Best telescope for an 11 year old

[starrymum]

Hi all,

My son has been interested in all things space for as long as I can remember. We've been to local stargazing events, planetariums & spent much time just gazing at the sky in dark places with binoculars- now he's desperate for a telescope to call his own.

We've made him save up for it so that he can get something decent & he's now got £300. I'm very conscious of the fact that this is a lot of money (especially to an 11 year old) & I want to make sure that he gets something that is easy to use & that will bring him joy for years to come.

We did get in touch with our local astronomical society for advice but they haven't got back to us & I'm aware that people have got much more important things to do so I don't want to nag.

We need something that is reasonably portable so that we can take it out & about but we also want something that is easy enough for him to use on his own in his bedroom. I've been doing some research & I've come up with the skywatcher skyliner 200p dobsonian or the skymax 127 supatrak auto?

What we really need is some advice from the experts & any help you can give will be much appreciated

Kathryn & Gareth

[Cjg]

Hi,

Shame your local astro society did not reply. I' strongly recommend visiting perhaps and seeing the scopes in the flesh. They're both great scopes that you have mentioned. Have found telescopes to be bigger than their pics suggest the 200 would be a great all round scope, the 127 has a long focus length and smaller light gathering potential, so less useful for the faint fuzzy deep space objects, but smaller, portable and tracks...

Mark Thompson ( one of the stargazing live presenters) has a section on his web site Practical Astronomy | Mark Thompson Astronomy

My 250 dob (the next size up) was as tall as my son and would be a handful for him.

Take your time choosing and see through as many scopes as you can beforehand.

Chris

[swamp thing]

Hi Kathryn & Gareth

First off, welcome to the forum.

Whilst the Skyliner 200p Dob is an excellent starter scope it is quite bulky. Have you seen one in the flesh.?

I would be tempted to suggest:

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Heritage 130p Flextube

This is nice and portable so can be set up anywhere. And the price is nice and low (just in case it's a passing fad) so it avoids spending all the dough.

I always think when testing the water in a hobby it's best not to spend too much. If its a success then spend the money on the next scope.

It's also small enough to take up little room when not in use. Storage is something well worth considering before purchase.

Do you have a dealer nearby as its always worth popping along and just having a look at the relative sizes of these things.

Regards Steve

[Spikey]

Hello Kathryn and Gareth and welcome to SGL !

Good choice of scopes and some good advice already !

As an owner of one I can tell you more about the 127 Mak, it's a very popular scope.

The 127 Mak will need a decent 12v power source, the supplied AA battery pack is very short lived, so budget an extra £30 or so for a portable car jump start type of 12v battery supply. A dew shield is also a good idea on the Mak - another £30 I'm afraid.

But now the positives - it's small, light and very portable. The model you suggest has tracking capabilities so wil track objects as they celestially traverse keeping them in the eyepiece.

It's an excellent scope for solar system such as the moon and planets, it's also very capable on brighter deep space objects such as the Orion nebula and the Andromeda galaxy plus many others. The 127 with it's slow ratio is also a lot more forgiving on eyepieces so there would be no advantage to buying expensive eyepieces if you only intend to use them in this scope.

Also with tracking capabilities it's a very capable planetary & lunar imaging system - add a webacam and a bit of free software and you have a nice little system.

Get a solar filter for the scope and you also can use it for solar viewing.

Greayt little package, you can see why they are so popular.

[Capricorn]

The supatrak will enable him to locate, centre and view an object for longer. When set up it should keep things in the field of view. The setup does not need to be greatly accurate for visual, a good approximation is adaquate.

Being a Mak the field of view will be narrow, get long focal length eyepieces to counter this.

The supatrak will need a mains supply at some time, batteries are not practical and rechargeable do not supply the required voltage.

Expect to purchase a couple of aditional eyepieces, although the 127 will be fine with standard plossl's, Vixen plossl's are good and £30. You will not need anything less then about 12mm.

The dobsonians, I think the 200P may be a bit too big, the 130P I think would need updating pretty soon, so have a look at the 150P, they are about f/7. Again be aware that a reflector need collimating, someone will need to work that out and purchase a collimating tool.

The dobsonians mean that your son will have to locate the object, then "nudge" the scope to keep whatever in view. Concern here is that if he has trouble with this he will get frustrated.

Other alternatives are the Evostar 102 refractor at £309. These come on an EQ3-2 mount. They do not have motors but a set can be added later at about £80-100. More expense.

Where in the UK are you? There may be someone from whatever local club here on SGL that could arrange to meet you at the loccal club.

[starrymum]

Hi all,

Thanks for all your replies, you are all so friendly & helpful!

I think we'll take your advice & try & get to the next observation meeting of our local society so that we can check out a few scopes & have a good chat.

The skymax 127 seems like a good choice but I want to be sure.

Thanks again

Kathryn & Gareth

[Pappy Nick]

Hi Kathryn and Gareth (both good Welsh names )

There are several videos on YouTube about the Skyliner and Heritage telescopes that you may find worth watching.

Personally, I'd go for the Heritage. I own one, and they're just great for portability, storage and ease of use.

