Which Binoculars are better for Astronomical use?

Question

http://www.binoculars.com/binoculars/astronomy-binoculars/meade9x63astronomicalbinocular.cfm#navbar=a

OR
http://www.adorama.com/CN1050UD.html

OR
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0001A3N58/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

Thanks in Advance for your help!

Answer 1

I would get the Nikon 10 x 50. You can also get this in an "Extreme" waterproof/fogproof version. Handholding binoculars larger than ~50mm can be quite a challenge. Nikon's 7 x 50 Action binoculars would also be a good choice. I have Nikon's Ocean Pro 7 x 50 which I also use for boating and nature hiking.

Answer 2

While I own neither good binoculars nor a telescope, my experience with "hand held optics" like cameras at night is rather poor.

You can get a much better suited astronomical telescope for the same money you will pay for binoculars which come hardly even close to astronomical use and you will see infinitely more because the image will be steady.

If all you want is to experience the beauty of the solar system, get a cheap 8" Dobsonian... a mirror of that size beats even ten times more expensive binoculars by a factor of about a hundred in light gathering power and even the cheapest Dobsonian mount will be ten times more stable than your hand. And it will show you a hundred times more than Galileo has seen with his telescope! That should be worth a couple family dinners.

When you are looking at the sky, the one thing that matters most is SIZE. Bigger is better. A parabolic mirror is as good as it gets at medium magnifications and small fields of view. No, it is not the ideal optics if you want to see the whole moon at once. But if you want to see Mars or Jupiter, it sort of is.

I don't recommend this one but you should see what you can get for a fraction of the price of Zeiss binoculars:

http://www.dobsonian.com/dobsonian-telescopes/celestron-dobsonian-telescopes/celestronstarhopper8inchdobsonian.cfm#ReviewHeader

That's 50 lbs. of optics and mount. Is it a great scope? Highly doubtful. But something like this will let you SEE rather than get tired staring. And if you want to upgrade... there is nothing to stop you from buying a $50,000 semi-professional scope as an upgrade once you are tired of the light bucket.

OTOH, if you go birding, these things won't work. Neither will binoculars as I have found out while going with friends. A birding scope is the better answer for that. And yes, you will have to drag a lot of glass and metal through the woods for both astronomy and birding, just like everyone else who does not like to be disappointed by their discovery equipment. That's just physics.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

Any one of these will probably do a reasonable job. The Meade 9x63s will give you the brightest view and show the most stars. Depending on how you use them, though, you may find them a bit on the heavy side. The older Celestron Ultimas were very nice. I don't know how the new ones compare, though.

Answer 4

The Meade 9x63 is the better of your three choices. All things being equal you want as much aperture as you can manage since this brightens the field and allows you to see dimmer objects.

Answer 5

i have always suggested 7x50

good light gathering and bright image