Binoculars never get enough credit when it comes to stargazing. They don’t have as much light-gathering ability and magnification as telescopes do, but binoculars have definite advantages.
For one thing, if you’re interested in stargazing but not sure you want to invest in a telescope quite yet, start out with binoculars. Make them your “first telescope.” Binoculars for the most part are less expensive than telescopes and much easier to use. There’s little or no setup time and you can easily bring them with you anywhere. They certainly don’t take up nearly as much space as telescopes.
Optically the best thing binoculars have going for them is that you have a much larger field of view. That allows you to see a much more significant chunk of the night sky at one time than is possible with most telescopes. That can be a real help when you’re trying to get to know your way around constellations and find celestial treasures within them. There are also many astronomical targets that are seen better with binoculars, especially gorgeous star clusters. Many of these clusters take up such large areas of the sky that there’s no way you can fit them into the field of view of a telescope. A good example is the beautiful Pleiades star cluster currently shining away in the early evening western sky. I’ll list some other great celestial treasures for binoculars at the end of this column.
When purchasing binoculars, two sets of numbers tell you about their ability. The first number is the magnification power, which tells you how many times closer anything will appear through them. The other set is the diameter in millimeters of the objective lenses, where light enters your binoculars. The larger the diameter, the more light that is gathered into your binoculars, making for better resolution and more extensive field width — how much of the sky you can see at one time.
For example, a decent pair of starter binoculars would be 7×35’s. That means seven power magnification and the diameters of the objective lenses are 35mm. You could make good use of them and have a lot of fun. You could get a pair of 10×50’s for more money, which will give you better performance, but they’ll be heavier and more burdensome.
I think 7×35’s are a better way to go for your first pair of binoculars because you can hold them more steadily without the arm strain of larger ones. Some are much larger and more expensive binoculars and require that you mount them on a tripod, unless you’re Charles Atlas.
As far as where to purchase them and what brand to choose, that’s ultimately up to you. I don’t consider myself a binoculars expert, but I know some people who are. My go-to place for telescopes, binoculars, accessories and great advice is Starizona, located in Tucson. They have a great website at starizona.com.
Here are some of their specific recommendations;
For beginners, a nice, very inexpensive pair is Ricoh Pentax 8.5×21 Papilio Binoculars, $149.00
Nature DX 10×42 Roof Binoculars by Celestron, $179.00
Nature DX 12X56MM Roof Binoculars by Celestron, $269.95
Here are some great celestial treasures you can see with binoculars. Many of the star clusters and nebula are known by their nicknames, but formally they’re known by catalog numbers. Two of the most used catalogs are the Messier catalog or the M numbers, and the New General Catalog or the NGC numbers.
(Mike Lynch)
The moon. You can spend hours and hours perusing the mountains, craters, valleys, and more. The terminator, the changing line that separates the sunlit part from the darker part of the moon’s disk, is especially fun to check out with all the shadows.
(Mike Lynch)
The planets. See the phases of Venus and Mercury, the moons around Jupiter, and much more.
M45, The Pleiades Star Cluster. This is another open cluster of hundreds of relatively young stars about 100 million years old in the constellation Taurus. It resembles a miniature Big Dipper. It’s over 400 light-years away.
M42, The Orion Nebula. It’s a giant emission nebula of excited hydrogen gas lit up like a fluorescent light by new stars forming within it. The Orion Nebula stretches over 40 light-years across and is over 1500 light-years away. It’s wonderful!
NGC 884 and 869, The Perseus Double Cluster. This is an absolutely gorgeous twin cluster of young stars less than 20 million years old in the constellation Perseus. Both clusters are about 7,000 light-years away.
M35. Another wonderful open cluster of relatively new stars in the constellation Gemini. It’s more than 2,800 light-years away and about 12 light-years in diameter.
M44, The Beehive Cluster. Yet another beautiful open star cluster in the faint constellation Cancer. It’s similar in size in our skies to the Pleiades but not as bright. The Beehive is about 25 light-years in diameter and is about 600 light-years away.
Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and retired broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He is the author of “Stars: a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations,” published by Adventure Publications and available at bookstores and adventurepublications.net. Mike is available for private star parties. You can contact him at mikewlynch@comcast.net.
Starwatch programs
Thursday, March 27, 8-10 p.m., River Bend Nature Center in Faribault. For more information and reservations, call Faribault Parks and Recreation at 507-334-2064 or visit www.ci.faribault.mn.us/219/City-Enrichment-Programs.
Friday, March 28, 8-10 p.m., through the City of Ramsey Parks and Recreation. For more information, location and reservations, call 763-443-9883 or visit www.ci.ramsey.mn.us/269/Parks-and-Recreation.
Saturday, March 29, 8-10 p.m., Prairie Woods Environmental Center in New London-Spicer, Minn., through Willmar, New London-Spicer Community Education. Reservations required. Call 320 231-8490 or visit www.cewillmarmn.com.
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