Binoculars are often not thought of as a tool for astronomy but can be a fine introduction to the night sky and larger models can often show objects that are too large to fit in a telescopic field. Binoculars like Telescopes have two important features, aperture which is the diameter of the main lenses, larger aperture results in brighter images. Secondly magnification dictates how large an object will appear. Our entire range of Binoculars have been carefully selected to be suitable for both astronomical stargazing and terrestrial use.
An important consideration with Binoculars is exit pupil. This is calculated by dividing the magnification in to the aperture (in mm), an example is a 10x50 which provides a 5mm exit pupil. Why is the exit pupil important? The pupils in our eyes when young can be up to 7mm in diameter making use of a full 7mm light cone, when we reach adulthood it generally ends up at around 5mm, so a 10x50 with it's 5mm exit pupil is a perfect match for our adult eyesight making use of all the available light. We recommend 50mm Binoculars as the maximum size for handheld use as larger models will be too heavy for extended use.
Giant Binoculars are not only superb for long distance terrestrial observation of shipping or wildlife but also make excellent instruments for deep sky visual observers. Many of these giant Binoculars have 80mm or even 100mm lenses which will reveal extremely faint objects such as galaxies and nebulae. Mounted on a photographic tripod these large Binoculars make fine astronomical instruments and remain extremely portable. With fields of view often more than three degrees giant Binoculars will have the light grasp of medium sized Telescopes but showing far more of the night sky. You can see our full range of handheld and giant Binoculars by visiting our
Binoculars section.
Take a look at our or
Astronomy News section, there are always some up to date articles including news about the International Space Station as well as some objects worth a look with the naked eye.
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