Telescope for 8 year old - help please I'm confused

[peterbaker]

I am a new member looking for some help in buying a telescope for my son for Christmas.  I have no real life experience just what I have read on the internet.  My son  is 8 years old and I looking forward to getting involved with him.  I am looking for a beginner scope for looking at the moon and planets.

My budget did start off at £50 but I have realised I might need to stretch this. I want to spend enough so that my son has an enjoyable first experience but not too much in case he doesn’t like it.

I think I am looking for a refractor (not quite sure why) and I have been looking at 70mm refractors but wonder if I would still get a decent image from a 60mm or 50mm.

I have been considering the following :-

• Bresser Skylux 35x-337x available from Lidl at £69.99.  This is a 70mm scope with a 900mm  focal length I think.   Bresser seem to be a decent make and the price is within the new budget.
• Celestron Astromaster 70AZ (£75)
• Bresser Junior Telescope 60/700AZ Refractor £81
• To confuse issues I have just Groupon through for a Zennox Refractor Telescope 50*600mm  for £29.00 (reduced from £100 apparently)

I also realise I need to consider the tri-pod equatorial or alt azimuth.

The more I read the more confused I get so any help, comments or thoughts would be appreciated.

Are there any other models I should be considering?

In summary I want a telescope that will provide a good image of the moon and a some planets, easy for a child to use within a budget of £50-£100.

Many thanks.

[ronl]

The mount is the difficult part for a child to get to grips with

the Dobsonion mount is very easy to use, this one is perfect for

an 8 year old http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-heritage-76-mini-dobsonian.html

you will see planets easily with this, place it on a sturdy table

and away you go.

[Alien 13]

The best two starter scopes i know of are:

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

and

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/startravel/skywatcher-mercury-705.html

The 1st one is a little above budget but both are proper scopes.

[emadmoussa]

For a child I would go for an alt azimuth mount. Equatorial ones might confuse the little ones -at least in the beginning.

1+ for Ron's suggestion.

[Alien 13]

The mount is the difficult part for a child to get to grips with

the Dobsonion mount is very easy to use, this one is perfect for

an 8 year old http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-heritage-76-mini-dobsonian.html

you will see planets easily with this, place it on a sturdy table

and away you go.

I forgot this one that makes 3 for my list.

[step_hen]

+1 for the Heritage Dobsonian, especially if you can stretch your budget to the 130p version. You'll also find a star map or planetarium program really useful for finding your way around, such as Stellarium (free) or the many different apps available for smart phones and tablets. Also have a browse around the beginners section here- lots of good tips and guidance!

Stephen

[haitch]

There's no way that Groupon is really worth £100 I'd recommend steering clear of it.

Is there a reason you are going for a refractor? Reflectors offer more bangs per buck so to speak and in the dobsonian format even more so and are super easy to set up and use. Don't get hung up on collimation which tends to put people off reflectors. The small dob you have been pointed to is designed to hold collimation and in any case a bigger aperture, decent quality scope with collimation slightly out would probably give better images than a smaller poor quality one in collimation.

If you do stick with refractors go for alt az - equatorial is just too confusing for an 8 year old beginner.

Tbh- the best scope probably isn't a scope at all but a pair of binoculars but then that's not what kids want for Christmas!

That's all just my opinion though - others will differ and I don't know you well enough to know you circumstances.

Hope it helps!

[peterbaker]

Thanks for an amazing response.  I can't believe I've had 6 replies within 15 minutes of placing this post and I'm really grateful.  I like the look of the Mini Dobsonian and the Skywatcher Mercury 705.  I'll steer clear of the Groupon.  Not really sure why I liked refractors I think because it looks like a telscope and can be used for terrestial viewing also - however I am prepared to be educated.  Binoculors may be the best for viewing but aren't in the running for a boy's christmas present.

[Helen]

If you want terrestrial viewing then the Mercury is the choice,  I've got one on order for my 8-year-old niece for exactly that reason.  But I've also had good experiences with children with the heritage 130 scope and the wider field of view can make finding things a bit easier.  There's no wrong answer really between the scopes, just different.  One thing to note though is that the planets will be small in these scopes (and most scopes) but you will see detail if you take time to look and get your eye tuned in.  And counter-intuitively lower magnification can give better views as they may be brighter and sharper.

Have fun!

Helen

[cantab]

The Heritage 76 is nice to use, though I wonder how much the views will impress. Good for scanning about the Milky Way and for hunting down some nebulae, will be OK on the Moon (which looks good in just about anything), but not so good for planetary viewing. Planets though bright appear small so need high magnification to see the details, which means the optics need to be high quality, whereas deep-sky observing is done at lower magnification that "hides" so-so optics.

Slightly larger and just in budget is Orion's Skyscanner 100, which hasn't been mentioned so far. If you're in a city I reckon the extra inch of aperture will help "punch through" the light pollution. Larger again is the Heritage 130 that's been mentioned, over budget but I think really will impress, if I didn't have my 4 1/2 inch reflector already I'd have bought one.

Drawback to any of these is they're no good for terrestrial viewing. Also the two smaller ones will want a solid table or stool to sit them on.

A 60 or 70mm refractor on an alt-az mount would be suitable for terrestrial as well as astro viewing, the regular 90-degree diagonals give an upright though mirrored image. In your price range there's not really much difference in terms of performance for reflector vs refractor. However, the drawback may be a less stable mount.

