Buying a Telescope... Complete Beginner

[TheAmazingLoaf]

Hi everyone... I want to get a telescope for my son's ninth birthday but have no clue what to buy!

I thought astronomy could be a nice hobby for us to do together, we live in a built up area but we are also close to places where I would imagine we could get away from most of the light pollution and get some nice dark skies to look at.

I have done a little bit of research, and I think I want to go for one of those Catadioptric telescopes, because what I have read tells me those are best for seeing both close up objects and some further away things so it seems like a good all-rounder option to me.

So I guess my first question is, what is a good telescope to get which doesn't cost too much? Before I spend a lot of money I want to be sure this will be something we will really enjoy as much as I think we will.

Another thing I am unsure of is, once I have a telescope expertly recommended to me by all of you kind people... where do I start? Are there any good books or something I could get which would explain how to navigate and identify what I am looking at?

I think that's all I have to ask for the moment...

Thanks

[Capricorn]

Where is the built up area ?

Wouldn't be within an easy trip to London would it?

Astrofest is on next Friday and Saturday and a vist there could be worthwhile.

P.S. give an idea of a budget, makes suggesting a scope easier.

[Catweazel]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Best thing is to give us some idea of what your budget is, as there are a lot of different scopes out there! There are various types of scope that will let you see the moon, planets and deep space objects, but htis will depend on how much you are able to spend, what type of scope, mount etc.

[JamesF]

What sort of budget did you have in mind?

James

[TheAmazingLoaf]

We are in North Wales not far away from Chester, I was thinking there would be some good places nearby we could go like Moel Famau or even a bit further towards Snowdonia, so I'll need to get something that's portable.

I was thinking to start off with spending £150-£200, is that too little to get something decent?

[paul schofield]

For me it would be one of the Skywatcher scopes, depending on what your targets will be, ie planets deep sky etc. Skywatcher do offer alot in that price point. Both evostar and skytravel ranges. But to tell you the truth I think you get a lot more bang for your buck with a reflector. The Skywatcher 130p is a very respectable starter scope which will give hours of fun. Good luck with your scope hunt. Oh and welcome to SGL.

[Capricorn]

Should get you a fair start.

Be careful you will always get suggestions to add a bit more and get something a bit bigger. But that is a never ending option.

I like refractors so would suggest the Skywatcher Evostar 90.

It would have to be on an EQ2 mount, which is a bit limiting.

The EQ3-2 mounted option is £235 ( note the rise in budget - easy isn't it :D)

Suggest this as you say for ypour son's 9th birthday, so if for him then I think would be easier to use.

Look at the FLO site for more information.

Haven't looked but search out Opticstar, closer to you and they have a good reputation.

One other thing keep back a little for an eyepiece or two.

The EQ3-2 ( the more expensive varient) can be fitted with motors at a later stage to enable the =scope to track what you are looking at.

The Skywatcher Skymax 102 on an EQ2 is £255. That is the nearest to the Catadioptric you mention. Again look at FLO site.

[paul schofield]

Woops sorry I meant STARTRAVEL scopes not skytravel, apologies.

[peter liddle]

hi. dobsonians are very easy to use. stong and stable bases, just point them

and veiw, easy to track objects as the earth turns and they move in the field of veiw.

large mirrors colects lots of light and gives good imaging of dimmer targets.

good value for money. red dot lazer finders fitted will get you onto the target easy when

zero,d in and in line with the main eye piece

[TheAmazingLoaf]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I'm quite excited now! I think this may end up being one of those "you may watch whilst I do" presents

[JamesF]

I'd agree with Paul that in that kind of price bracket you'll get a lot more for your money with a dobsonian -- say either the Skywatcher 130P or 150P. I think either of those would be far more rewarding than a catadioptric scope in the same price bracket. If you were taking the 130P somewhere else you'd probably also need something to put it on to get to a comfortable viewing height.

A refractor may be more intuitive to use at first, but you end up having to pay a larger proportion of the cost for the mount so you won't get as large a scope compared with the dob. If you do go this route, the alt-az mounts tend to be a fair bit lighter than the equatorial ones and perhaps therefore easier to travel with.

Personally I'd be tempted to go for the 130P as it leaves some money in the budget for other bits and pieces like books, a red torch (though you can make one yourself), perhaps another eyepiece and so on.

James

[Catweazel]

I would question the portability of a Dob if you are wanting to travel and move over distance with it. A small refractor on an alt/az mount may be better IMO. Once past the 90mm level, refractors can be a little large too, but a 102 might be ok for you. It is seriously worth looking at the 2nd hand market at the moment, as there are some bargains around, and you could get a decent scope well within your budget! CW

[jon1000]

After looking for a while on here at what people recommend, I recently bought my first scope, the 130p skywatcher. I am very happy with it but I'm not so happy with the weather, 2 decent viewing nights in almost 2 weeks. :-(

[telesto]

hi and welcome ,download a free program called Stellarium if you enter your location it will show you everything you can see in the night sky ,a great piece of software

[Tribal-Wolf]

I reckon the 130P Heritage Dob is a good starter scope for a 9 yr old. With a dob they can get straight into viewing and learn other stuff as they go. This will also mean your not blowing a lot of money so if they stay interested you won't feel so bad if you do need to upgrade later.