Amateur Astronomy: Good Binoculars For Astronomy

Written by Gary Nugent

Tuesday, 27 October 2009 11:57

Binoculars and telescopes and other astronomy accessories and are at the heart of of amateur astronomy.

by GaryNugent

Astronomy binoculars and telescopes and other astronomy accessories and are the meat and potatoes of amateur astronomy.

What helped me familiarise myself with the night sky was a good set of binoculars. It was only after using them for a couple of years that I upgraded to a telescope.

We're all warned out the quality of 60mm telescopes sold by department stores. But my folks didn't know any better, and that's what they bought me one Christmas, and to a 12-year old kid, it opened up the universe.

Astronomy Binoculars For Beginners

Binoculars have a role to play in astronomy. Good binoculars for astronomy cost less than a telescope and are an excellent choice for someone familiarising themselves with the night sky.

Great play is made of the magnification factor of telescopes with ads for cheap scopes screaming 500x magnification! However, magnification isn't everything. Binoculars use a much lower magnification factor, typically between 8x and 25x, but this results in a much wider field of view which makes it easier to navigate across the sky.

Because of this wider field of view, you also get to see the 'big' picture. And, because you're using both eyes, there's less eyestrain.

Binocular viewers are available for telescopes and those who use them (even though they cost a couple of hundred dollars and you need two eyepieces for each one) swear by them (rather than at them!). However, since these are a piece of specialised equipment, they will cost more than a pair of binoculars.

A typical set of binoculars will be 10x50s (10x magnification and front lenses 50mm in diameter). More powerful models are available - 20x60s are priced from $150 upwards and you can get 20x80s for as little as $90 (yes, cheaper than 20x60s).

Binoculars for astronomy are quite heavy and you'll get tired quickly pointing them skyward for any length of time. Also, due to their greater magnification, any shake in your hands will also be enlarged and stars will dart around in the view.

If you plan to look at the sky for extended periods, you'd be advised to use a tripod with a binocular adaptor. This lets you securely mount the astronomy binoculars on it and easily point them around the sky without strain.

Large scale bodies such as comets or the Moon are well suited to astronomy binoculars. The Moon through 20x binoculars can be breathtaking, bringing it close enough to see relief in craters and mountains but you'll see it in 3d as well, something that doesn't happen when looking through a telescope because you only use a single eye with one.

Astronomy binoculars are available from a wide range of manufacturers: Barska, Zhumell, Celestron, Meade, Canon, and Pentax.

Serious amateur astronomers may want to invest in top-brand models from Nikon, Vixen, Kowa and Fujinon. Expect to pay $1,000 and upwards to $5,600 depending on the make and model. Why would anyone want to pay so much for a pair of binoculars? They're the best instrument for comet hunting for one. The 3-D view they give makes you feel like you're out in space. The better models use interchangeable eyepieces so you can change the magnification and field of view.

Conclusion

You can start using a pair of binoculars much more quickly than setting up a telescope so if you have very changeable weather where you live, they're probably a better option for sky viewing. Naturally, binoculars go into your luggage a lot more easily when you're travelling allowing you to view the sky from your holiday destination with ease.

All in all, binoculars are a much better option for casual viewers because of their portability, daytime and night-time use and their cost in comparison to a decent telescope.

As with almost everything else in life, you get what you pay for. There are binoculars that cost under $10 (being cheap in every sense of the word) and other specialised binoculars for astronomy which cost in excess of $5,600. My experience says you will need to spend at least $90 for a pair of binoculars that are worth having, but $140-300 is a more common price range for good astronomy binoculars for beginners.

About the Author:

Gary Nugent has been creating astronomy software for over a decade and has run the popular Night Sky Observer astronomy news website during that time. He also maintains an astronomy blog.