Astronomy binoculars or telescopes?

The difference between using astronomical binoculars and telescopes is measured in more than just numbers, such as magnification, field of view and so on; it is also measured by ease and convenience of use and, in this respect, nothing beats an astronomy binocular, assuming you are not using an astronomy binocular tripod. Going handheld is the strong suit for astronomy binoculars; it allows you to escape the anchor and hassles of astronomy mounts and tripods and the other controls that go with them. Once you put your telescope or even a high-powered astronomy binocular on a tripod, life gets much more complicated.

This freedom and ease of use is what attracted me to astronomy binoculars, oh, so many years, ago and it is still my favorite way to view the night sky. Oh, sure, I love my telescopes and it’s fun to compare specs and talk shop about telescopes and telescope eyepieces and all those other telescope accessories, but, when I am pressed for time or just too darn lazy to deal with a lot of equipment, I just grab my Nikon 10x70 Astroluxe and head out under the sky. Now, the Nikon Astroluxe is specifically made for astronomy, but I could just as easily substitute a common as grass 10x50 binocular or even an 8x42binocular and do nearly as well, plus I get a lighter to carry and easier to lift binocular to boot. I know, because my first astronomy binocular was an old 10x40 that I bought for birding, but later put to work under the sky.

Chances are there is such a binocular sitting in your house. Why not grab that binocular and try some astronomy?