[chris lewis]

Actually the 2x binos which have been mentioned above I would also recommend strongly. The 10x50 and the 15x70 'MB Ultras' as sold by Andrews. These are the Kunming-United series 8AB and sold Internationally by Oberwerk as the Ultras, Garrett as the Signature series, Orion as the Resolux and others. They have have excellent specs. and universally get good to excellent reviews. Optically they give bright and contrast images. There are minimal aberrations and distortions. There is mild peripheral curvature of field which is to be expected. They both have a wide Afov of 65 degrees. The light transmision is excellent via the very high quality lens coatings. They measure there true aperture. They are I.F. They have comfortable rubber eye cups with good eye relief. They are not overly expensive for what you get. They are both reasonably heavy due to there excellent and robust build qualities - however the 10x50 can be hand help whilst the 15x70 should be tripod mounted to maximise there potential. I have them both them and if I was starting bino astronomy again these would be the 2x I would get. [Unless I was ultra rich !]. These binos were actually designed to match the Fujinon equivalents at a more affordable price. Fujinon astro binos. are regarded as one of the leaders in optical quality.
The 9x63 binos offer 7 mm exit pupils which are good for very dark skies which you say you will view from so this is good. 7 mm exit pupils are designed for very dark skies and / or young eyes. Otherwise you will loose effective aperture via wasted light as your pupils will not dilate enough to accomodate the exiting light cone. The Meades are hard to recommend fully - they are only 'Multi Coated' and they give noticable secondary internal reflections esp. on bright objects but with dark skies this is less apparent. They are not W.P but again not a major in dry or non humid areas, however there true aperture is 56 mm which I have measured and this has been verified by others. I have had 3x Meade 9x63's and two of them were badly miscollimated so check the Q. and A. first. I have not measured the Orion Mini Giants but would recommend them over the Meade's if you did choose a 9x63 -but again I would not recommend a 7 mm exit pupil bino as a first and or a general astro. bino unless they are really always used in dark skies.
Astro. binos have to have the highest specs. really as it really tests the optics severly - so F.M.C. lens. / Bak- 4 prisms and excellent optical / build / and Q. and A. standards are required to acquire good contrast, resolution of detail and sharp pin point stars. Otherwise distortions and an inferior image will be more apparent - yes you can get away with more mid level specs. but the view will deteriorate and you will get frustrated. I also personally prefer I.F. binos [Individal focus] for astro. work as there is then less likely hood of eyebridge movement and focus once set remains permanent.
Porros are 'generally' recommended over 'Roofs' for astro use - the difference is around primarily how the prisms are arranged - there is a section here on IIS and or 'Cloudy Nights' explaining the differences.
Having said that a Hi-quailty roof with good specs. / phase correction can give impressive images. I have a Minox BD 10x58 ED BR which is expensive but it does give truely excellent astro. images. Smaller roof bino versions like a 8x42 / 10x42 can also also give good images however for the dark sky sites like you envisage you really you need a high quality 15x70 as a minimum.
The next leap up are the bulky 25x100 binos which require a heavy - read expensive mount. They do however give stunning dark sky view viewing. Most Chinese 20x80's have an effective aperture of around -71/72 mm.
Which again comes back to the Ultra 15x70's as the front runners.

Good luck.

Chris