BinocularsBlog – Advice on Digital, Waterproof, & Compact Binoculars for Bird Watching, Sports, Astronomy, Night Vision, & more!

Even if you are not an astronomer, the night sky is a great place to test a binocular for resolution, color correction, edge sharpness and so on. Bright stars are a tough test for any optic and only a quality binocular will show a star as a tiny, perfect pinpoint of light with no color halo. An average binocular will typically show a star as coma shaped or with spikes (flares) and only the finest binoculars will be free of color fringing. Another great test for color fringing (chromatic aberration) is the edge of the moon. It is a rare binocular, indeed, that will not show faint tinges of purple or green, here. How does your binocular stand-up? Take it out some night and test it under the stars.

When we recommend astronomy binoculars, the general guideline is to have a binocular with enough image brightness to make it practical to see the faint objects that are often the targets in astronomy. This is generally defined as a binocular with an exit pupil (second binocular number divided by the first) of at least 4 or 5. Does this mean you cannot use a binocular with a smaller exit pupil, say an 8x20 compact binocular with an exit pupil of only 2.5 (20 divided by 8)?

The answer is that any optical instrument, even small compact binoculars, will show you much more in the way of stars than you can see with your unaided eyes. Yes, even a small binocular is better than no binocular for astronomy. If you own a small binocular, take it out and start doing some astronomy, right now. You'll be that much ahead in learning the sky when your astronomy binocular arrives.

We all develop daily routines, sometimes by default and sometimes by design. One of the things that I do by design when night falls, weather and sky permitting, is to end my day out on the apartment patio with my astronomy binocular. Sometimes I get involved in an astronomy project and put in a couple of hours of serious observing, but most evenings it's a more casual - just me saying thank-you to Earth Mother for another wonderful day and honoring the sky and stars above with a quick peek or two through the binocular. A binocular is the perfect instrument for me in that it is simple, quick and easy to use and, when you make it a quality binocular like the Nikon 10x70 Astroluxe, it's also a real treat. Nothing like going to bed with a smile on your face.

If my neighbors weren't talking before, I'm sure they are, now.

Last night I was experimenting with a Celestron OIII filter in front of one of the eyepieces on my Nikon 10x70 Astroluxe bincoular - not something either item was designed to do and not a technique I recommend as a regular practice - but it did work to better show M27. What was previously the dimmest spot for this planetary and something visible only because I knew exactly where it was, became an obvious planetary nebula with a filter carefully placed in front of the eyepiece of the binocular. In order to prevent stray light from reflecting off the bright surface of the filter and rendering everything invisible, though, I had to drape a towel over my head. Yes, the old towel trick still works. I've used it for years to block out stray light from annoying light sources, but for some strange reason, I hadn't thought to use one, lately.

I have no doubt that neighbors, walking in front of my apartment, were a bit puzzled to see a woman in her nightgown, with a towel draped over her head and a huge binocular peeking out from underneath the towel. Have the aliens truly landed?

One of the less appreciated advantages of using a binocular for astronomy, compared to a telescope, is the relative ease of use of the binocular for observing objects directly overhead. In many telescopes, objects directly over head can sometimes not be accessed because of mount clearance issues or, when a telescope can be lined up, it is difficult to find though the viewfinder and also track. I know, because I have the neck aches to prove it. On the other hand, nothing is quite so easy to use for overhead objects as a binocular in your hand as you are laid out on a reclining lawn chair under the stars. Add a cup of hot chocolate, a blanket and you have the makings of a perfect fall night.

Ever wonder how much performance and quality you need in a binocular to be happy? What level of image quality will satisfy you?

You can get a handle on binocular performance in a number of ways. For instance, it's easy to examine features and get a rough idea of binocular performance potential. You can also read binocular reviews that rate and compare binoculars with similar features. If you are really ambitious, you can head to a store and get binoculars in your hand. Then, too, there is always price as a guideline. An expensive binocular should offer great optics and, fortunately, this is nearly always the case.

Satisfaction, on the other hand, is a far more elusive matter. How do you put a number on satisfaction? Last night, for instance, I was out on the patio with my Nikon 10x70 Astroluxe and admiring the brightness and colors of many stars. Would I have determined the color of these stars with a lesser quality binocular with roughly the same features? Sure. Would I have been as pleased with the intensity and brilliance of the colors? Well … that's why I paid the money for the Nikon.

There was a day when you had to search carefully for a binocular that was suitable for use with eyeglasses. In the "good old days" those of us with "four eyes" had a limited selection when shopping for binoculars. Fortunately, the situation has reversed itself and, now, binoculars with enough eye relief for use with eyeglasses actually outnumber those that do not have the requisite eye relief of 15mm or more. Maybe it's because the manufacturers are just being nice to we birders who wear glasses. Okay, it's more likely the binocular manufacturers realize that the majority of their customers wear glasses, some, or all, of the time.

