Hi Linda, Steve's binocular suggestions are all good. I can add a few more suggestions. If the binoculars you'll be buying will be used primarily at night, then you'll want to match up the size of the exit pupil with the diameter of your own dilated pupils. Depending on your age, your pupils could be 8mm, 7mm, 6mm or less (getting smaller as you age). To determine the exit pupil size for a pair of binoculars, divide the objective size in mm (the second number) by the magnification (the first number). For example, 7 x 50 binocs have an exit pupil of (50/7) or ~7 mm. I use 8 x 56 binoculars made by Celestron -- it's just about optimal for satellite viewing. A little more power than the 7 x 50's, but still relatively lightweight. Beyond 8x, it's difficult to hold the image steady (though if you're willing to spend a lot of money, they do make image-stabilized binoculars). Best, Rob ----------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe from SeeSat-L by sending a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@satobs.org http://www2.satellite.eu.org/sat/seesat/seesatindex.html
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