Telescope for special needs child

[Mick504]

I’m considering purchasing a telescope for my 5 year old grand nephew. He was born with Spina Bifida, is often in a wheelchair but can standup. Right now he calls most planets Mars but with time I think he would improve. Due to his physical issues attaching a cellphone or an  usb mount to hook it to a computer will be necessary. I need  something simple to set up and adjust, so he won’t get bored waiting, and make it easier for his parents. The cellphone mount is necessary due to uncontrollable head and hand/arm movements. I want to encourage him to investigate things he shows interest in pursuing. 

My dilemma is I’m on disability and need to keep the price ~ $200-150. I know that’s not a lot of money, but to invest more at this time would be pointless. I’d like to get the most bang for my buck and realize the cellphone/computer mount would be and extra expense. His parents also own a DSLR, so if there are mounts for those that’s also an option. If there are options slightly above that price range that are significantly better for the price, please point those out as well because I could always get my brother to chip in to split the cost ?. 

Thank you in advance for any and all advice! 

Mick

[JTEC]

Mick, I’ll attempt a first reply to your question. I expect others will want to chip in and their ideas may be more helpful than mine.  I’m a former educational adviser and have had experience of provision for children with special educational needs - I mention that only so you know that I have some basis from which to comment. 

Your grand nephew is really too young, in my opinion, to make the most of the opportunity you’re wanting to give him and in the way that you have in mind.  If I’ve understood you correctly, you’re trying to provide him with a way to experience the night sky for himself - which in itself is fantastic. However, I would not be focusing on technological ways of doing this. The ‘imaging’ process you’re considering is far from fuss-free: the telescope and camera will have to be pointed, focused and kept on target as the object being observed moves across the sky. From the standpoint of your grand nephew, the experience will be essentially indirect and hands-off. Even if he is a very clever little 5 year old most of it will have to be done by someone else. I imagine that would cause him to lose interest quite quickly. 

 I think I was 8 when my Dad first showed me Orion from our suburban backyard - that memory has stayed with me and the experience probably lit the fire under a passion for the stars that has been part of me ever since.  Show him the sky, point out the Moon, a bright star or two, a prominent constellation even.  Read books with him. Talk to him if you have the  opportunity.   But he is still very young, so don’t necessarily expect too much by way sustained concentration and interest.  It might happen or it might not - but what you’re trying to give him is potentially a gift for life.  Best Wishes and Good Luck!

[carastro]

I am inclined to agree with the above comments.  Maybe when he is a little older you can introduce him to this.  The Moon will show up quite well by using a simple webcam hooked up to a computer.  But you will need software to do this and a bit of technical ability which members on here can probably help you with.  But would certainly give him the Wow factor.   This will also work for planets.  Deep sky will be another kettle of fish altogether.

Hats off to you for wanting to do this though.  

Carole 

[Alan64]

It's perfectly allright to start a child out at that age, if they've previously expressed an interest in the sky, and so the child in this instance has in fact: "Mars, Mars, Mars...".  As the child grows, so the interest, and with a firm foundation.

I would advise the getting of a telescope kit first, learning how to use it, learning everything about it, and then to tackle the integration of a remote viewing solution.

Ideally, you would need a go-to mount with a telescope attached to it, to keep the image of an object steady and on track.  You would then attach a webcam to an eyepiece, the webcam connected to a laptop or other with a viewing screen.  It can also be done with a manual mount, and with lots of practice in effecting the views from the eyepieces on a screen for the child.  You would need an equatorial mount to track, and it can be motorised to track automatically...

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1061420-REG/meade_216006_polaris_130mm_german_equatorial.html/?ap=y&gclid=CjwKCAiA4OvhBRAjEiwAU2FoJalBuT3-ipbnmWyvpl6wRpr6s_Q0TilbSHhfZGOEWsOGnqxAUtUyARoCuIcQAvD_BwE&lsft=BI%3A514&smp=Y

The motor-drive... https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1123835-REG/meade_616000_polaris_dc_motor_drive.html/?ap=y&gclid=CjwKCAiA4OvhBRAjEiwAU2FoJWzL5gHuEbIHIyjqrx_JcXxpzodkq1hlNilhn6_eiv8wFtyfmc--cBoCHhcQAvD_BwE&lsft=BI%3A514&smp=Y

The drive has a speed control, for centering an object in the eyepiece and making it stand still.  In winter, you would want to use a lithium-type 9V-battery.  In order to motorise the mount, the RA-axis must operate freely and smoothly, with no binding throughout its motions.  The mount may need to be loosened up at this point and that upon its arrival, or tightened up, whichever, and so to prevent damage to the drive.  The mount comes with slow-motion controls, which will enable you to track an object by hand.  For improved stability, the legs of the tripod should not be extended.  I can show you how to do all of that to the mount if you choose that kit, as I have one, too, but with a longer-focus Newtonian upon it...

