Observational Binoculars For Stargazing

More about our range of star gazing binoculars

What are star gazing binoculars for?

They go by a few names - telescope binoculars, observational binoculars and star gazing binoculars - but they all mean the same thing - binoculars for viewing the night sky and the cosmos.

Strictly speaking, they are an alternative to a telescope. Despite this, binoculars with high magnification are less suitable for handheld use. Because of this stargazing binoculars more often include fixtures to mount to a tripod.

How do star gazing binoculars work?

The binoculars have a large objective lens diameter. This increases the amount of light the lenses can draw in. They also provide large magnification to view very distant objects and especially the night sky in detail.

Do I need star gazing binoculars?

Telescope binoculars work on the same engineering principles as telescopes but there are two main differences.

Binoculars have two lenses, with a distance between them. This provides a wider field of view which helps the viewer see relational differences and distances between two or more objects. It helps our eyes to understand contours and patterns.

Telescopes however deliver much greater magnification. At some point, deeper views into the universe require deeper magnification. But our customers love the contextual detail that star gazing binoculars offer when viewing ‘closer’ objects in space.

Browse Binoculars by Size

When buying a pair of binoculars you will soon notice that each pair has a set of two numbers following their name, such as “7x50” or “8x32”. The first figure is the magnification, which indicates the number of times larger an object will appear when viewed. The second figure indicates the size of the object lens in mm; the larger it is, the brighter the images will seem. View our Binoculars Buying Guide for more information »