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Gary Seronik
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Binocular Highlights: 99 Celestial Sights for Binocular Users (Sky & Telescope Stargazing) Spiral-bound – May 1, 2007

by Gary Seronik (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 194 ratings
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There is a newer edition of this item:

Binocular Highlights Revised & Expanded Edition: 109 Celestial Sights for Binocular Users
Binocular Highlights Revised & Expanded Edition: 109 Celestial Sights for Binocular Users
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Book by Seronik, Gary
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  1. Print length
    104 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Sky Publishing
  4. Publication date
    May 1, 2007
  5. Dimensions
    9 x 6.54 x 0.66 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1931559430
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1931559430
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sky Publishing (May 1, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Spiral-bound ‏ : ‎ 104 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1931559430
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1931559430
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9 x 6.54 x 0.66 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 194 ratings

About the author

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Gary Seronik

Gary Seronik

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Gary Seronik is an award-winning astronomy writer and speaker based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. An acknowledged expert on such diverse subjects as binocular astronomy, telescope making, and lunar observing, he is also an experienced reviewer of commercial astronomical equipment.

Gary is a contributing editor for the internationally acclaimed magazine Sky & Telescope and regular columnist for the superb Canadian publication SkyNews. In addition, he maintains an active web site at www.GarySeronik.com.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
194 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Gary
5.0 out of 5 stars Could Work for Telescope Viewing as Well
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2023
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I have a small telescope that has a wide field of view. Therefore, the celestial objects highlighted in this book could also be suitable for viewing with a telescope of this type, particularly at a lower magnification.
One person found this helpful
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Free Thinker
5.0 out of 5 stars This book opened up a whole new world of astronomy to me
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2007
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It was late one night a couple of weeks ago. I had been observing Jupiter and four of her moons with my Orion 90 mm refractor for several minutes when I felt the stiffness arch up my back into my neck. I'm in good shape for a guy in his early 40s, but still I'm more prone to aches and pains than when I was a younger man. Then I brushed against the scope tube and spent several minutes finding the planet once more. The cost was sore muscles along my spine and that inevitable thought: "there has to be a better way to do astronomy than this!"

Anyone who has ever used a telescope for any length of time at all can relate to the story above. That is why I am so happy to have discovered this book.

Don't know anything about binoculars? No problem. Seronik tells you how they work and what kind are best for astronomy. In fact, I must caution you now to NOT BUY A PAIR OF BINOCULARS FOR ASTRONOMY UNTIL YOU READ THIS BOOK. The insights it gives kept me from making a very expensive mistake!
I had a pair of Meade 12x50s stashed away in a closet which turned out to be more than up to the job.

After covering how binoculars work and what kind to use for stargazing, Seronik takes the reader on a tour of many splendid deep sky objects perfect for the binocular user. Believe it or not, there is plenty of stuff up there that looks incredible when seen through their wide field of view and low magnification.

This book is user friendly from cover to cover. It's not padded with needless fluff or technical details incomprehensible to the average person. However, it is written in an engaging, friendly style that makes it a delight to read.

All in all I am very satisfied with this book and recommend it enthusiastically to everyone interested in stargazing.
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Thomas Erickson
4.0 out of 5 stars Good binocular viewing. worth the price
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2010
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I'm an amateur astronomer of over 40 years. I have a 20 inch Obsession scope but use binoculars as a back up and to have fun sometimes rather than bringing the heavy Obsession out. Astronomy binocular viewing is just plain fun. Some objects like the 7 sisters Pleiades actually look better in the binos than in the scope.

I bought Binocular Highlights 99 for my Celestron 25X100 binos and tripod. The book is well laid out into the different seasons. It is good for about the 30 degree north of the equator.

With my Sky Six planetarium software on my laptop in conjunction with the Binocular Highlights book I was easily able to find almost all the book listed interesting objects for June to August. I really liked some of the clusters I was able to easily find using the book.

I have not had the time yet to view the sky other months using the book so I wont comment on those months.

It was nice that the author took the time to tell novices how to scan and use binoculars. He recommends smaller binos than I have so they can be hand held vs having to use a tripod.

Read the book first before you buy expensive binoculars. That way you can decide if a smaller lighter pair of binoculars would suit you better for hand holding or if you want to pay extra for a heavy pair of binoculars you will need a tripod for. I really like my Celestron 25x100 binos but they are very heavy and you must use a tripod. You may want a lighter pair.

