Tabletop telescope for 7 year old.

[Alexiaqq2]

Hi,

So like the title says I'm looking for recommendations for a tabletop telescope for Christmas for my son. The main issue is it needs to be in stock and able to deliver to Ireland!! I've seen lots that I like, the Heritage ones have been mentioned to be on another thread and I'd love the Heritage 100p or the Heritage 90 but there's none to be found. I'd be happy enough to go with a 76mm and upgrade in a year or so if he stays interested. I can get a Celestron Firstscope easy enough but I've been told there might be better ones out there so I'm hoping I might get some recommendations here.

If I was going with a 76mm I'd rather keep it under £100/150 but I could stretch to around £200 if it was a bigger one.

[Alexiaqq2]

Does anyone know if this one would be better than the Celestron Firstscope -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meade-Dobson-telescope-LightBridge-Mini/dp/B077W7KN4R

[Ricochet]

It's better in that it comes with a finder, so you can more easily point the telescope at a region of the sky that you want to look at. Other than that, they're probably pretty similar. 

[Tiny Clanger]

The 82 means 82mm, which would make it slightly better than the 76  as far as mirror size goes.

https://www.meade.com/lightbridge-mini-82.html

suggests it may be discontinued, which would explain the reduced price. From that it appears to come with a couple of eyepieces , you can see it has a red dot finder,.

There's an old mention of it in a thread on here : https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/260219-have-anyone-tries-this-scope/

To be honest, the way things are with availability at the moment,  I'd have it in my Amazon basket immediately, then check out any reviews ...

[Nyctimene]

The Heritage 100 P is in stock here:

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p6827_Skywatcher-Heritage-100P-Tabletop-Dobsonian---100-mm---4--f4-Telescope.html

A very reliable German retailer; fast delivery; ships to Ireland at moderate costs. Have been their customer for years, and was always pleased.

Stephan

Edited November 30, 2020 by Nyctimene

[Tiny Clanger]

The seller who lists the Meade 82mm on amazon has the scope on their own website too. It's no cheaper than via amazon (once you factor in the extra delivery which is free from amazon) and it does say it's a time limited offer until Monday ... 'while stocks last'. There's more info on their own site though, including a downloadable instruction manual.

https://www.astroshop.eu/telescopes/meade-dobson-telescope-n-82-300-lightbridge-mini-82-dob/p,54294#tab_bar_0_select

[AstroMuni]

19 hours ago, Alexiaqq2 said:

I'm looking for recommendations for a tabletop telescope for Christmas for my son

Is there a particular reason to go for a telescope? Your son is quite young so thinking that a good pair of binoculars maybe easier for him to handle and manage on his own.

[Scooot]

8 minutes ago, AstroMuni said:

Is there a particular reason to go for a telescope? Your son is quite young so thinking that a good pair of binoculars maybe easier for him to handle and manage on his own.

See here  

 

 

[AstroMuni]

Looks like quite a few 7 year olds are getting into astronomy this Christmas 🙂

Edited November 30, 2020 by AstroMuni

[Second Time Around]

I've just bought a scope for 2 of my grandkids, one of whom is almost 7.  That scope is now out of stock though.

I think if it's for a Christmas present it's going to be a case of grabbing what's available.

There are 2 schools of though about starting with binoculars.  Personally, I'd definitely recommend a telescope over binoculars as a first purchase.  This is partly because very few binoculars can be folded together enough for a six-year-old. 

Partly too because a telescope will show wow factor objects like the rings of Saturn, whereas binoculars won't.  So for me, binoculars are a second purchase, especially for youngsters.  You may of course already have a pair of binoculars in the family.

Good hunting!

[Alexiaqq2]

My plan is a telescope and a small pair of either 8x30 or 8x42... as mentioned it's quite hard to find decent binoculars that have a small enough IDP for a 7 year old. I've gone with the Meade 82 dobson for now and I'm on the hunt for a not too expensive small set of binoculars to go with it. I'm hoping that if he keeps the interest we can upgrade to a better scope when he needs one when we have time to wait for a good choice to be available. It's been a whirlwind of a learning curve and this forum has been amazing for helping me with decisions!

[Nyctimene]

Make sure, that you get the Meade 82 with a parabolic primary mirror -the image quality will be definitely better. Look at the specifications- if "parabolic"  is not mentioned,  I'd  stick with the Heritage 100 P.

Stephan

P.S.: just found this review, have a look :

https://telescopicwatch.com/meade-lightbridge-mini-review/

Edited December 1, 2020 by Nyctimene
Info added