Help please

[Polly1982]

Hi I am new to this and a friend put me onto this site. My grandson wants a telescope for Christmas and I haven't got a clue I want him to be able to see moon and planets so want a decent one so he dont get board quick but not to dear I have had a look on amazon can anyone help me please. I don't mind spending about 70 to start with  thankyou in advance

Edited November 1, 2022 by Polly1982

[cajen2]

I wouldn't suggest that a beginner should buy a telescope from there. So many of their offerings are pretty useless.

Firstly, do some research. Have a look at First Light Optics' page "Beginners' Telescopes Guide":

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

It's going to be difficult to find anything worth recommending at a £70 budget but if you see something you fancy, you could always try the bay of e and see if there's a second-hand one for sale. I bought my daughter a Skywatcher 100p, which is a fabulous little scope but rather outside your budget. Similarly, a Skywatcher Mercury (has the advantage of looking more 'telescopy' for a child) isn't at all bad.

If you do find something you like and want opinions, please don't hesitate to get back on here and ask.

 

[Guest]

Well welcome to the world of astronmy.  I am just going to say it up front.  70 bucks is a pretty restrictve budget.  Here in the States it takes at least 80 to get started with something new and even then those won't be all that and a big bag of chips.  So you are probably in the used category unless FLO has something in that price range.  At any rate welcome to the group ask questions and you never know someone may have just what you are looking for laying around not being used 

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Mike Q

[Les Ewan]

I assume when you say 70 you mean £ 70. If so its fair to say your options are not great. However if you can stretch to £100 you could do worse than the Skywatcher Astrolux. Its a small Newtonian  of 76mm on a altaz mount. It will have limitations due to its small mirror but if these are  appreciated there will still be plenty to see and at least its a quality instrument and easy to use.

 

Also being a Skywatcher the quality is there to warrant upgrades at a later date such as better eyepieces and even fitting a simple equatorial mount.

A small refractor is another option but in my opinion they can be awkward to use because of the low eyepiece angles,I'm biased though I don't like refractors much!

Good quality binoculars of 7X50 or 10X50 type would also be a option if your grandson doesn't already have access to a pair.

Whatever you decide get the instrument from a astronomical dealer not from a department store I think most experienced observer would agree there. 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Les Ewan

[M40]

Hello Polly1982 and welcome. As has been mentioned, a budget of £70 is going to be more than difficult to get something that doesn't disappoint, so I am going to be a +1 for Les Ewans post and suggest binoculars maybe a good starting point, a set of 10 x 50 will be well within budget and can give great results.

If maybe you could go in with another family member possibly jump to a spotting scope? adding maybe a reasonable tripod and phone holder so your grandson has options for taking a picture? Another thing to think on is finding stuff in the night sky; a cost effective device called a planisphere is excellent for finding stuff together with a free phone app like Stellarium and he will be off and running.

All the best and keep asking questions.

[Polly1982]

That's the one I found should be £99 the reviews are good and says you can see the planets with it what do you think or am I wasting my money 

[vlaiv]

16 minutes ago, Polly1982 said:

That's the one I found should be £99 the reviews are good and says you can see the planets with it what do you think or am I wasting my money 

Pass that one for planets and the moon.

In that price range, this one is better:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/evostar/sky-watcher-mercury-707-az-telescope.html

It is a bit more expensive, but will offer sharper image and higher magnification.

[Les Ewan]

Hi Polly,

I'd be very wary, I've never heard of that brand. It maybe OK but there's a minefield of trash telescopes out there. Remember its not just money involved it could be the death of your grandson's enthusiasm if he's confronted with a substandard telescope. It's not worth the risk consult a proper astronomical dealership even if its just for a decent set of binoculars.  

[allworlds]

I have and can recommend, the Skywatcher Heritage 76. The mount is very stable and easy to use, and it's capable of widefield views which makes finding things easy. I think that along with an introductory book would do the trick.

I will admit its weak point is planets; because of the cheap mirror it's only good up to 50-75x or so. It'll show the main features - Saturn's rings, Jupiter's main bands, Venus's phase. Never had much luck on Mars with it. The Moon looks awesome in just about anything.

But really just panning the Milky Way, finding open clusters and upping the magnification to resolve them into stars, seeing the easier doubles, seeing cool asterisms like the Coathanger and Kemble's Cascade, that's what it shines out.

A good 6 mm eyepiece helps, but a good 6 mm eyepiece costs about as much as the scope did.

Now if you can up the budget, the Heritage 100P is a better purchase. Its parabolic mirror will make a big difference to the lunar and planetary views.

There's a few other scopes around similar to both. The main thing to watch for is the eyepieces. The Skywatcher ones come with "MA" (Modified Achromat) eyepieces which are alright. Kellners are also alright, but Huygens and Ramsden eyepieces are an economy too far.

Edit: Oh, and these are strictly for astronomical use, because the image is upside-down. If he might be more interested in nature viewing than in astronomy, a refractor would be a better choice. It's just nearly impossible to find a refractor on a decent mount and tripod for 70 quid.

Edited November 1, 2022 by allworlds

[JimB1]

This may not be exactly what you want to hear but my suggestion is a decent pair of wide field low power binoculars and either The Backyard Astronomer's Guide or Turn Left at Orion (or both).

You’ll be amazed at what you can see with just binoculars and he can learn all about the night sky without a huge outlay of cash. 
Just my opinion…

-Jim