One of the easiest ways to take a spacewalk without ever leaving Earth is to scan the night sky with binoculars from the comfort of a reclining lounge chair on a clear, dark night. But for the best experience, you better make sure those binoculars are actually designed for astronomy. To see our picks for the best binoculars of various sizes and specialties, read our Best Astronomy Binoculars: Editors' Choice wrap-up. If you'd like help picking for yourself, there are a few things you need to know.

Your eyes are marvelously adapted for sensing light and color, and for reacting to bright and dark. But it's your brain that builds your moving picture of the world.

You see in stereo. But your two eyes give you more than just depth perception.

True, the differences in data between your left and right eyes are integrated into depth information by your busy mind. Even though the vast distances of the universe make it challenging to perceive depth, if you inform yourself in advance with some knowledge about the objects you are going to be observing, you can begin to see the universe in 3D. Binoculars make this mental gymnastics faster and easier.

Binoculars are like eyeball extensions, keeping all your brain's visual circuits focused on the task of enjoying the wonders of space. Keeping both eyes walled off from distracting information plays a happy trick on your mental computer.

Depending on the pair you pick, you could see 25 or even 50 times more stars with binoculars than with your unaided eyes. This is not due to the magnification alone, but to the phenomenon of perceptive narrowing driving a flow state. Some people use the term focus, or clarity, to describe the feeling. But it's not an illusion; it's a measurable effect.

Telescopes are big. Even little ones are bigger, heavier and longer than most binoculars. So telescopes need to sit on tripods or rocker-boxes for stability. A hand-held spyglass might have been good enough for Captain Kidd, but every modern navy uses binoculars. Angling a long tube up toward the sky makes the shake problem even worse; your extended arm wiggles the front objective lens. Binoculars can lock in tightly to both your eye sockets and your hands are close in to your face for more stability. [Related: Best Telescopes for Beginner: A Buying Guide]

Telescopes do make objects look larger. But their main job is to gather light. Paradoxically, the more a telescope magnifies an object, the dimmer that object appears. That's a problem when observing deep-sky targets like comets, galaxies and widely diffuse star clusters. It's an issue for everything, really, except the moon which can be too bright and a few vivid planets.

Most telescopes use a single eyepiece. Binocular literally means "two eyes." You get twice the opportunity to paint your brain with starlight. Remember, seeing occurs in your mind's eye. For a most fulfilling visual experience, get all your brain's "wetware" working on it.

Telescopes show a small area. Binoculars, with their wider field of view, let you scan the sky for targets. And binoculars give you a much better appreciation for how objects relate to one another. They give you a better chance to see patterns in the cosmos.

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How to Choose Binoculars for Astronomy and Skywatching