New telescope for a christmas present

[buejflem]

Hi everyone, new to this forum and hoping someone could shed some light on telescopes as i am planning to buy one for my girlfriend for christmas as she has shown an interest in astronomy for a while now.

Basically i am looking for a good entry level telescope my price range is under £200 i know its not much but where going on holiday in january for our anniversary so i haven't got much in terms of a price range.

She will want to be able to see the moon most likely as well as some planets (if possible)

I have seen one on argos and i know it will have its limitations but is this a good place to start

Buy Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ Reflector Telescope at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for Telescopes.

any insights on what type of scopes i should be looking into would be very greatful

[rfdesigner]

How about:

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Explorer 130P

With £20 to spare for a meal out!

Derek

(PS: the argos scope claims 250x magnification, and up to 750x. Don't get hoodwinked by this, 250x is as far as anyone can practically go on this sized scope.. indeed my own scope which is very substantially bigger is rarely if ever used above 250x)

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

Thats not a bad scope, but i'd take a look on first light optics, you'l likely get more scope for your money.

As a ~general~ rule of thumb, refractors will be better suited for planets/moon due to better contrast and longer focal lengths, and reflectors will be better for DSO's due to larger apertures thus more light gathering potential. They're also cheaper to produce since they have fewer optical surfaces.

No scope does it all unfortunately, though most people tend to find an 8inch reflector acceptable for both planets and DSO's. These are rather large however, so you need a place to store them, you need to let them cool down before using them, and they can be troublesome to transport. If all of those things can be overcome however, they are pretty much a perfect scope to get started with.

Fortunately, there is a very healthy market for second hand astro gear. With your budget, I'd suggest either a 90mm refractor if you're sure planets and the moon will be the main targets, or a 130mm-150mm reflector if you want to keep options open. They'l give you satisfying views, and will give you a chance to decide what it is you'd prefer to pursue, whether it be planet, or DSOs. Once you know that, you can always sell the scope easily and pick up something larger/more specialized.

[Helen]

I'd suggest you go for an Alt Az mount rather than an equatorial. The Alt Az moves up and down and right and left, where as an equatorial monut moves at odd angles (although it is easier to track the sky once set up properly). The Alt Az is much more intuative to use as a beginner - my first scope was equatorial and it nearly put me off astronomy for life!!

So I'd consider something like this First Light Optics - Skywatcher Mercury 705 or First Light Optics - Skywatcher Startravel 102 (AZ3) the smaller scope would allow you to add a few accessories such as a book like Turn Left at Orion, a red torch, a better diagonal and maybe a better eyepiece too. It would be a nice easy to use package.

Helen