[JamesM]

Hi Kathryn and Gareth and welcome to the forum. Lots of good recommendations above with regards to different scopes and to be honest, there is very little to chose between and because they are made by a well known manufacturer, you know they will be fit for purpose unlike some of the 'toys' you see on Ebay. You have done the right thing so far and that is to do the research and find out from people who actually use these scopes what your options are. Given your lad's age, the Mak does it for me as it will both find and track objects including the moon, which will be spectacular in the Mak. The reflector type scopes of course will need collimation (even occasionally out of the box) where as the Mak will not (unless he drops it!). Its small and there fore light, easy to store etc. You mentioned about your son viewing through his bedroom window, which to be honest isn't the best location as the thermals escaping out of his window will disrupt the view. The best place is outside in the garden and again the Mak would be the easiest to pick up and put down.

As others have said, the best research is in the field and many astro clubs/observers groups (check this forum) welcome people to come along to view the night sky and importantly through the eyepiece. If you are able to attend a couple of these, don't forget to make a note of the eyepieces people are using as they can make a difference to the view that you see.

Clear skies for now and keep us updated with your progress!

James

[Moonshane]

A couple of things to mention - you cannot use a telescope indoors, there will be too many heat plume problems. he/you need to use the telescope outside and it will need some time (maybe 1 hour) to cool down before use.

Both scopes mentioned will be very good indeed and give great views of many things. A darker sky will always reveal more so getting out and about is a good thing if you can.

For me the dobsonian is a little bulky but if you can help set it up, it's a really easy scope to use, especially if you buy a red dot finder too. It will provide better views in my opinion of more things. I run an astro club at my school and within minutes the year 5 group were finding Jupiter and Venus/the moon on their own and tracking manually. This was with the 200p that we bought for the school. It's genunely that easy to use. As he progresses the extra aperture will help him find more objects.

I have not used the other scope mentioned but they get good reviews. A tripod etc can take a little longer to set up but would be very sturdy too I think, albeit not as sturdy as the dob.

As others have said, do get ome first hand experience if you can.

[garethmob]

welcome to the forum Kathryn and Gareth, (im also a gareth:) )

first thing i would do is pop along to a local astro society observing group (also there are many SGL groups one of which might be local to you) and we all use various sizes of scopes from the very smallest all the way to the monster ones, as the first thing i was supprised at is how big some scopes actually are than their pics show

a dobsonian (like the 200p) would need to be "nudged" slightly to keep objects in view but this is usally fairly easy to get used to personally i would say either a 150p or a 200p would be fine, all he would need then is a chair to sit confortable at the eyepeice, a cheap table to rest any astro books or eyepeices on, and a torch with a peice of red plastic over the end (white light can hinder viewing so red is more preferable)

another point is using a telescope 9 times out of 10 has to be viewed really outside in the garden, i can understand that during the summer this isnt really prefered as it does get dark quite late, but astronomy is one of the best hobbies as in the garden at least you know your son is safe

ask any questions you have on here some one will always help as this is a fantasticly friendly place and check out the communities area as there may be a group near you who could help out physically

gaz

[old_eyes]

I would agree with people's comments on the 200p Dob. I have one and it is a great scope, but it is pretty bulky and pretty heavy. There is a definite 'grunt' lifting it over the step into the garden, and it is only tolerated inside because we have a large house.

In contrast the Skymax will be easier to handle, and with the go-to facility will help you find things easily. But as people have said you need power-supply, dew-shield etc.

Unfortunately this is a hobby that tends to the acquisition of 'bits'. If you get the Dob someone will point out that a Telrad finder is a great accessory. You might think of not maxing out on the scope, but keeping some back for accessories.

However, as others have said, seeing and playing is a great help. If your local astro society is unhelpful, why not tell the group what area of the country you are in. You will probably find several members faily nearby who would be delighted to show off their scopes. That's how I decided on my first scope - the generosity of forum members.

old_eyes

[onesmallstep]

Hi and welcome to SGL

You don't mention where you're based but if your anywhere near Hertfordshire you might consider attending a star party being held this coming Saturday by Letchworth & District Astronomical Society. The details are on the star party subforum and the event includes the use of members' scopes so you and your son can try before you buy.

An alternative is to search for local astronomy clubs via the Federation of Astronomical Societies website. Type 'fedastro' into a search engine and click on the Member Societies link, information arranged by region / county.

HTH!

[Kevdan]

Hi and welcome,

Can I just add that at 11 years old, would he be expecting to see hubble quality views? , This isnt the case, actually far from it, If travelling to a starparty isnt a problem go along and ask if you can look through some of the scopes available. There is plenty to see and my opinion would be the mak127 purely due to the 200 being too bulky.

Hope this helps.

Kev

[itzme]

I just bought my daughter an astroscan from edmund scientific. I used it when I was a kid and it is super easy and fun for that age group.

Astroscan Plus Telescope - best selling beginner telescope | Edmund Scientific

The code ty2 gets you 12% off.

[Codmate]

I'd go for the 130p Flextube.

The views will be good and it will be much easier to set up than the Dobsonian with the 200mm mirror. I have a Dob of the same size and I find it reasonably easy to move, but it would be dangerous for an eleven year old; so this size of scope is out!

130p Flextube review:

Money spent on a 'Goto' type unit would be a waste IMO.

Not only could the money be better spent on accesories, but it discourages learning the sky, which is a great thing to do when you're eleven. This type of thing could even crush his interest as it removes the wonderful "I found it!" feeling...

Defeintly go to your local society meeting, have a look through some eyepieces and talk to some people!

Good luck and have fun!

[Tribal-Wolf]

For me it would be a good 2nd hand MAK or a refractor. Kids and dropping things down holes accidentally lol mean a newt may not be ideal but on the other hand teaching collimation etc might be a plus point.