The telescope itself would need to be checked for proper alignment, its collimation, and for sharp and pleasing images; upon arrival, and occasionally thereafter as the telescope is moved about and used.  The eyepieces and barlow included with that kit are not very good, but they will serve at first.  You will want to replace them with better as time goes by.

If you'd rather not deal with the collimation of a Newtonian, you can choose a refractor which usually has no need to be aligned, collimated, and that type of telescope mounted on an equatorial as well...

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1291493-REG/explore_scientific_fl_ar80900eq3_firstlight_ar80mm_f_11_refractor.html

The refractor of that kit would need a star-diagonal(for nighttime/celestial targets) to replace the Amici-diagonal(for daytime/terrestrial targets) that comes with the kit... 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/201981-REG/Celestron_94115_A_Star_Diagonal_1_25.html

Thoroughly research the following methods online, and the items themselves, before assembling a viewing solution...

You will need a webcam, that's connected to a laptop, to attach to an eyepiece.  Such is called eyepiece-projection...  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uSzBwQxRDU

The author of that video states that his webcam is of a standard PC-type, rather than a more expensive astronomical type.  You want a webcam with the best low-light sensitivity.  But I wouldn't use tape to attach the webcam to the eyepiece.  Rather, I would use velcro at a minimum; or make something with wood or plastic, screws and what-not, and for a frame-like adaptor.  There is also this method when wanting to use an inexpensive webcam, and where the camera would take the place of an eyepiece.  This method may require the use of a 3x or 5x barlow; or, with the eyepiece-projection method, and with the camera attached to the eyepiece instead...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gF6iHrZ4Rw

https://www.amazon.com/SVBONY-Filter-Adapter-Capture-Planets/dp/B06X917V27

3x barlow... https://agenaastro.com/meade-128-3x-barlow-07278.html

5x barlow... https://agenaastro.com/gso-5x-apo-barlow-lens.html

(Incidentally, a 5x barlow would not really be suitable for observing with eyepieces, and with eyes directly, but that would depend upon a user's personal preference.)

What a truly wonderful thing you're doing.  My best wishes for your success.

[lenscap]

Hi Mick,

I agree wholeheartedly with JTEC. 

Help your grand-nephew to learn his way around the night sky the way people have done for thousands of years, with his own eyes.

Think of the confidence & self esteem he will build by being able to recognise constellations & prominent stars & planets under his own steam, and to start to understand why the stars seem to move across the sky and the constellations change with the seasons.

Nowadays you can also use a planetarium program like Stellarium as a virtual telescope to zoom in on objects you have seen in the sky to reveal double stars, planetary detail, craters on the moon etc without the practical hassle of a scope , camera, and mount.

Stellarium is a free download for your PC  http://stellarium.org/

Good luck.

[Cosmic Geoff]

Don't underestimate the difficulty of getting an astro image from the telescope onto a computer screen.  Unless you use a large sensor chip (in a DSLR?) just getting the image on the chip and in focus is a challenging exercise in itself.  I once spent half an hour trying to get Jupiter onto a laptop screen and failing totally.   Webcams and planetary imaging video cameras generally have a small chip, yielding a small field of view when attached to a telescope.

Also note that while observing visually, you can vary the magnification and field of view at will by swapping eyepieces, but when using a camera, you can't. 

[Mick504]

Thanks to everyone who offered advice! I think I agree now that y’all that I might be over doing it. I will definitely check out all the suggestions. 

Mick

[Waldemar]

That is a smart decission Mick. I really appreciate your effort!!

You could show him a lot on a smartphone with one of the astronomy apps like StarWalk or Skyview. Zooming in will show some incredible pictures...
better then whatever you can show with a telescope, especially on a big screen.

Even the new Google Earth on the PC will do a great job in showing all the beautifull things up there and where they are situated.

 

[JOC]

I believe that it is possible for us 'mere mortals' to control some of these really big telescope arrays and do things like take astro images all over the internet.  I think I saw something like this on a documentary.  It might be worth you investigating.  Even if the time had to be paid for it might still be cost effective and more user friendly than your own kit would be and you could also easily back out if the interest waned.  I don't know any web-links to send you to, but Google might help or maybe other astronomers on SGL may know something about what I am describing.

[JOC]

Ah....Something like this service:  https://www.space.com/37729-slooh-opens-online-telescope-feeds-to-public.html there also appears to be a subscription service for control.

There appears to also be a list of services here:  http://www.swindonstargazers.com/noticeboard/noticeboard05.htm

[Stub Mandrel]

Hi,

This is a bit more than your budget, but not much, there should be a US equivalent:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/sky-watcher-startravel-102-az-gte.html

Combined with a cheap astro-webcam and the free version of Sharpcap you can very easily do 'electronically assisted astronomy' with images appearing on a computer.