VaderAG

Thanks all that's some really useful information.  @Tiny Clanger really appreciate the thought there esp with regards to building the interest - do you have any good resources to look at for that background reading? As you say, my daughter loves those Myths! Also any resources to find the "things" that I can see with my scope? At the moment I don't really know where to look other than the moo

10 hours ago, Tomatobro said:

Re the finder scope if you can then invest in a 90 degree finder that will solve the problem of the awkward viewing position.

Use a distant tree or roof Ariel during daylight to align the finder scope to the main scope.

Only use the barlow and high power eyepieces when you become familiar with using the scope

Thanks. The finder is awkward but so is using the main scope. I'm like doubled over and crouched at the same time trying to get the high angle to the moon...

Thanks to some help on here before Xmas I got my daughter a Celestron Travel Scope 70 

We've had it out a few times looking at the moon but I'm really struggling to get things set up which inevitably leads to getting off on the wrong foot

I have the spotting scope set up and I can usually get it directed at the moon, but it's usually in such an awkward position that it takes me so long and it's actually painful to get into the right place - is this par for the course? Should I be doing things differently

And then the lenses, frankly I don't have a clue! There are different magnifications but the moment I try and change the scope or moon inevitably moves, but even if it doesn't seem to I don't seem to be able to get anything out of any of them but the one that is lowest magnification. 

Is this normal? Are the others just too powerful for the moon?

And what about the Barlow - that seems to multiply magnification but again I can't find anything with anything but one of the lenses!

Can someone ELI5 what I'm doing wrong or how I get these lenses dialled in?

Thanks

44 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

Please don't be disheartened, there are options under £100 that are useable telescopes.

I'm trying, but when every site I look at says everything is out of stock, and everything that I find that is in stock is apparently rubbish then it's difficult to stay positive!

I mean, how can anyone look at a page like this and not be disheartened - literally everything out of stock!

11 minutes ago, wulfrun said:

Slightly over your budget but I found this in stock as of now:

https://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/p-skywatcher-heritage-100p-telescope.htm

I have no experience of the store. As a starter, you could do worse although it's not likely to provide "wow" views of planets. The table-top Dob style has already been commented on for its cons but if needs must...

I'm starting to feel like given the lack of choice and everyone's opinions that anything less than £200 is crap I may as well just go for the Nat Geo one. At least then we can see if she maintains an interest, but I'm worried now that anything less than that is going to provide the opposite...

How about this https://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/p-celestron-firstscope-tabletop-telescope.htm

Seems pretty similar to the mini mentioned by lots of others?

6 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

There are several mobile applications that can work like a 'push to' to find objects in the sky event Google Sky Eye does push to (free) why not have a play to get a feeling of what it's like now before buying anything. A 5 year old might find looking from the end of a refractor more natural as they are looking where they point the telescope like the one Vliav linked to above.

We've been using Stellarium to spot things in the sky with the naked eye and she's been really enjoying it. Hence the desire to step up

17 hours ago, vlaiv said:

I'd say, probably this one:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/sky-watcher-mercury-707-az-telescope.html

It can actually show you very nice images of Jupiter and Saturn. Moon will be very nice in that scope (as will in almost any scope), and the scope is pretty much plug and play. It is also rather easy to aim, and looks like a proper scope - maybe a small bonus to help keep the interest.

For the most part, the most interesting objects to see will be just - stars. Different intensity stars, some grouped into clusters, having nice colors. Refractors tend to render stars as pinpoints of light and this is aesthetically pleasing. Although above scope is not going to be optical wonder - it will be surprisingly good for that sort of money. This can help spark the interest as cruising star fields can often lead to a "discovery" - object barely noticeable but definitively there, what could that be? Further research will be needed ...

 

Thanks, that was another consideration

The biggest problem I seem to have right now is that there doesn't seem to be anything from any known brands available right now at any specialist stores...

