Celestron Astronomy Binoculars

Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Why would you use Binoculars for Astronomy?

Well.... I find them convenient. Set up is as simple as taking them out of the case. Point them up at the sky, and you see the moon, planets and even the stars.

Binoculars don't need to be mounted to a tripod (although they can be).

For family viewing, I find binoculars much more family friendly... they can be passed around, or you can even get a second or third pair for the kids to use. Let them discover their own sky objects with star charts and binoculars.

Remember, binoculars are two telescopes hooked together. Don't expect the Hubble telescope in your hands... but expect to be able to see and enjoy the heavens.

All Binoculars are created to meet certain specifications. These are indicated by numbers.... for example ....15 x 70 or 8 x 30 or 25 x 70.....
But what do the numbers mean?

The Binocular numbers indicate their strength of magnification and size of opening.

This means... the first number gives the binocular magnification strength. A binocular with a magnification strength of 15 indicates that the object you are looking at will be magnified 15 times. So, if you are looking at an eagle, it will look 15 times closer to you than if you are looking at it with your bare eyes. Now... while it is very nice to have things magnified... keep in mind, the higher the magnification, the more sensitive the image is to movement. (If you are kind of shaky, it will translate into a 15 times more shaky object.)

The second number is the width measured in millimeters across the objective lens (that's the lens closer to the object you are looking at....).So, the 15 x 70's have an objective lens 70 mm across. The bigger the number, the more light is let in.The more light... the clearer the object. When you are looking at stars or other deep sky objects (like the moon), you need as much light as possible. A bigger objective lens is generally better.

And now there is one more number to consider... the Exit Pupil (no, this isn't a kid sneaking out of class). The exit pupil is a calculation done by dividing the measurement of the objective lens by strength of magnification. (Don't worry, it's pretty easy as math goes.... using the 15 x 70 example, you have an Exit Pupil of 4.6666...yes, I'll let you round up to 5 ).

Now.. how is this important or useful?

The Exit Pupil determines how much light leaves the binoculars and goes in to your eye. (I realize this is getting technical, bear with me a bit longer, it will all come together....And I promise there will not be a quiz). So, think about the human eye... our pupils dilate and expand according to the amount of light. The average pupil width is 4 mm. If it's a bright and sunny day, our pupils will shrink down to 2 mm in diameter. If the light is low, our pupils will widen up to 7 mm in diameter. The width of light sent by the exit pupil should roughly correspond to the activity (and pupil width) for optimal viewing.

This means... if you are outside on a sunny day your pupils will shrink, and an exit pupil under 4 mm is great. If light is low (like it generally is when you are stargazing) you want a larger amount of light sent to your pupil... so you want a bigger exit pupil. Over 4mm is good.

One more thing... if you are holding binoculars in your hands, the binoculars are subject to the movement of your hand. Even when you are holding REALLY STILL, you are moving. Just a teeny bit. A Exit Pupil number over 7 mm will keep the image from bouncing around in your eye too much (bigger target is easier to hit).

Hope that helped!

Eye Relief is the distance between the eyepiece and your eye.

The larger the number, the further away from your eye you can hold the binoculars.

This is important for people with glasses... you want an eye relief of 11mm or more.

The Celestron Granite 12x50 Binoculars are some of the best and most reasonably priced Astronomy Binoculars for Lunar and Planetary viewing that you can buy. 

Light weight enough to use one handed, these binoculars are great to pack along with you on night hikes or camping trips. 

Like all of the Granite Models, they are moisture and fog proof... so they won't be affected when dew sets in. 

Comes with a comfortable strap, so you can leave it around your neck with no discomfort, and has a case for transport.

If you are serious about looking at the moon, these are the astronomy binoculars for you.

If you primarily want to look at the moon and the planets.... these are the Astronomy Binoculars for you. Most are lighter weight and easy to carry. They can be used to seek out the craters on the moon, or you can look at birds by day. All of these binoculars should be able to easily spot Saturn's rings, and the storm on Jupiter.

Great for Deep Sky Viewing. The lenses on the Celestron Ultima DX are super sharp making deep sky viewing or terrestrial viewing possilbe. The optics are coated to be fog proof and the case keeps moisture out.... important at night when dew starts to form.

I love that they are relatively lightweight for their size, so you can use them for an extended period without attaching them to a tripod. 

Eyecups can be adjusted for preference (so if you are a glasses wearer, you can still use them. The focus knob is easily adjusted with your thumb.

Comes with a carrying case and strap that you may want to replace if you want to carry it around a lot. '

For the price, this is a very good pair of Astronomy Binoculars to own. 

The Celestron SkyMaster 25x100 Astro Binoculars are a fantastic buy for someone who wants to spend a lot of time looking up at the heavens. The 25 times magnification makes everything BIGGER, and the 100 mm objective lens lets in every bit of light that you need to see the night sky.

Celestron beefed the binoculars up a bit for extended use. To make them easier to use over extended time, there is a tripod mount. These aren't the binoculars you want to just throw into your purse and head out the door. 

Great optics, clear views, sharp focus.. all designed to bring those stars close to you. 

The eye relief is long, so you glasses wearers can easily use them. 

While they are reasonably priced, they compare well with Japanese and European binoculars of much higher price.

They are for serious viewing.