[chris lewis]

Hi ! sorry to confuse - binoculars can be complicated and you do not want 'paralysis by analysis ! Yes - with your 'young' pupils you could go with the 9x63 binos and yes you will 'see more' then the 7x50's and yes the Meades are reasonably inexpensive - but you come back to the exit pupil problem. These 7mm exit binos will provide bright images - ONLY if the sky is very very dark. It is generally best to go with exit pupils betweem 4-5 mm at night. These are the 8x40's, 10x50's, 12x63's [Orion make one] and the 15x70's. Plus with these binos you will have a larger FOV - generally with these binos the FOV is between 6,7,and 8 degrees you will have a 'wider' image in your eyepieces - what you see will note as restrictive [or tunnel vision] as the 9x63's. [The 15x70 have a FOV of 4.4 but a 'wide' Afov of 66 degress]. However - remember once you start to get more then 12x magnification or in to the 70mm size binos you will have to look at tripod mounting for steadiness. Hence for a good all round 'starter' hand held astro bino I recommend the 10x50's - just get make sure they are Bak-4 prisms and F.M.C. lens. If you could borrow some 9x63's and 10x50's [and various others] and experiment a bit at night and you will be able to come to a decision as getting a decent bino that suits you is important. [Ps. if you do go for 9x63's - get the F.M.C. Orions from Bintel - know one ever regretting paying for quality].