Can anyone comment on these similar ones?

https://www.jessops.com/p/Jessops/300x76-Telescope---White-97001

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Emarth-Telescope-Astronomy-Adjustable-Educational/dp/B07DNCDPHH/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=70mm+refractor&qid=1604935611&sr=8-5

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Telescopes-Beginners-Astronomy-Refractor-Adjustable/dp/B0811JK7W4/ref=sr_1_29?dchild=1&keywords=70mm+refractor&qid=1604935611&sr=8-29

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Celestron-21024-76-mm-Firstscope/dp/B001UQ6E4Y/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=76mm+dobsonian&qid=1604935732&sr=8-2

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zoomion-Dobsonian-astronomical-telescope-aperture/dp/B00PZLPEEG/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=76mm+dobsonian&qid=1604935732&sr=8-8

My mum is badgering me to get something now (think she's got the lockdown blues), and is getting frustrated that nothing is in stock, so not sure what to suggest to her...

20 hours ago, Second Time Around said:

I've just bought 2 different scopes for youngsters of different ages with different requirements. 

The first was a present this Xmas for the 13 year old daughter of a friend.   In this case I chose an ex-display Bresser 130mm table top Dobsonian.  They live in the country, so that aperture of scope is good for deep sky objects as well as the moon and planets.  She's perfectly capable of learning how to collimate a reflector herself.

The second was for two of my grandkids aged 6 and 13 who live in London.   Here the choice was a 70mm Celestron Starsense Explorer refractor.

The 6 year old doesn't have the patience and attention span of his older sister, and experience with them looking through my own scopes made me realise that finding objects had to be fast for him.  It would be bad enough in the country, but finding anything but the brightest objects in an urban area would mean that go-to or push-to would definitely speed things up, especially as his father has no experience in astronomy.  Moreover, he has to carry the scope a quarter of a mile uphill to Blackheath as their garden is surrounded by tall trees.  Go-to would need powering and would weigh more, quite apart from being more expensive.  Celestron's new Starsense Explorer is a real breakthrough in push-to.   The 70mm refractor version costs just £135.  OK, I upgraded the eyepieces and added an extra diagonal, but these could always have been added later.  The provided diagonal does have the advantage though of being able to be used for terrestrial viewing.

I've tested out both these scopes at home, and that convinced me that I'd made the right choice in each case.  In fact, I was so impressed with the Starsense Explorer technology that I've bought the same scope for myself!  I've converted it so that I can use it on all my scopes, but kept the 70mm as it's so light and portable.

So for a 5 year old I'd definitely recommend the 70mm Starsense Explorer.  The only problem is finding one in stock.

I'd add that personally I don't go along with the idea of buying beginners to astronomy binoculars before a telescope.  A telescope will mean many more wow moments, and will for instance be powerful enough to show the rings of Saturn - something that binoculars won't.  These wow moments are far more likely to fan the flames and lead to a lasting interest.  So for me binoculars are an adjunct to a telescope - something to buy later if you don't already have a pair.  

 

Thanks - this is really useful as we're just down the road from your family (Bexleyheath)

As you say tho, the Starsense Explorer doesnt seem to be in stock anywhere and is a bit out of budget too...

I think after browsing this afternoon the Skywatcher 76 Mini seems best for what we need right now. Maybe not the best or everything we want to see, but a good starting point

Sadly, can't find in stock many places right now...

