Many amateur and recreational astronomers find that using binoculars has some advantages over using a telescope. Of course binoculars won’t give quite as high power as a telescope, but often they are better for beginners since they allow the user to find the desired object more easily and typically also provide a lighter, clearer image. Telescopes take some practice in finding the object you wish to view, and can also have somewhat dark, dim images. Binoculars are also much more portable than a telescope, and are much more appropriate for the casual observer who simply wants to take a quick, closer look at the nighttime sky.

The most important thing to consider when buying binoculars for astronomical use is the ratio between the magnification and the objective lens. Typically, astronomy binoculars have very large objective lenses in order to maximize the amount of light necessary to create the image. Since most astronomy occurs during periods of low light, this is rather important! Objective lenses of sixty to one hundred millimeters are common sizes for astronomical binoculars. Higher magnification results in a smaller field of view and a darker image, so most high magnification binoculars also have a large objective lens, which will help broaden the field of view and lighten the image. However, this is something you’ll definitely want to consider – if you enjoy viewing the vastness of the sky, you might be willing to give a little on magnification in order to have a broader spectrum view.

Many astronomical binoculars require mounting on some type of tripod system, since the large objective lenses make the binoculars extremely heavy and unsuitable for hand-held viewing. Additionally, the magnification is extremely strong on these models, and it would be nearly impossible for hands and arms to remain still enough to view a clear image.

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