wildlife. Having been asked this very question several times I often advise those on a tight budget to opt for binoculars rather than a small cheap telescope.

Read more at:
www.delscope.demon.co.uk/information/telescopesandbins.htm

Answer 2

The biggest problem with the larger binoculars is that your arms get tired holding them. If you get a camera mount and an attachment, this will be no problem. Anything with over a 50mm objective should have a camera mount back-up. Of course, this does depend on how strong your arms are. For astronomy, get at least a 50mm objective. You don't mention how old you are or how dark your skies are. Older people tend to lose the flexibility in their eyes, so 7x50 would be good for starting. Younger people tend to do better, so 10x50 would be good. The biggest problem with 10x50 is the higher magnification is sometimes difficult to hold steady. I personally have a pair of 7x50 and a pair of 10x70. Both are very good binaoculars and allow wonderful views of the sky. Be sure that all surfaces are 'fully multi-coated'. This increases the amount of light transmitted and makes the images crisper. With a good pair of binoculars, you will be able to see most of the Messier list of objects: galaxies, nebula, etc. The Orion nebula is incredible! Galaxies come out as fuzzy patches in the sky. Don't expect a lot from planets other than to simply see that they are there. Most planets require more magnification than binoculars can give. If you have a camera mount, you will be able to see the moons of Jupiter, though. Perhaps the rings of Saturn.

Answer 3

I've been using binoculars for astronomy for even longer than I've been using a telescope. They give you "the big picture" and continue to be useful even when you own a telescope for this reason. Having used a wide variety of binoculars for astronomy, I've found the 10x50 size to be the best. These are about the largest size that can be hand held; larger ones require a tripod and lose a lot of convenience. It's important to have 50mm or larger objectives, so the main choices are 7x50 or 10x50. I used 7x50s for years, but found when I got a pair of 10x50s that the little bit of extra magnifcation (10x vs. 7x) made them a lot more useful for astronomy.

A good pair of binoculars will cost $100 to $300. A really good value for the money is Orion's Scenix 10x50 for $99.95:
http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=307&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=09333

These have quality optics, are light weight, and have a generous 20mm eye relief.

With these binoculars you can see many double stars and deep sky objects. They will show you quite a bit of detail on the Moon, Jupiter's moons, and Venus' crescent shape.

Answer 4

Orion has an excellent new line of binoculars. I had a chance to look thru one of their new 7X50's and was much impressed. I suggest you vist their website. Just Google Orion telescopes to find the web site.

Answer 5

go to Astromart dot com.

Read everything you can at that site and then join a local
Astronomy Club. Please join a local club...Please, Please.
Do that way, way "before you buy binoculars." no sense in
wasteing your money on something that will become junk
as soon as you look through a really neato telescope, not a
Wal Mart - K Mart Special, a real telescope.

If you join a club, chances are excellent you can look through telescopes owned by other club members to get a good idea of what they provide in views of objects in space, etc.
Some people spend thousands of dollars on telescopes.
It is important to learn why, and then see where you fit into
the step ladder of increasing performance and cost. Check
out club used scopes before buying binoculars. You will be
very glad you did.

Answer 6

Check out Orion Telescope, they have astronomical binoculars at really good prices, check out the giant 80mm and 100's . Have them send you their free catalog.

Answer 7

don't listen to geoff .. he thinks he knows but .. nope.
He's jelous of people who know more than him. So he tries to out do them.

He doesn't have me fooled