HELP!!! First scope for a 7 year old

[huggiebear]

Hi all

I am looking for some telescope advice (i know here we go again)

My 7 year old daughter has taken a keen interest in the the solar system and space. For the past 8 odd months she wants to know more and more and so far google has been my friend. I also use the Star Walk app on my iPhone and point out planets and anything else i think will interest her.

Now i want to encourage her new found iinterest and get a telescope for her.

She tends to start a lot of things but gets bored after a while and i end up spending too much. (Bought her a Fender Strat when she wanted to start guitar lessons)

I have done a lot of reading online and think an Explorer 130 will be a good place to start. For £135 its not a lot of money and if she no longer wants to use it then it won't break the bank balance either. But after a lot of reading on various forums it appears i should go for 130P or even a 150p but they seem to be so much more. I don't want to her to be out off by buying a "not so good" scope that doesn't show too much but trying to get the balance just right is the tricky part here.

Also are there any places you guys recommend to buy from online?

Thanks in advance

[Helen]

A 130mm scope is a nice size. Its big enough to see interesting things, but small enough to be easy to handle and store. For a child I'd suggest a simple mount (known as an alt-az) is much better than an equatorial mount, as its so much more intuitive to set up use (it moves up, down, right, left whereas an equatorial moves in arcs and needs more set up time).

I've got one of these First Light Optics - Skywatcher Heritage 130p Flextube and its a great starter scope. Its a very child-friendly size too.

Helen

[huggiebear]

Thanks Helen for the advice. Will look into the scope you mentioned too. The place i found is Sky-Watcher Explorer-130 (EQ2) Newtonian Reflector Telescope (10922) - wex photographic

I've notiiced we have had a few clear(ish) nights recently and really want to get one sooner than later.

[John]

Here is the Skywatcher 130 Heritage from an excellent astro dealer:

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

I agree with Helen that the alt-azimuth mount of the Heritage will be much easier to use for a 7 year old and the eyepiece and finder scope stays in an accessible position at all times.

[huggiebear]

Sorry for the next silly question but how do you use this telescope. There is no tripod type stand that i can see. The Skywatcher Skyliner 150P Dobsonian also seems to be getting a lot of good feedback and this would be the maximum i spend however i don't see a tripod for this. I take it they don't track.

Sorry if these are silly question but until now i have been looking at different types of reflectors only.

[John]

You put them directly onto the ground or, in the case of the Heritage, on a solid table. They track by you gently pushing / nudging them.

[brantuk]

In the manual tracking models you get two slow motion controls. These are basically a plastic sheathed flexible tube with a knob on the end so you can turn the scope through each axis (RA and Dec). It will come with an aluminium tripod and an equatorial head. You will need to polar align the mount so that you can track it by turning only the RA control with odd tweaks in Dec.

To polar align roughly for visual use you can just point the mount north and set the altitude scale to your latitude on Earth

[brantuk]

Wooops - scratch that last post - I missed the bit where we are looking at the Heritage dob which is different.

(too much Xmas cheer I fear)

[huggiebear]

Just found a picture online of the 150P next to a person. That is a big scope. For some reason i just assumed it was a small scope

[John]

7" diameter tube to house a 6" diameter mirror with a 48" focal length so the tube length is a bit over 4" long.

Your daughter could make a nice wendy house in a 16" dobsonian !.

[SplintUK]

I think the explorer 130 eq2 is a great scope but far too big and tricky for a 7 year old to set up. I would stay with a dobsonian for that age range an to see if it sticks as a hobby.

Bear in mind a 7yo will not be able to use the scope from April ish through October ish as the stars are not out until long after bed time.

Perhaps the 130p heritage dob? Or even it's baby brother?

I would stay away from an eq mounted scope for a 7yo unless they have been struck by the bug in a big way, or you fancy being the person who does all the collimation and setup.

[huggiebear]

Thanks everyone. SplintUK i will probably spend a lot of time with her so don't have an issue if i have to put it together.

Also it is possible to put a webcam on the Skyliner 150P?

[SplintUK]

Astrophotography is a whole other ball game and can lead to some costly decisions. If I were you I would use the serendipitous timing of BBC stargazing live coming up soon to go to an event that many local astronomy societies are putting on so you can see kit in action yourself with people on hand to answer questions.

If you go to BBC.co.uk and search for stargazing you should find a lot of newbie help and events you can attend. Worth watching the shows too.

[JonF]

Excellent advice. I've got an Explorer 130, and also a 7 year old daughter. The Exploror is far too much for a seven year old to handle, you'll end up having to do everything for her then getting her to look through the eyepiece once you've found what you're looking for, so she'll probably get bored. The size and weight of the thing will prevent her doing anything at all with the scope by herself. The little Heritage 76mm is far better for a child that young, or maybe at a pinch the Heritage 130. Even my proto-scientist ten year old finds the Exp far too much. She uses my Cenestron C70 Mini Mak.

[SplintUK]

I too have little 'uns, 7 and 9, and a 130 is 900mm focal length - meaning also about 900mm in tube length. Stick that on a metre and a bit of tripod at minimum height, add in the mount at another 8" or so, then point it up at something high in the sky, and the focuser is at the top, and the little darling will be on a stepladder to see anything, an by the time they've got up there, the thing you were pointing at has moved out of shot.

I would say binoculars are the best way to start. I know a telescope is exciting, but with decent bins you see a great view of Orion's nebula, andromeda galaxy and loads of other things. It's a great way to start, and you can use then for all sorts of other things as well as astronomy.

[Ian123]

I would say binoculars are the best way to start. I know a telescope is exciting, but with decent bins you see a great view of Orion's nebula, andromeda galaxy and loads of other things. It's a great way to start, and you can use then for all sorts of other things as well as astronomy.

I second that, you will get to see plenty that will keep your daughter interested in she decides to keep at the hobby and you can always get a scope in the future.

Also the view through a scope is upside down and back to front(depends on scope) so bins will be easier to locate objects, also consider a tripod for steady viewing.

[Grunthos]

I recently bought my mates daughter a basic 10x50 binocular from Strathspey (£31). She uses them all the time.

[huggiebear]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Since watching stargazing live i think i may have got the bug too so may look at getting a 130p and a step ladder for the wee one. Would like to have the option of using a webcam but still want to be sensible and spend a maximum of £200 to get us started.

[huggiebear]

On another note what about a secondhand scope. Is there anywhere i could try getting a S/H one?

[Astronut1982]

Hi huggiebear,

If you want to try & find a second hand scope then I would recommend trying here:-

U.K. Astronomy Buy & Sell

I have bought & sold second hand gear here & have been very happy with the site. Just be sure to read the ads as sometimes people will not include the complete kit e.g. if they have a telrad red dot finder, they keep that for their next scope. So just check the ad so your clear on what you're purchasing.

Good luck, I hope you find what you're looking for.

Jeff

[themos]

Beginners are well advised to find their local Astro society and go to a meeting. You'll have the chance of borrowing small scopes and seeing how you get on with them. Also, you may find good secondhand kit.

[Matt 82]

I can personally recommend the Skywatcher 76mm mini Dobsonian Heritage. I bought one a couple of weeks back and it's great. Ideal for a 7 year old. It certainly won't give you detailed views of the planets but you can see Jupiter pretty clearly and see the moons.

Where I think it would be ideally suited for your daughter is the size and ease of use. It's the kind of thing she could be left to do herself (not suggesting your daughter is a little madam, but they like to do things on their own at that age) without your assistance and can be moved and stored easily.

If you're going for a family scope, then I would go bigger though. While the mini dob is a great wee scope, it's not a long term investment.

Here it is to get a look at the size: