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Suitable telescope for a teenage daughter?


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Hi. I wonder if anyone can help with some advice. My daughter (14) is really interested in astronomy. She's done some research and wants to buy a telescope having got a paper round in order to raise some funds. She's happy to spend ~£80. One she's looking at is the Skywatcher Mercury 70mm telescope (on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/OVL-Skywatcher-Mercury-70mm-Telescope/dp/B0039ZVHM8) Not being a stargazer myself, I've no idea if this is suitable - has anyone had any experience with it? Is there a better alternative?

Many thanks,

Ben

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I do not have any knowledge of that scope so I hope someone will be along to give a knowledgeable answer. But looking at the picture I think the mount will be weak and wobbly - although at her age I used a similar telescope and was very happy.

Why not put in a pound for every pound she saves - then she could look at this:

http://www.firstligh...p-flextube.html

It gathers 4 times as much light at the mercury and it has twice the resolving power, so it will be better on both planets and deep sky objects. It is a bigger scope, but it takes up less space when stored.

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Hi and welcome to SGL

The type of scope that would suit your daughter depends on her observing interests. It's a shame you didn't post this question yesterday as one of the astro societies I belong to held a public star party so the both of you could have turned up and looked at (but not through) the scopes. Our next meeting is the 31st of October, check www.ldas.org.uk for details and turn up, chat to a few of us and get a few ideas.

I've had a look at the scope in the link in your post and it's a good starter scope but I would rather buy one from a dedicated astro supplier. The scope itself would be suitable for the moon and planets but would possibly struggle to show the majority of deep sky objects. An alternative starter scope in your daughter's price range in the Skywatcher Heritage 76 mini Dobsonian (link below). The reflector design is a good all-rounder and is easy to set up and use. It also comes in under budget so she could buy a moon filter and/or extra eyepiece.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-heritage-76-mini-dobsonian.html

I hope this helps.

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I bought the 76 mini dob for my grandson and was not too impressed with it. Views of planets were particularly poor, and it will do no better on DSOs than the mercury.

I think for a 14 year old the mini-dob might lack the wow factor of a nice long refractor.

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Where about in Herts are you, there are a few clubs that it may be worthwhile visiting, also a reason for asking mentioned later.

Concerning the scope, almost the standard it's a scope perhaps not great but better then nothing.

The similar one is available elsewhere under a variety of names:

Skys the limit on their ebay shop do it for £69 called Phenix 70.700 - my concern here is it is shown with an erecting eyepiece and I think they are a waste of time. Not sure if the scope can be set up without it.

TS have it at 80 Euro, as a bit less at about £65, called Starscope 70/700.

Except that it is way above budget I would have suggested the 80/600 scope on Sky the Limit site, but that is £136.

Concerning Skys the Limit: The place is run by Alan (surname unknown). The non ebay site is:

http://www.skysthelimit.org.uk/index.html

The ebay site has more on it then the "direct" site, Alan lives in Welwyn Garden City and goes the the Hertford Astro society so if you were around there and visited you would probably meet him. Hence the question of where in Herts.

TS are a German site and very good, people here have bought bits and no problems.

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Don't rush into buying a scope for your daughter, take some time and go to your local Astronomy Group, have a look through as many scopes as you and she can and ask questions.

There are lots of choices and pro's and con's.

We have a young girl in our group although a bit older @ 17, she bought a 150mm Newtinain reflector on an EQ2/3 mount after careful thought. This set up is reasonably inexpensive to buy but a bit beyond your current budget (£290) but the longer you wait the more money she will have saved and then there is Christmas coming up?

Anyway she has, over some months, upgraded the mount with the addition of a polar scope and motor drives to make it 'go to' and added a webcam to do some planetary imaging.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-150p-eq3-2.html

I've been really impressed with the performance of her set up.

