
Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment
Binoculars vs. Starblast, Redux
How do 15x70 binoculars hold up against a genuinely inexpensive telescope?

Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment
Binoculars Part III: One Eye Versus Two
Binoculars are qualitatively different from telescopes with identical aperture.

Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment
Three Binoculars: Part II
Binoculars' strengths and weaknesses are intimately connected.

Binoculars: Guides and Recommendations
A Tale of Three Binoculars: Part I
There's a big difference between 10x50 and 15x70 binoculars.

Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment
Tools for Stargazing
Learn how to get the most out of your binoculars, telescope, and more.

Telescopes: Guides & Recommendations
Top 10 Telescope Questions & Answers on How to Use a Telescope
Here are common questions about telescopes culled from an expert’s mailbag.

Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment
How to Successfully Beat Atmospheric Seeing
"Seeing" — the atmospheric quivering that fuzzes out high-power views — is the bane of every telescope user. Here's how to minimize its impact.

Telescopes: Guides & Recommendations
Take-Along Telescopes
Want a telescope to bring on your next vacation? Here are some things to consider when looking for a travel scope.

Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment
The Art of Using a Telescope
Congratulations — you've followed our advice and bought the telescope that's best for you. Now learn how to get the most out of it.

Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment
Testing Stargazing Binoculars
How do you choose the right binocular for stargazing? Here's our expert's easy-to-do, step-by-step test.
What Are Celestial Coordinates?
"Right ascension" and "declination" tell you where your telescope is pointed in the sky. But what do they really mean?
Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment
Observing from the City
With the stars increasing being lost amid the light pollution of our urban areas, is there no hope for an astronomer in the city? Fortunately, there's still a lot of observing that can be done.

Telescopes: Guides & Recommendations
Optical Aberrations at the Telescope — And How to Avoid Them
Optical aberrations limit the performance of an eyepiece. Here are seven common problems, with solutions where applicable.

Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment
Common Telescope Magnification Myths
Answers to some of the most common misconceptions about telescope magnification.

Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment
How to Choose Your Telescope Magnification
How high can you get? How low can you go? The answers depend on many factors that combine to give each telescope a useful magnitude range.

A Pupil Primer: How Big Should a Telescope's Exit Pupil Be?
Image brightness, magnification, and why the old ideal of a 7-millimeter exit pupil is not so ideal at all.

Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment
Telescope Eyepiece Guide
A telescope is only as good as its eyepiece — and a good one can make a big difference. Here's a quick look at the different types of eyepieces available.

Binoculars: Guides and Recommendations
Binocular Basics: Glossary of Binocular Terms
Exit pupils. Eye relief. Image stabilization. What matters most for astronomers? Our expert explains it all.