Binoculars are excellent for beginners to amateur astronomy - they cost less than telescopes and they give you a great deal of freedom to scan the sky. I bought these for this reason and I've been very happy with them. The magnification is low enough that holding them in your hands doesn't produce too much jitter, but it's high enough to bring out celestial objects you wouldn't see unaided. I've seen galaxies, double stars, and Jupiter's moons with these.
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br /The only downside is that the bodies of the lenses are very bulky and close together, so screwing in a tripod adapter is awkward and takes a few tries before it's in all the way.

Our local community college uses this binocular during astronomy class labs and star parties. Many beginning stargazers are impressed with the power and flexibility of binoculars. True, they do not produce the views of telescope; however, for beginners, binoculars are more forgiving, capturing sky with good results. Once you've seen the Great Orion Nebula for the first time for yourself through these, you are hooked on astronomy! [Note: these astro-binos are heavy; children and adults with small hands may have a hard time holding them steady for satisfying viewing.]

Meade Travel View 9x63 Astronomy Roof Prism Binoculars
br /I bought this to supplement my 5" scope. Used to view the ISS when it went over my house. Good quality, but hard to hold steady.