Binoculars are a handheld device that makes distant objects appear much closer and clearer. Think of them as two small telescopes joined side by side, one for each eye. When you look through binoculars at a bird in a faraway tree, it suddenly looks like it's perched just a few feet away.

Inside binoculars, carefully arranged glass lenses and prisms bend light in a way that magnifies whatever you're looking at. When you see “8x42” printed on binoculars, the first number tells you how many times closer things appear: 8x means an object 80 feet away looks like it's only 10 feet away.

People use binoculars for birdwatching, watching sports from the stands, stargazing, hiking, and attending outdoor concerts. Sailors use them to spot distant ships, and scientists use them to observe animals in the wild without disturbing them. Unlike a telescope, which usually sits on a stand and shows you one magnified circle, binoculars are portable and let both eyes work together, which makes it easier to judge distance and see depth.