Help! What telescope do I get my son?

[Neens]

Hi there

I would appreciate any help you can offer on this. My son is 5, I know that seems young but he's super smart and completely adores space, the solar system, the universe, his knowledge astounds me. He's been waiting since his birthday for a combined birthday/Christmas pressie of a telescope and I want to get him one that will allow him to get a great view of the moon and planets in the solar system... what would you recommend? Something that's relatively straightforward to use, easyish to move around/travel with and most importantly will give him a great view and that he won't outgrow. I would rather spend more now on something really great, than get something cheap that might be disappointing. Am in NZ, so something around $500 is do-able, a little more maybe. I know that's restrictive in itself! I would be so grateful for any advice. Thanks!

[Dave Lloyd]

There are plenty of very young ladies and gentlemen who enjoy observing. There will be lots of advice on here. My tip would be to get him something that looks like a 5 year olds perception of a scope. That means a refractor, nothing too expensive but not a department store offering. Having said that First Light Optics who are quite prominent on here have a great selection of starter scopes including reflectors. HTH

[ampleamp]

Having lived in NZ for three years I know just how restricting that can be at times, but there are plenty compensations ;-)

I agree with Dave, get a refractor as it looks like a telescope, there is plenty time to adapt and change later on if the interest continues. Because of your restrictions you may find it easier to stick with the bigger names such as Skywatcher and Celestron, but something that can be easily sold on, again if necessary. Although a bit older, i recently got a Skywatcher Evostar 120 OTA for my own son and he loves it. This may be too big for a five year old, and you would need a tripod, but it is in budget and imo, an excellent scope for the money - i agree that if you can afford it, get something decent and not disappoint. Evostars also come in 80mm, 90mm, and 102mm flavours; that's where i would start.

[ronin]

Evostar 90, and a couple of plossl eyepieces.

Not sure about a mount as they are generally on a manual one. Often people want a motorised mount if nothing else just to track an object. So in many respects the mount is more a problem then a scope.

But the Evostar 90 will show Jupiter and Saturn, Saturn needs around 120x to 125x as a minimum. Do not go getting a small focal length eyepiece like a 4mm plossl - they are a waste of time. An 8mm is likely as small as makes sense. There are 7mm Celeston X-Cel LS eyepieces which may operform but was you get smaller the cut off in performance is sudden.

Maybe consider a moubt upgrade later when he is familiar with the scope and both he and you has a bit more experience to work with. But the Evostar 90 is a good option.

Alternatives may be the Bresser range, they have a similar 90mm but I think a 102mm get the long version, I have the short version and good for wide not ideal for highish magnification for Saturm. Not sure which is available in NZ. The 102 Bresser is likely more attractive to your son.

[Galen Gilmore]

Normally I (and many others) would recommend an 8" dob, as it fits the description. But because your son is five, it makes sense to choose a refractor.

Although I know nothing of refractors, so I can't really give you any other info.

[Geoff Lister]

If you want higher magnification for the Moon, and the "easy" planets, you may want to consider the following:-

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/heritage/skywatcher-heritage-90-virtuoso.html

As a rough guide, 1£ = 2 NZ$.

It is a Maksutov-cassegrain reflector but looks similar to a small refractor, on a simple Dobsonian table-top mount. The big advantage is that the mount has 3 modes of operation:- (1) fully manual, you just point it at the target, and give it the odd nudge to keep the target in view, (2) put batteries in it and, after a simple alignment, it will track the object, (and is fairly frugal on batteries if you line up on the target manually, and only use the buttons for final adjustment), or (3) add a Synscan handset for full GOTO (you would probably want to use an external power supply with this).

I find mine very easy to set up and use it in all 3 modes.

If you have a PC, it is worth downloading the free planetarium program "Stellarium", and when running, press the "F6" button and select a city near you, possibly Christchurch, or Auckland from the list in the scrolling window. Before closing the window, tick the "use this location as default" box. This should get you going, and there are many other options via the icons that become visible if you move your mouse pointer to the bottom left corner of the screen. By advancing time, you can plan your observing session before you go out into the cold after dark.

If using a tablet with built-in GPS and a magnetometer, download the free SkyPortal app, with the compass function, allowing you to point at the stars and get their names and their constellations.

Geoff

[happy-kat]

There's also a chance that mount will work with the WiFi dongle Skywatcher now do with the android app by Skywatcher Synscan which also works with the android app Skysafari 4 plus and up which gives goto.

[cletrac1922]

On 12/13/2017 at 19:49, Neens said:

Hi there

I would appreciate any help you can offer on this. My son is 5, I know that seems young but he's super smart and completely adores space, the solar system, the universe, his knowledge astounds me. He's been waiting since his birthday for a combined birthday/Christmas pressie of a telescope and I want to get him one that will allow him to get a great view of the moon and planets in the solar system... what would you recommend? Something that's relatively straightforward to use, easyish to move around/travel with and most importantly will give him a great view and that he won't outgrow. I would rather spend more now on something really great, than get something cheap that might be disappointing. Am in NZ, so something around $500 is do-able, a little more maybe. I know that's restrictive in itself! I would be so grateful for any advice. Thanks!

 

Cannot go far wrong with a Skywatcher Dob

Have a 5yo grandson, and he observes through mine regularly

Earlier in the week, was over at daughters place for dinner, and as leaving 5yo looked up and said

Look at the moon, isn't it big tonight

Then pointed out Orion, Sirius and other stars

With club belong to, do Space Badge Joey's scout movement with kids 5-7 yo's

Have so much fun with them, and question always comes up about black holes

Enclosed pic of my 10" dob, and also program Level 1 and 2 Space Badge for scouts

The Level 1 and 2 Space Badge program also includes craft activities, make model ISS, make a planetsphere

Enjoy your time together

John

 

 

 

Space Badge.docx

[Charic]

I would suggest the 6" 150P Skywatcher Skyliner Dobsonian, easy to set up, use, and the eyepiece is reachable to a 5 year old ( there could be issues of reach for a telescope mounted up on a tripod) just my opinion!

It's often said, children see /visualise a telescope that resembles a refractor, but why!, just teach them the alternatives? and unless you invest, the  visual reward will be dire.

No matter what the scope, the larger the aperture, the better the detail, you won't go far wrong with a 6" Skyliner, and when the time comes to upgrade, dad can acquire the 8" or larger, then both father & son can both enjoy the night sky at the same time.

Also don't discount binoculars! all astronomers should have a minimum of two in my opinion, wide angle, and a mounted pair for higher magnifications.

Lastly with Christmas/birthday just around the corner, it doesn't leave you much time to decide, but at the end of the day, it is your decision.