Dave's 16 Inch Binocular Telescope Page

So what is it that is so different that would make somebody want to go to the expense and the efforts of building a binocular telescope.  In one word the "feeling".  Viewing the heaven's uses one of our most powerful senses, sight.  Our eyesight has developed over thousands of years, to help us hunt, feed and protect ourselves. At night however the senses are already significantly impaired, add to that trying to use just one eye and the experience is often less than compelling.

Using binoculars brings back a sense of reality and believability to the view that the telescope is showing you.  You gain an advantage on almost every front.  The contrast of the scene in some instances gains up to 40%.  Subtle details lost to one eye is obvious and apparent often when seen with both.  A small increase in perceived light grasp is also noted.  Objects that have more to see, for instance globular clusters, open clusters, dark nebula's and planetary nebula's seemed to gain the most.   Things such as galaxies seem to gain in that they are much more perceptible.  It's a much more immersive experience, the spacewalk feeling that is so often talked about really exists. This is definitely viewing it as best, the Rolls-Royce view for people who won't settle for second best.

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