Star gazing with the kids.

[Davie]

I've been looking to upgrade our scope for a little while now and have been keeping an eye out for a good second hand newt but recently I've been thinking I might be better off with a refractor.

The main reason for this is that the eldest (only 5) loves to come out and have a look through the scope, he also knows his way around stelarium better than i do so loves looking for objects on the laptop and then trying to find his way around the sky and locating them.

I'm thinking refractor because it will be easier for him to get to the eye piece without knocking the scope or climbing too high to get to it.

Question is is this a stupid idea? I have no experience with refractors so any advice welcomed.

Cheers in advance

Davie

[LukeSkywatcher]

Hi Davie.

I have to say i agree with you. A small refractor scope (3-4") would be ideal for you and your son. As you say.............the EP is within easy reach.

But not only is the eye piece within easy reach for him but also a refractor will give him better "wow" moments of the moon and planets rather then a reflector.

Having said that............even a 3-4" refractor costs a lot more then a reflector of the same size.

But for kids and giving then "wow" moments................cost is nothing.

I can only suggest what i think is a scope that is the best of both worlds............it will give you and your son great views of the moon,planets and also many many DSO.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html

Its a small but very capable scope for both adults and children.

Its a 5" reflector that costs a fraction of the cost of a 3-4 refractor.

I have one and am in love with it.

I am in a wheelchair and the EP is within easy reach for me, so it will be no bother to a 5 yr old.

Here's a video just to show you how compact and usable the Heritage is:

[ronin]

Kids seem to get along quicker with a refractor, sort of makes sense to them to look along one.

Can I suggest the AR80 at f/7.5 from Opticstar, not the AR80S which is the f/5 version. They come in at £135 and although an achro at f/7.5 should be reasonable. Some CA but not a bad as an f/5. Looks a good scope.

A 6mm eyepiece will give him the 100x and should be OK in that. But start him out on a 20, 15 and 10. If you don't have one get long eyepiece, just bigger view so makes it a little easier on them.

Main concern is that without a driven system whatever he locates will drift out of view. Hence I cannot suggest a mount of any sort, wouldn't like to say what may be easy or difficult for him. Leave that to you.

[Davie]

Cheers for the replies folks.

I should have mentioned that I would also like to use the scope when he is in his bed so was looking at maybe a 6" refractor maybe a skywatcher star travel and a EQ6.

We still have the 130 newt for a quick grab to head out into the garden or going to grandparents (my parents stay in a little village where I remember being able to see the milky way with the naked eye as a kid)

Thanks again

Davie

[hemihaggis]

try a small mak ? 102 perhaps , even more portable , very tough as regards collamination

[Spikey]

Have a serious look at a 102 or 127 Mak. As hemihaggis says they don't really need collimating like a newt. Pound for pound IMHO they give the best views of the moon and planets and decent views of bright DSO's. The diagonal sits out of the back just like a refractor so you can twist it and view side on if you see what I mean. Sure they take a little while longer to cool down but keep it in the garage or shed so it's near ambient anyway.

[Orion_the_Hunter]

Hi Davie.

But for kids and giving then "wow" moments................cost is nothing.

I can only suggest what i think is a scope that is the best of both worlds............it will give you and your son great views of the moon,planets and also many many DSO.

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Heritage 130p Flextube

Its a small but very capable scope for both adults and children.

Its a 5" reflector that costs a fraction of the cost of a 3-4 refractor.

I am in a wheelchair...

I agree with Paul here. I have an 8" Dobsonian which is bigger, but it's really easy to use, mainly because of the AZ mount which allows you to find objects using up down left right movements unlike an EQ mount.

My kids need to stand on a chair to reach the eyepiece.

But with the 'scope Paul suggests, kids can use it on their own if need be. It will also take knocks better than a refractor which will be much more fragile imo.

Above all else it will provide the wow factor for kids and as I said before they can use it on their own.

HTH,

Ed

[Davie]

Thanks again for the replies

as always with this lark theres too much options to consider

I Will keep reading and probably ask some more daft questions soon enough

[ScubaMike]

Really good that you are taking the time to make sure the scope is suitable for the kids. You could be giving them a hobby that will last them a lifetime.

[Davie]

A bit of a thread resurrection here but no point starting another one.

As mentioned above when I eventually upgrade (hoping to go second hand to try and save some pennies) I would like a telescope that the youngsters could use fairly easily as well. This will be my "toy" but I'd like the kids to be able to see through it also.

An EQ6 is going to be the mount but as for the scope I'm in a quandary. What I would like is a 250 PDS as mentioned in another thread a day or two ago, but I can't help thinking that this would be a nightmare for the kids ... ok it would be a nightmare.

The other option if I can beg enough is a 100ed DS Pro

I know these are totally different scopes but I would like something that's impossible and do a bit of everything, observing and imaging for both planets and DSO's

I know it's a weird one but it doesn't have to be best in class for everything just good enough that I wont feel the urge to buy another scope soon

and no two scopes are out at this moment in time

thanks for reading that as I bet it wasn't easy

[DOBBY]

just remember...he wont be 5 yrs old for long...& kids adapt & pick things up very easily...they can also change ideas quickly too.

If you can afford a 250pds on EQ6...he certainly wont get bored of things to find to look at...& you will have a good 'scope if he moves on to other things for a while.

check the size & weight before buying...he wont be 16 for a while to help you with lifting it.

[Davie]

As silly as it sounds and although we mention that they are growing up fast I never thought about him getting bigger!! or the rest of the brood.

Still a 250 and a set of steps might be interesting

[smudgeball]

I just leave the tripod legs retracted so my 5 year old daughter can have a look.

Neil

[Davie]

A good idea but no idea how low a EQ6 will go but will give it a try.

[RikM]

A 10" on an EQ6 is mahoosive...EQ mounted Newts in general (even diddy ones) are often tricky to reach the eyepiece unless you have rotator rings.

[Grunthos]

I usually advocate a binocular for kids (although that SW Heritage that Luke mentioned is a nice bit of kit).

Young uns can make a binocular their own instrument. It's flexible, portable, cheap and robust. Moon, planets, star fields etc and just general fun. YMMV.

Strathspey do a good 10x50 for about £30. Add a cheap and cheerful camera tripod (kids don't know any better) and they're off!

[earth titan]

I posted this back in the summer (see below). My little one thinks of this as her scope and once I have set it up on an object, she can watch comfortably.

This session was a midday lunar session.

[Moonshane]

I am not sure of the reasons for stating that the EQ6 will be the mount? This seems counter-intuitive to me as a mount suitable for children. The eyepiece height will end up in some high positions - unless you are considering imaging in the future?

One thing you could consider is a SkyTee or Giro Mount. With this you could easily mount something like a small refractor on one side and a larger newt on the other side.

Then you could both observe the same target at the same time and in comfort.

I use a GIRO with a small 6" newt and a short pedestal. With this you could just have one scope which could be used by you both. E.g. you could reduce the pedestal by half and therefore lower the eyepiece height. When he grows up a bit (or if you are using the scope on your own) you could readily create a joining mechanism for the cut pipe to make it back to the original height.

Here's a pic of my set up which allows me to look through the eyepiece at the Zenith and the horizon from a normal garden chair.

[RikM]

Here is my 7 year old with an 8" Dob. He uses the 10" without much bother standing on a set of kitchen steps.

[Davie]

Thanks for all the replies and pictures!

Moonshane I am intending to use it for imaging but might go for the smaller 200PDS rather than a 250 and put the savings towards some bits and bobs