cajen2

An idea of your budget would help. The EPs mentioned above are fine but you can do even better with more cash! 😄

Steve and Mike are giving you good advice here. Do plenty of research as well as going to a local astronomy club or outreach event (astronomers love showing off their scopes!). There are two scopes which won't disappoint with their views around your budget: The Skywatcher Heritage 100p. Don't be fooled by its small size - this is a proper telescope with a parabolic mirror. I bought one for my daughter (who's much older than your son) and I was very impressed with the sharpness of the views it gave. Its price also allows you to upgrade its 10mm eyepiece (nearly all giveaway eyepieces are of low quality, especially the 10mm ones). A good choice is a BST Starguider 8mm. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-heritage-100p-tabletop-dobsonian.html https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/bst-starguider-60-8mm-ed-eyepiece.html The bigger brother of this scope is the Heritage 130p - also excellent optics. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html But don't buy anything too quickly until you've done some research and also had a chat with your son. It's possible that he has fixed ideas about what a scope should look like and want a small refractor like this: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/inspire-series-telescopes/celestron-inspire-70mm-az-refractor.html but you're having to pay for a mount and tripod, which are probably not of the best. The Heritage scopes would give better views IMO. So the most important thing is not to rush. Always remember, too, that any scope you buy can be much better with decent eyepieces, so you don't have to think about future birthday and Xmas presents! 😉

I've always pronounced it as it's written: 'svebony' where the 'e' is like the 'a' in 'ago'. A schwa for any linguists amongst us.

Oh, now you've done it - every Tak owner on here will post pics and it'll become another "I've got a Tak" thread....😄

Ah, you're quite right: I didn't see the light shroud.

Note to anyone confused: that's actually his 10". 😉 Edit: forget that - I'm wrong.

What amuses me is that SETI (et al.) is spending so much time monitoring radio wavelengths. Radio? For a civilisation that we hope can span interstellar distances? I doubt they'd be using anything so primitive. I always think of Douglas Adams: "A species so amazingly primitive that they think digital watches are a really neat idea."

Personally, I'd have the Heritage 130p. It's SO convenient to store and carry, with great optics. If you can afford it, the slightly bigger brother (150p) is even better.

Mmmmm, good to hear "White Rabbit" again, after all these years! 😄

There's the Brecon Beacons National Park about an hour and ten away, with some nice dark skies. Just north/north west of Abergavenny.

All mine (mostly Morpheus and Pentax XWs) are 1.25" except my StellaLyra 80° 20mm 2" (very fine EP, by the way). I'm hoping to get an APM UFF/Celestron Ultima Edge 30mil 2" in my Xmas stocking.....😉

You could always use your RACI for now.

Congratulations, Mike, you got it at last! First light soonest, please. No point in putting a tin of beans next to that!

Rather like FLO's Ursa Major brand. All the accessories reduced or downgraded, standard teflon bearings, single-speed focuser, etc but very reasonable price.

No probs, Paul, that's what we're here for: to help each other out.

Sure. These: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mutuactor-Neodymium-mounting-Vertical-Pull-force/dp/B07K2SKFYP?pd_rd_w=MiHO4&content-id=amzn1.sym.1e2a4e0f-2e12-404a-a171-2e456b4b564a&pf_rd_p=1e2a4e0f-2e12-404a-a171-2e456b4b564a&pf_rd_r=QR3F4R31R6H3TEX3NWPF&pd_rd_wg=Kt9ts&pd_rd_r=e88ca76b-bac7-475f-a93d-cc667f38a4ff&pd_rd_i=B07K2SKFYP&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_m_rp_1_t Be warned, though, they're very strong. Although they're covered in rubber, it might be worth sticking a felt layer on to weaken them slightly and make the sliding smoother. I just use three so one is always within easy reach.

Great and very even-handed review, AD. As a fellow SL 8" owner, I agree with everything you say, though a knob on it is not necessary for me, as like Louis, I just use the front edge of the scope. A handle, though, would be of great benefit. The adjustment on the alt bearings is theoretically an advantage but (like I suspect most users) after setting mine I haven't altered them as it's such a faff. I just use a few small magnets to achieve balance. It's worth noting that several of the other GSO labelled brands don't necessarily offer all the good accessories like the RACI, though I believe the Orion one is identical.

As Louis says, we need a smidgen more info, Kelly: What's your total budget? Do you envision concentrating on a particular kind of target? (Deep sky objects, planets, the moon, double stars....). What scope is it?

You tease, Mike! 😂

Me too. One of the best astro purchases I've made.

Yes but they seem quite rare - many shops don't seem to sell double mounts.

Mine's by TS Optics, but not cheap ...

Yes. I use an RDF AND a RACI - best of both worlds. To keep things tidy, you can buy a double mount which accommodates both. Here's mine:

I have the 150p and it's excellent. Mine goes on a three-legged stool and is thus very stable. 1. Take stool out and plonk it on the ground. 2. Put scope on stool and observe. Can it get any simpler? Both it and the 130 have excellent optics but the major difference is how much light is gathered on to the mirrors. The 150 gets 33% more than the 130, making fainter nebulae, galaxies, etc easier to spot.