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The Best Deep Sky Objects for Large Binoculars

Amateur stargazers often start with binoculars, rather than a telescope, because the hand-held magnifiers are easier to handle and much less expensive but still powerful enough to bring the details of many deep-sky objects into focus. "Deep-sky objects" is a catchall phrase that refers to just about any celestial phenomenon that is more than just a star. Nebulae, galaxies, constellations and asterisms--all of these qualify as deep-sky objects.

Nebulae
- Perhaps the most splendorous of all the celestial objects, nebulae are coalescing masses of cosmic dust gathering toward the birth of a new star. In summer, the M57 Ring Nebula in Lyra, M27 Dumbbell Nebula in Vulpecula and M8 Lagoon Nebula in Sagittarius are all great candidates for binocular viewing. In winter, the M42 Great Orion Nebula appears.
Galaxies
- When you're viewing galaxies with binoculars, they will appear as cloudy or hazy patches in the lenses. Andromeda is the closest spiral galaxy to our own Milky Way and is named for its location in the Andromeda Constellation. Even as the nearest galaxy, Andromeda sits about 2.5 million light-years away and is visible during autumn. The M51 Whirlpool Galaxy of Canes Venatici can also be seen through binoculars during spring.
Star Clusters
- Star clusters are groupings of stars from our own Milky Way galaxy. Because of their relative proximity to our own solar system, they can sometimes be seen by the naked eye. The M44 Beehive Cluster of the constellation Cancer is the closest to our sun and is the clearest for viewing with binoculars. The M13 Great Globular Cluster in Hercules in summer, NGC 869 &NGC 885 Double Cluster in Perseus in summer and M45 Pleiades Cluster in winter also are suitable.
Binocular Stargazing Tips
- Seek viewing areas with low light and air pollution and always wait for clear skies. To increase enjoyment of deep-sky viewing, try finding the objects on a star chart and then locating them in the night sky. The most popular method for this is called star hopping and involves finding a familiar object, then moving outward, identifying objects as you go.

Astronomy