Best Binoculars for Astronomy

Stargazing rewards large objectives that gather more light and higher magnification for the moon and bright deep-sky objects — most astronomy pairs benefit from a tripod.

We compare 7 astronomy binoculars from $130 to $1,700. The top-rated pick is the Canon 18x50 IS AW (4.8★), and the best value is the Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 at $130.

$1,700

Full-Size

Canon

Canon 18x50 IS AW

4.8(250)

18x × 50mmFOV: 183 ft @ 1000 yds42.3 oz

Image Stabilized

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$700

Full-Size

Maven

Maven B.5 18x56

4.6(150)

18x × 56mmFOV: 183 ft @ 1000 yds38 oz

ED GlassPhase-CorrectedDielectric CoatingLocking Diopter

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$1,000

Full-Size

Steiner

Steiner HX 15x56

4.6(150)

15x × 56mmFOV: 225 ft @ 1000 yds36.5 oz

ED GlassPhase-CorrectedDielectric CoatingLocking Diopter

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$300

Full-Size

Nikon

Nikon Monarch M5 10x50

4.5(600)

10x × 50mmFOV: 267 ft @ 1000 yds28.2 oz

ED GlassPhase-CorrectedDielectric CoatingLocking Diopter

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$229

Full-Size

Pentax

Pentax SP 10x50 WP

4.3(338)

10x × 50mmFOV: 262 ft @ 1000 yds37.4 oz

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$130

Full-Size

Celestron

Celestron SkyMaster 15x70

4.3(7,800)

15x × 70mmFOV: 230 ft @ 1000 yds48 oz

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$140

Full-Size

Celestron

Celestron SkyMaster 25x70

4.1(3,500)

25x × 70mmFOV: 141 ft @ 1000 yds52 oz

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