The book Binocular Highlights 99 Celestial Sights for me was worth the money and useful. Big plus for me... Astronomy binocular viewing with the book is quick setup fun. 4 stars.
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Robbie
5.0 out of 5 stars Binocular Astronomy Tools
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2013
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This is an excellent tool for binocular astronomy. The charts on the first and last pages show an overall image of the night sky for each of the seasons. Then, after a brief intro the reader will see how to choose an appropriate pair of binoculars suited to astronomy. The rest of the book contains magnified views of 99 areas from the seasonal charts showing interesting objects as they would be seen thru 10X50 binoculars. This is NOT in and of itself a beginners guide. For the beginner, I would suggest this book to show you exactly what you will see in binoculars, this movable chart  Guide to the Stars  that will work in conjunction with the charts in "Binocular Highlights" to guide you in learning the night sky and finding objects in it, and this book  NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe  for more detailed information about astronomy and the universe as seen from our little planet.
AND, I would suggest that you get something like this  Orion 5271 Versatile Tripod Mounting Adapter for Binoculars  to mount your binoculars to a tripod or monopod. 10x50 binoculars can be handheld for viewing, BUT putting them (OR especially HIGHER powered binoculars) on a steady mount makes viewing MUCH nicer. I use both to hold my  Pentax 65808 PCF II 10x50 Waterproof Binocular  which are excellent binoculars for both astronomy and terrestrial viewing (I'm a birdwatcher too!).
22 people found this helpful
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Remi
5.0 out of 5 stars Great realistically written book about binocular astronomy
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2017
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Awesome book for beginner and advanced amatures with binoculars . Great honest advice and well defined targets as well. Clearly written I did not have to do mental gymnastics to figure out what was being said . This book is also very realistic in what you can actually see with 7x or 10 x binoculars with a 50 mm objective . I have read other binocular books and the targets might be good for a 4-8 inch telescope but the ones listed in this book are great for 7 or 10x50 mm binoculars . Its good read as well. I live in New England and the weather is so spotty and wierd here . The weather man might say clear skies but in reality you get huge passing clouds and sparse storms so its a good sit down and read book . I bought the Kindle book for my Fire Hd 8 tablet and it works great !! Over all If you are in the market for a good binocular astronomy book give this one a try you will be happy and it will educate you to how to find stuff in the night sky and educate you on binocular astronomy .
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Top reviews from other countries

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El imparcial
5.0 out of 5 stars Uno de los mejores libros de astronomía con prismáticos
Reviewed in Spain on August 30, 2020
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Como su título indica, no es un libro exhaustivo, sino una selección (yo tengo la primera edición, con 99 objetos; la segunda, ampliada, trae 109) de objetos celestes accesibles para prismáticos, generalmente 10x50 (incluso 8x40 o menos), aunque hay objetos que se benefician de mayor aumento (15x o 20x) y apertura (70-80 mm). Su autor, Gary Seronik, una autoridad en la materia, tuvo a su cargo durante años la sección "Binocular highlight" de la prestigiosa revista estadounidense Sky and Telescope. Las cartas celestes (locales, del entorno del objeto u objetos al que se dedica cada artículo; puede ser útil, sobre todo para principiantes, ayudarse con cartas más generales) son muy claras. a diferencia de lo que ocurre con otros libros de astronomía, en los que las reproducciones de las ilustraciones y cartas celestes en la edición digital son mediocres, la edición Kindle de "Binocular highlights" está muy conseguida. Texto y cartas son perfectamente legibles, las ilustraciones tienen suficiente resolución. El libro está muy bien escrito. Leerlo es un verdadero placer. Los comentarios de Seronik son deliciosos y pedagógicos, con notas históricas, atinadas descripciones de los objetos y útiles consejos para el observador que desea mejorar. Es un placer recorrer el cielo de la mano de Seronik.
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Rogelio Escamilla López
5.0 out of 5 stars Un manual práctico para utilizarse como apoyo en la observación astronómica con binoculares.
Reviewed in Mexico on February 21, 2017
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Un manual práctico para utilizarse como apoyo en la observación astronómica con binoculares, solo que en Kindle no es práctica la consulta de fotos y diagramas ya que en blanco y negro no se aprecian bien los detalles. Afortunadamente tengo el Kindle Fire.
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Dom
3.0 out of 5 stars Pratique
Reviewed in France on May 28, 2016
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Sur la plan didactique il n'offre pas plus que les ouvrages disponibles en français, cependant le format est pratique pour les sorties du débutant qui se débrouille en anglais (c'est mon cas).
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シャトー
4.0 out of 5 stars 双眼鏡のお供
Reviewed in Japan on June 4, 2012
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　天文雑誌のSky&Telescopeに連載されていた双眼鏡向けの観測対象（99）の探し方、見え方をまとめたもののようです。双眼鏡の用語や選び方にも触れています。観測対象は季節（冬12月〜2月、春3月〜5月、夏6月〜8月、秋9月〜11月）ごとに章立てされ、一つの対象を1ページ以内で星図と探し方、見え方を記述しています。星図は対象物の周辺は7.5等以上の星を記載し、10×50双眼鏡の視野の範囲は8.5等以上の星を記載してあり、探しやすいように工夫されています。また見え方は筆者によると少し光害のある場所での印象となっているそうです。残念ながら実際のスケッチや写真はないので見え方は文章から想像するしかありません。なお、各章の初めには藤井旭氏の星座写真が挿入されています。
　本はA5でリング製本なので屋外で使いやすくなっています。天文に興味を持ち始めて双眼鏡を買われた人が主要な星雲・星団を観望するときの参考に良いと思います。
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Virginia McKee
5.0 out of 5 stars Best of its kind.
Reviewed in Canada on October 20, 2021
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A wide selection of interesting objects represented; organized by season, then by constellation. One of the best guides of its kind, making the best use of the particular advantages that binoculars have to offer over telescopes. Clear good sized star maps are provided in colour for each constellation/set of objects. Full sky colour maps by season are included with clear times specified for their use.
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