On 6 Dec 2004 08:01:48 -0800, wrote:

Nice!

I had an opportunity recently to view M31 through a pair of 22" f/4.5
binoculars. The binocular view made it much easier to spot some of
M31's globular clusters.

Clear skies,
Shneor Sherman

Thats an interesting observation. One time, we were trying to spot
Mercury low in the West. A pair of 10x70 Fujinon binoculars was
able to show it more distinctly than a TV Genesis at low power.
Although I've never done intense comparisons, at a given power, I
think you need about 50% greater aperture in a mono scope to
overcome a binocular scope. Please note this means true binoculars
(2 telescopes) versus a binoviewer which divides up the light from
the one objective. One qualification; Boosting the power on the
mono scope overcomes some of the binocular advantage on objects,
especially under light polluted skies. There's alot to be said for
the background darkening effect of magnification.
-Rich