Amateur astronomy doesn't really have a "season" as such - each season of the year brings us new and fun things to observe and each season has its appeal. The shorter days of fall, however, makes astronomy a bit more practical for many of us working folk. The ability to get out and observe and still get to bed at a decent hour is one thing I especially like about fall and winter observing. Summer is great, but it's tough to get motivated when you can't even start to observe until after 10:00 PM. Ouch.

Last night was the nearly perfect observing night. The sky was clear, transparency great and the temperature very fall-like. The Double Cluster looked almost impressive from my lousy observing site, here in the suburbs. My Nikon 10x70 Astroluxe binocular even picked up a few clusters in Cassiopeia that I don't ordinarily see with astronomy binoculars from my patio. That's one of the things that I like about great optics - you get the best view possible under nay given set of conditions. I finished the evening with a few binocular double stars and then headed to bed. Sweet dreams.

Although I've been sorely tempted to forsake a binocular for a monocular to save weight, I know better for serious work like birding. Oh sure, I've spotted a lot of birds with my Nikon 5x15HG monocular, simply because it was the optic I had with me while bicycling or doing other activities, but use a monocular full time for birding?

Not going to happen. Fall warblers are tough enough to identify and follow with a binocular; I'm not about to add to the challenge by losing the use of one eye with a monocular. I have been known to compromise by using a compact binocular, but when the birds are here, nothing beats the performance of a full size birding binocular, since I may not see some species until next spring or …?

The warblers are on the move, here in the Chicago area. A friend of mine who works in bird rehab runs a route in downtown Chicago to rescue birds that have collided with tall buildings at night during migration. She reports an increase in birds rescued this last week, especially warblers. This, of course, is a little hard to hear without cringing, but it does mean it is time to head to the local Forest Preserve and do some birding.

I own and use binoculars of all magnifications, but for fall warblers, I have been partial to 7x and 8x birding binoculars for their wider fields of view. This time of year, you have to follow birds through all the leaves and it can be a challenge to keep up. It's a "now you see me, now you don't" game. Lot's of fun and a good workout with the binocular. Just don't forget the mosquito repellent. You'll need it this year.

One of the tougher binocular accessories to find these days for astronomy binoculars is a tripod that offers both stability and height for use with a binocular when you are standing. Most photo tripods, even the ubiquitous Bogen, require the center column to be extended if you want to stand while observing with a binocular. This drastically reduces stability with a heavy astronomy binocular.

That's why I was delighted to receive a gift from a friend of an old camcorder tripod, vintage mid-70s. What a great old tripod! With the legs fully extended and the center column in the down position (not extended), the tripod head is right at my eye level. Just like someone made it for my Nikon Astroluxe 10x70. Lookout sky, here comes Joanie.

I have a love-hate relationship with binocular rain guards, those covers that you attach to the binocular strap that protect the binocular eyepieces from rain. In point of fact, a rain guard is as useful for protecting against dust, dirt, mayonnaise and other materials that find their way to the eyepiece of a binocular as it is for protecting against rain. That's the love part of the relationship.

The hate part for me is having to fumble with the darn thing when I see a good bird. Somehow, old fumble fingers and all thumbs me manages to get tangled with the rain guard when I can least afford to waste time. Sure, I know all the tricks for attaching and using a rain guard - loose fit, attach to only one strap, flip with thumb and so on - but I can't help getting excited when I see a good bird, even after all these many years. May it always be so, just the same.

I grew up in a rural area and thus learned all my binocular deep-sky objects under dark, pristine skies. Moving to the light-polluted Chicago area has forced me to relearn many of my favorite deep-sky objects for binoculars, though. It's kind of like seeing pictures of aging Hollywood stars and trying to remember what they looked like in their younger, glory days. Truly M31 and the Double Cluster are ghosts of their former selves around here.

So, I've had to get a little adventurous with my binocular astronomy. A couple of days ago, much to the chagrin of my friends, I grabbed my Nikon 10x70 Astroluxe, my star chart, red light and bug dope (thank-goodness) and covertly slipped into a local park after dark. Around here, that is no small risk. Was it worth it? Definitely. Not only did I have access to a much wider swath of the sky (the park is an open area with a lake), I was also able to gain at least one magnitude of brightness - a significant improvement, especially in a good astronomy binocular like the Nikon. For instance, whereas M27 was barely detectable from my apartment lawn, I found the little planetary with ease from the park. No, it wasn't great compared to the good old days, but I could see it and I was definitely enjoying myself. That's what counts. Okay, getting home safe counts, too.