And yes, the Zennox scopes on Groupon are worth about £30. They'll be a world of frustration, avoid.

[Alfian]

At the lower end of the price bracket, binoculars are a  ggod way to start - but to a small boys eyes binocular do not look like a telescope. The Mercury 705 is a really good buy.  The AZ3 mount will take bigger scopes (which is handy for an upgrade) so will nicely be a stable platform (which is really important) for the 500/70 scope.

[peterbaker]

Thanks for all your help and guidance.  I have ordered the Mercury Skywatcher 705 which will be delivered tomorrow.  I like the look of the Dobsonian telescopes but I feel the 705 is more versatile as he will be able to use it for nature watching as well.  I have put a watch on ebay for the Skywatcher Heritgage and the Orion Skyscanner and I may well pick up one of these as well (if I can get one at the right price) as I would like to understand better the differences between the two designs.  I like the simplicity of the Dobsonian's and they look ideal for taking on camping trips.

[RikM]

The Mercury 705 is a great package

[Nadia]

So I know this is some 5 years later from this post but I find myself in the same situation.

Grandson 8 years old and no idea where to begin. Have read and read everything on line I can find and am  more confused than when I started. 

My parameters are exactly the same as Peters above as I would like it to be compact with its own carry case. 

my choices have been narrowed down to:

Celestron 21035 Travel scope 70mm.

Approx £75

Most reviews state that the tripod is too flimsy but that isn’t a stumbling block as I have a spare tripod. 

I am concerned that some of the reviews give conflicting comments regarding the amount of screws and setting up. 

Celestron First Scope

approx £45

Seems to be exactly as titled

Orion 10015 4.5

approx £150

sounds very easy to start with and all the reviews are impressive. Lot more to spend but think it could be worth it. 

?‍♀️

Any advice greatly appreciated. 

[Alfian]

Why not the Mercury 705 as recommended above. Easy to use and pretty much "bullet proof", the mount is solid and will take a bigger scope should the need arise and at £99 I (at FLO) its superb value. The AZ3 sold on its own is £99 so you are effectively getting the scope free. Standard EPs that are supplied with most scopes are not so good, particularly the 10mm, so any extra cash could buy another EP and a barlow lens.

[Ricochet]

I don't think I would spend £150 on the 114mm Orion when the larger Heritage 130p is £140, unless you really want a solid tube.

If you think your grandson will want to use it terrestrially during the day as well then the Travelscope is the only suitable scope from your options, and the only one that comes with a carry case. 

If it will only be used at night the Orion Starblast or Heritage 130p will give better views I think.

[happy-kat]

If you have a spare tripod then I'll suggest the Skywatcher startravel 80mm ST80-T flavour telescope only, assuming your tripod is decently sturdy and you have a spare camera ball head.

A refractor telescope perhaps looks like what a telescope to an 8 year old expects it to look like.

[happy-kat]

Picking up on the suggestion of the Skywatcher Mercury 705 I remember this review by a member who bought one for their 12 year old.

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/223257-new-scope-for-young-eyes/

[Macavity]

48 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

A refractor telescope perhaps looks like what a telescope to an 8 year old expects it to look like.

I date by Astro Beginnings to the '63 "Observers Book of Astronomy" (SPM). At 9 y.o,
I sense I would have grasped the way a *refractor* worked, but maybe struggled with 
anything more "advanced"? Mind you, back in those days a "dreaded" 30x30 'frac! ?

I must have had quite a lot of patience / enthusiasm back then! 
But perhaps Science is something of a "Darwinian" thing! lol ?
It is rather wonderful what kids have available these days tho...

[Louis D]

5 hours ago, Macavity said:

At 9 y.o,
I sense I would have grasped the way a *refractor* worked, but maybe struggled with 
anything more "advanced"?

At star parties, I've found young kids immediately take to Dobs once you show them where to look and how to grab the tube to move it around the sky.  No slow motion knobs, no motor clutches, just simplicity itself to move.

[Macavity]

2 hours ago, Louis D said:

At star parties, I've found young kids immediately take to Dobs once you show them where to look and how to grab the tube to move it around the sky.  No slow motion knobs, no motor clutches, just simplicity itself to move.

Dobsonions always win. ? lol! [teasing]. In fairness, the OP intends to have
close father-son involvement? So perhaps my considerations of weight and
need for collimation etc. go away, assuming (knowlegeable!) Dad is around
to do whatever is necessary for however many times such help is needed? ?

My DAD was (by today's standards) "alarmingly Hands Off"? Not really into
Astronomy, but we shared interests in electronics (radio) and photography.
I  had a surprisingly unrestricted access to his cameras... soldering iron etc.
We talked "tech" all the time, but preferred our own space in *practice*? ?

[rockinrome]

For the age and experience I would deffo go for a Skywatcher Refractor - can't go wrong here.
My first scope was a "toy" 3" reflector and I was sad that Santa gave it to me (even though I had actually chosen it!!) What a failure. I would say it did dampen my interest a bit and that was a shame.
If you can afford it I would steer towards the ST80 (or similar). Good aperture and optics for such a scope and in years to come could be used as a photography scope and/or guide scope too .......

Even when you get more experienced, the best scope is the one you use the most.

All the best.