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Hi. I wonder if anyone can help with some advice. My daughter (14) is really interested in astronomy. She's done some research and wants to buy a telescope having got a paper round in order to raise some funds. She's happy to spend ~£80. One she's looking at is the Skywatcher Mercury 70mm telescope (on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/B0039ZVHM8) Not being a stargazer myself, I've no idea if this is suitable - has anyone had any experience with it? Is there a better alternative?

Many thanks,

Ben

I have bought one f those for my 10 yr old daughter, and found it a bit of a let down.luckily I bought it second hand for £25, the price was right to a punt.

They do not hold their value very well.

I would seriously consider attending a local society, so she can get a good appreciation of what you actually see, it really isn't all Hubble and cox (please excuse the expression)

Hold on a little longer and save a little more money, for a scope that won't discourage her passion for this great science.

You can't beat learning the sky, with binos as a starting point. I still have my old 10x50's I was given when I was 10. And are used by my children.

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All sorts of wise answers - but we have here a 14yo who wants a scope - and wants it now. The Skywatcher 70mm at that low price will be perfectly brilliant - first views of Saturn will blow her away - OK the tripod may wobble a bit but that doesn´t matter. She can still enjoy it while saving for the EQ6. And never forget the best scope is the one you use the most - the lightweight grab´ngo is often used a lot more than the heavyweight GEM that takes an hour to get up and running.

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I remembered this little 114 Skywatcher reflector getting a nice a review in The Sky at Night magazine and when I went to look at it on the FL site it had the Sky at Night stamp of approval on it. It's £125 or there's a slightly bigger one for £159.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-skyhawk-1145p.html

You certainly get a lot more for your money with a reflector. However, If you are interested in a little refractor then these little 80mm ones are decent for the money. I have a similar Orion model I throw in my suitcase when I travel and use as a grab and go if I don't want to setup my main scope. I was over at my fathers house the other night and showed him a lovely view of Jupiter.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/startravel/skywatcher-startravel-80-eq1.html

Its £90 without a mount, £126 with a little EQ1.

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I'd agree that it's worth getting to a star party or something similar if you can before coming to a decision.

So many people say positive things about the 130P Heritage that I think it would be hard to go wrong with and it's an awful lot of scope for the money, which is not to say that it doesn't have it's little foibles, but it's hardly alone in that. Below that price there are still some scopes that will do a perfectly good job and an awful lot that belong in a skip. I don't know the scope you're suggesting, but I think Ganymede12 had one and found it a bit restricting.

If £80 is all the budget there is I'd definitely give binoculars, perhaps on a tripod for stability, serious consideration. An awful lot of astronomers have them for use when they're rushed, when the weather is unpredictable, or just because they enjoy using them. I quite often use mine when I'm imaging and have a few minutes just to look at the sky whilst the image capture is happening.

The problem with small aperture scopes is that whilst they may give ok views of the moon (even the sun with a suitable filter) and some of the planets, they just can't collect enough light to show most other objects as much more than a dim fuzzy grey blob. There's no real substitute for looking through one to get an idea of what you're likely to see. I think it's actually quite a tough call with children to balance getting a scope that will provide enough to give a wow factor and keep the enthusiasm going against the budget available and the potential for a later loss of interest.

James

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you could also look into a second hand telescope - though perhaps you might not want to as there is a risk of being sold a lemon.. however some Tal-1 telescopes come up used of ebay that have a good reputation. Also check out: http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php On that site there's currently a tal-1 telescope and a 6 inch dobsonian (homemade mount) both for sale at 80 pounds.

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I would go for a dobsonian. Easy to use, easy and quick to set up, you don't have to pay a lot for the mount (so money goes on the optics) and can be used for planets and deep sky stuff.

If you can find a local astro club thne go along and 'kick the tyres' as it were. You'll find loads of people who can advise and then I would consider getting someone to help you get a secondhand option. You'll need need a little hand holding on that one, hence I suggest the local astro club.

Typed by me on my fone, using fumms... Excuse eny speling errurs.

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