It is often thought that a telescope is essential for observing. Certainly, anything that enhances human vision is extremely useful to the astronomer. But a simple pair of binoculars is an excellent tool for exploring the night sky.
Besides being far cheaper than a telescope, they are less cumbersome and are easy to use, especially if sturdily mounted on a tripod.
The following table, taken from Harrington (1990), summarises the pros and cons of various binocular configurations.
| Size | Pros & Cons |
| 7×35 | Easily hand-held; excellent wide-field views of Milky Way and deep-sky objects. Smaller exit pupil restricts dark sky effectiveness. |
| 7×50 | Easily hand-held; light-gathering ability sufficient for hundreds of objects; best choice. Larger aperture may cause sky-glow problems in urban and suburban areas. |
| 10×50 | Good choice for urban and suburban users who want higher magnification. May require a tripod. |
| 10×70 | Excellent for clusters, nebulae and galaxies. Heavy; tripod usually needed. |
| 11×80 | Excellent for faint objects. Tripod needed; heavy. |
References
- Harrington, P. (1990) Touring the Universe Through Binoculars. Wiley Science Editions.
External links
- How to choose binoculars and telescopes (oneminuteastronomer.com)