First astronomy binocular

I've started to compile a list of "overdue" or "not seen in a long time" objects for my astronomy binocular. These are objects that are simply not visible in my astronomy binocular from my badly light polluted suburban Chicago location. It's a statement of sorts on my choice of where I have been living for the past seven or eight years. So, one of my resolutions for the new year (why not start a bit early?) is to find a way to get to a dark sky to see some of my long lost objects for my binocular. The list, unfortunately, is lengthy, but when the time comes, I will probably start with M1, M33, M95, M96, M65, M66, the Helix, NGC7789 and, well, I could go on and on. By the way, you don't need a $1000 astronomy binocular to see these objects. A dark sky is more important. In fact, a Nikon Action Extreme 10x50 or Celestron Outland LX 10x50 would do very nciely. Both are far better than what I used for my first astronomy binocular. Binocular technology has come a long way in forty years.

i had a pair oberwerk 8x56 binoculars. unfortunately when my truck was stolen they were in there. i'm looking to replace them and was wondering if i should get the same size as before or go slightly bigger. my dilemma is that i can not test these "bigger" binocs to see where i would notice the difference. for instance looking at jupiter or saturn (no tripod). how much bigger would i have to go (no tripod) to see a tad bit more detail or even more light? i was looking a getting the 11x70mm as a replacment or would that be too big? any comments/advise would be welcome. (Posted by  redoyle: 12:05 PM  )