Good entry level telescope

[DJGRIFF]

Hello

I have always been fascinated with the stars and beyond but never got round to getting a telescope. Now that my son has reached the age of 8 he is really interested and made me want to get my first one. However i have been looking at review sites over and over and they all seem and feel like they are just stating random scopes regardless. 

My budget is to £350 and i am hoping that some one could help me find a great scope to observe the stars and planets

 

Thanks

 

Daniel

Edited January 6, 2021 by DJGRIFF

[Zermelo]

Hello, and welcome to SGL.

You will be able to get a decent first telescope with that budget, though be aware that stocks are almost non-existent at the moment due to Covid.

I don't know how far you have looked yet, but here are some links you might find useful:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/365324-1st-scope-for-child/

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/365881-buying-my-daughter-her-first-telescope/

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

https://britastro.org/node/15810

https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/top-astronomy-kit/best-telescopes-beginners/

https://lovethenightsky.com/best-telescope/for-kids/

 

[Nyctimene]

You won't go wrong with a decent Dobsonian mounted telescope, as it is easy to set up and to handle intuitively; e.g. the "standard" 200/1200 mm Skywatcher:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

or, if storing/transporting is an issue, one of it's smaller brothers, the 130 P or 150 P Flextube versions:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/sky-watcher-heritage-150p-flextube-dobsonian-telescope.html

Enjoy the journey!

Stephan

 

Edited January 6, 2021 by Nyctimene

[Bongo]

Hi Daniel,

I was in pretty much the same boat as you late last year. I'm certainly no expert, but I too got bewildered by the options.

A lot of folks recommended binoculars as a better entry level option. Maybe that's an option for you. Personally, I wanted a telescope. I pored over reviews and discussions (this site was very helpful) and the pros and cons and fretted about it. In the end, I figured that any telescope was better than no telescope and just dived in and got a Meade 130mm Lightbridge (Dobsonian)*. It's still early days, but I'm absolutely loving it.

I think it's been discontinued now, or at least it's out of stock most places - there seems to be a telescope drought on at the moment. I don't know how it compares with the other options I could have taken, but I'm very happy with what I have. I'm sure there are plenty of comparable telescopes out there.

My main, personal takeaways have been:

• Almost any telescope is better than no telescope
• Dobsonian reflectors seem to give the best 'bang for your buck'

 

Good luck!

 

 

* For reference only, it was this one https://www.astroshop.eu/telescopes/meade-dobson-telescope-n-130-650-lightbridge-mini-130-dob/p,54287

[M40]

Hello and welcome to the site. Just a pointer, I don't know how tall your son is but Dobsonian's can be quite large and the eyepiece is at the top of the tube. When I had a 200P my wife at 5ft 3" had to stand on a short step ladder, not the safest method in the dark. The Heritage 130P stands at about 70cm so the eyepiece would be around that sort of height unless you put it on a table. Other options are refractors which have the eyepiece at the bottom of the tube, something like the startravel 120 or 102 then there is the slightly more expensive SCT or MAK, something like the skymax127, which also has the eyepiece at the bottom of the tube. 

HTH 

[wulfrun]

You could do with fleshing out some of the things behind wanting a scope. Such as:

Do you live in a dark-sky area, where you can use it at home and not have take it anywhere (far)?

Can you store it in (say) a shed or will it have to be taken out of the house each time (any stairs involved)?

Are you ok with moving something heavy and bulky or not?

Do you want it to find objects for you (Go-to) or are you happy to learn your way around the night sky and find things yourself (with charts/guides etc)?

Any ideas what sort of things you want to see? *

Worth noting that no one telescope suits all purposes or all people, compromises are probably needed. What suits me quite possibly would not suit you.

* you said "stars and planets" but planets usually require higher magnification and stars (loosely speaking) don't.

Edited January 6, 2021 by wulfrun
typo

[Ricochet]

I think with an 8 year old you really need a goto mount 

1. So that your son does not get bored waiting for you to find things. 
2. So that the telescope tracks the found object so that you have time to swap observers and for your son to observe the object without having to nudge the scope as would be the case with a manual mount. 

With that in mind the telescope that I would look to get for (almost) your budget is: 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-az-gti-wifi/sky-watcher-explorer-130ps-az-gti.html

Due to the current situation it is not currently in stock but this is something you will find with almost every telescope. 

[Tiny Clanger]

5 hours ago, DJGRIFF said:

Hello
I have always been fascinated with the stars and beyond but never got round to getting a telescope. Now that my son has reached the age of 8 he is really interested and made me want to get my first one. However i have been looking at review sites over and over and they all seem and feel like they are just stating random scopes regardless. 

My budget is to £350 and i am hoping that some one could help me find a great scope to observe the stars and planets

Thanks

Daniel

Hi Daniel, welcome to SGL. and junior too, eight is a lovely age , full of enthusiasm to learn .

A lot of review sites that pop up on searches appear to me to have little actual experience of practical use of telescopes, instead they just rehash the manufacturer's blurb and provide a link to amazon or whoever ( the site may get money from such links ...)

Many of us on here have recent experience of exactly your sort of situation though , so should be a bit more help. Zermelo has given some good  links , and I'd echo what wulfrun says about giving a bit more detail so our contributions can be better suited to your position.

In the £350 price band you will be making a decision between most of your money going on a good telescope , with a relatively simple mount to hold it, or a less good telescope  with a larger proportion of the total expenditure going on a more complex mount.  Personally I like simplicity , and if I was sharing my viewing with an 8 year old (exactly the age I spent most time teaching ) I'd want something robust too, so they could be hands on, otherwise boredom sets in fast. So I'd be buying a dobsonian, but reserving around £50-£100 of my money for a couple  of better eyepieces (or one zoom eyepiece) as the ones which come included in telescope packages are not terribly good .

Heather