16 SKYNEWS •NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019
PAUL DEANS’ PICKS
CANON 18×50 IMAGE-
STABILIZED BINOCULARS
(CDN$1,500); http://www.canon.ca
I’ve always had a fondness for wide-field ob-
serving, and it’s probably why I find binocular
stargazing so rewarding. I have Canon 10×30 image-
stabilized binoculars—they’re great, especially when I
want to travel light—but I often yearn for the extra
oomph that greater magnification and larger objective
lenses would provide. The catch is, most models fitting these criteria
require a tripod for support, which means I might as well haul out my fully mounted travel scope.
For me, image-stabilized binos are the best way to combine quick-look portability with capability.
Canon has the largest range of image-stabilized binoculars of any manufacturer and offers two appealing
50mm models: 15×50s and 18×50s. Both weigh 1.2 kilograms and feature the same 50mm objective lenses.
But the extra 3×magnification of the 18×50s seals the deal for me.KEN HEWITT-WHITE’S PICKS
21ST CENTURY ATLAS OF THE MOON (US$30);
wvupressonline.com
Being a deep-sky nut, I once avoided the Moon. Now that I’m scoping the Earth’s natural
satellite regularly and have slowly outgrown my basic Moon maps, I could use a proper
detailed lunar atlas. Arguably, the best of the current crater crop is the 21st Century Atlas
of the Moonby Charles A. Wood and Maurice J. S. Collins. Their atlas (published by West
Virginia University Press) contains 28 charts in the form of labelled photographic images
from NASA’s highly successful Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission. It’s true
there are copious resources on the Internet, but I’d rather cozy up to
this compendium when seeking inspiration on moonlit nights.
SKYSAFARI 6 PLUS
(CDN$20);
skysafariastronomy.com
On moonless weekends, my attention turns to deep-
sky objects. For decades, I’ve used my big Dobsonian to explore
“faint fuzzies” with the aid of several hardcover star atlases. Now, at
last, all those bulky dew-stained books are potentially replaceable
by digital star atlases for mobile computing devices. The heavenly apps
put the entire visible sky in the palm of your hand. This deep-sky hunter
covets SkySafari 6 Plus. It’s easy to use and offers superbly detailed
charts identifying a great range of clusters, nebulas and galaxies. (You
can read more about this software in Alan Dyer’s review on page 34
of the July/August 2019 issue.) One of SkySafari’s most noteworthy
features is the ability to automatically aim your
GoTo scope (provided it’s WiFi-equipped) by
selecting any object on the app’s charts.
That doessound miraculous! But it’s the
big sky coverage in a tiny package that
most attracts me.Ken
Hewitt-White
PaulDeans