Just for fun, I used a compact
binocular on the
moon last night to check craters and maria and, no surprise, the 10x
compact binocular did just about as well as my much larger 10x
astronomy binoculars. Let's face it, the moon is plenty bright. So now you have no excuse if you've been wanting to start astronomy and have been to buy a big, large astronomy binocular. You can use any
binocular to observe the moon and, yes, there is a surprising amount of detail to be seen on the moon at typical binocular magnifications. Even more interesting, the changing light on the moon, from one night to the next, highlights different detail. On any given night, some new craters pop into view, some you saw a few nights previous are now lost in the glare.