Just wondering, is this made by the same people? Looks identical

https://www.jessops.com/p/jessops/300x76-telescope-white-97001?gclid=Cj0KCQiAy579BRCPARIsAB6QoIY1Ggk6_HzzpVp_d5nMRUArTqFrlCT-A9lmUHcdDZBeYXL-b7s0ehAaAseHEALw_wcB

14 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

As an ex primary school  teacher ( I once had an entire school's worth of 5-10 year olds troop past some binoculars on a tripod to see a partial solar eclipse which was being projected onto a sheet of white card held by a teaching assistant ) I know that attention spans can be short. You want to encourage the child , not frustrate them, and whilst spending more money will  get a better instrument, it will be an adult's astronomy tool, not a gift a child will feel they own . (No, I'm not still bitter about the Meccano set and toy , sorry model railway my dad rushed out to buy when my existence was announced, but never let me touch even when I was old enough. No, honestly .... )

Had you considered binoculars instead ? OK, they won't show the rings of Saturn, or any surface markings on Mars, but a lightweight pair at a similar price point to the small heritage 'scope will be smaller, easier to carry and deal with, will give good views of the Moon and some impressive easy to find stuff like the Pleiades and Orion Nebula, and  can be used for bird watching, close ups of the squirrels in the park, looking through the wrong end to see tiny views, spying on neighbours,, and other fun activities . Ideally mount them on a tripod so you can line them up on an object for the child to start off with, and so their arms don't tire, cheap  photo tripods tend to be quite short , but so do the under 7's , so that will just inconvenience you 😀 .

Another advantage bin.s have over telescopes is that binoculars and tripods are more common purchases and their manufacture in higher numbers keeps the prices down. I just looked on amazon, specifying 4* and above binoculars in the £15 to £50 price range by Celestron, Nikon or Olympus ( I'm leery of trusting unknown name brands on this kind of thing) and have 117 results. The general suggestion for adults is that you need at least 10x50 binoculars (10 is the magnification, 50 is the diameter of the front lens in mm) but those would (again) probably be OTT for a 5 year old. I used a pair of 8x30 bin.s before getting a scope,  and the extra light collecting ability over what your eyes can manage unaided is impressive for, say, the Moon if you've not looked through a telescope . To back up my suggestion, I'll mention that in many of his books, Sir Patrick Moore strongly recommended binoculars for beginners in astronomy. 

A nice cheap pair of binoculars and an age appropriate space book (usborne have done some good ones) might be your answer. Whatever you go for, don't forget to really emphasize the rule that you never point the telescope/binoculars at the Sun . 

Heather

I actually have some binoculars but they're too big for the kids eyes

5 minutes ago, Philip R said:

To give you an idea of what things will look like, have a look at... http://astronomy.tools/calculators/field_of_view/ - just fill in the boxes.

This is confusing me! I selected the heritage 100 and put Jupiter / Saturn / Moon and they're smaller than I see with the naked eye! Must be missing something but being mithered by kids and kittens right now so will look in a bit

44 minutes ago, jock1958 said:

Warm welcome to SGL. 

Like to echo what’s been advised and although the Heritage 76 has good reviews I doubt you will see the rings of Saturn.
Like @Philip R says for a bit more the Heritage 130 or 150 will show a lot more! 

If you haven’t already have a look on the FLO website for feedback on the Heritage range, also there’s lots on here as well.

Cheers and all the best. 

Thanks for the FLO suggestion. They have a beginner telescope section and seems to tally with suggestions here.

One they mention which isn't mentioned above is the Sky Watcher Mercury 707 - is there any reason to go for the dobsonians over this at this price point?

Thanks all for the suggestions, will take a look

@Philip R you think the 130 or 150 are worth the extra over the 76? I don't mind spending more for more possibilities, but what I don't want it to overcomplicate either so my daughter is overwhelmed!

Thanks!

My 5 year old is interested in looking at the sky and we've been spotting Jupiter and Saturn over the past few weeks. Would be great to see Saturn's rings
 My parents looking for Xmas present ideas and telescope seems a good idea

Budget maybe £60ish but I can top up a bit, but would like something that will last a few years and grow a bit with her

Any ideas?

Been recommended  https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-heritage-76-mini-dobsonian.html 

but my mum also spotted a national geographic one reduced at Robert Dyas which seems too cheap to be any good for much

Ultimately would like to get something to keep and captute interest and be able to see enough to make it worthwhile over my binoculars