Beginner Telescope Advice

[Martha24]

Hi everyone,

My family and I recently just moved to the countryside and the stars are amazing there compared to the city. My dad has always had an interest in astronomy and I thought it would be a good idea to buy him a telescope for Christmas or his birthday. However, I'm so clueless as to what telescope to get. I was looking at the Celestron ps70/700 but I honestly don't know and I'm open to any recommendations. My budget would be around £100 if I got one for Christmas but if there are no good telescopes for that price I would wait till his birthday when my budget would be around £150. Also, would he be able to see some planets with a cheap telescope? Just like Jupiter or Saturn or would it just be the moon? Thanks in advance for any advice!

[Nyctimene]

This might be a solution (for his birthday):

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p6827_SSkywatcher-Heritage-100P-Tabletop-Dobsonian---100-mm---4--f4-Telescope.html

Very easy and intuitively to handle, good optics with a parabolic primary mirror.  It will show moon,  planets and the brighter Deep Sky objects quite well, especially from your dark skies.

Stephan

[AlexK]

Welcome to the forum, Martha.

Your best bet would be to look around for a used telescope in that price range on the local Craigslist (or its UK/EU analog free web service). Also, I'd check your local Facebook market as well. If your FB profile is decent (as sellers will check it no doubt) you may negotiate a very good price (been there done that). If still not 100% sure, just showcase your findings right here and we will lead you to the best bang for your buck among the options you see viable yourself (e.g. short drive from home).

The online store prices and delivery delays are on the steep hike lately due to the pandemics craze.

[toshapetriji]

Covid has played havoc with the astronomy supply chain and they are in very short supply right now. I buy all my equipment secondhand to increase my bang for buck so to speak, equipment for sale is generally in very good condition too so maybe worth thinking about.

Take a look here for some suggestions

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html

check out your local classifieds too.

https://astromart.com/classifieds/astromart-classifieds/eyepieces/show?page=1

 

Edited December 2, 2020 by toshapetriji
add a link

[Cosmic Geoff]

Astronomy is not a cheap hobby and £100 will not go far.  You can buy telescopes this cheap but they are likely to be disappointing.  The Skywatcher Heritage 130p is often recommended for beginners but is likely to be out of stock with most dealers.  Second- hand bargains can be had but you need to be able to inspect in person and be able to tell the difference between a good instrument and a dud.

The Moon looks great even in a small telescope, but the planets are likely to be less exciting except on an 'I saw it myself' level.

[jacobingonzo]

+1 for the Skywatcher Heritage 130p- do some research on the First Light Optics beginners scopes page as noted above and you could always order for delivery on his birthday- would also suggest contacting FLO as they are first class giving lots of good advice and very customer friendly-rushing to get any available scope for xmas would likely result in a disappointing experience for your dad.

 

J

[Tiny Clanger]

Welcome !

I'll endorse everything that has been said above. £100 is not enough to get a telescope which would be more than a toy. £150 is a more realistic minimum price , so I'd wait until his birthday. The heritage 130p would be a great choice, and some members who have only just received their first telescopes will I'm sure soon give their opinions either here or on other threads , have a  browse.

As has been said, supplies of telescopes are pretty desperate at the moment, covid + xmas means most good stuff is sold out, and the next delivery to the distributors is on a boat en route from China. Second hand might be an option, but you have the disadvantage of not being to spot a lemon, and you might not want to give a second hand gift ...

Whilst £100 wouldn't get you a decent 'scope, had you considered binoculars ? Plenty of reasonable ones in that sort of price range, and more likely to be in stock somewhere.

Heather

[Martha24]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'm going to wait till his birthday so I can get a better quality telescope. I'm also going to get my sisters involved so they can chip some money towards it as well. Is there any recommendations for a telescope in the range of £150-250? 

[Nyctimene]

Skywatcher Heritage 150 P Flextube:

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p12279_Skywatcher-Dobson-Telescope-Heritage-150P-Flextube---150-mm-Aperture.html

Gets good reviews, and would be a lifetime scope. Tiny Clanger on here bought one, and is very pleased. I'm sure she will  answer any  questions.

Stephan

[Tiny Clanger]

9 minutes ago, Nyctimene said:

Skywatcher Heritage 150 P Flextube:

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p12279_Skywatcher-Dobson-Telescope-Heritage-150P-Flextube---150-mm-Aperture.html

Gets good reviews, and would be a lifetime scope. Tiny Clanger on here bought one, and is very pleased. I'm sure she will  answer any  questions.

Stephan

Oh dear, I've been sussed 😀😀

Yes, I bought a heritage150p  nearly 6 months ago , and have found it to be a great starter 'scope. I wrote a fairly long post about it on another beginner thread here recently (first time I've tried an internal link, no idea if it works this way !)

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/366397-hi/?do=findComment&comment=3994800

Heather