Starting equipment for 6 years old

[Elp]

For ease of use a refractor will be better than any other type for sure. The shorter focal lengths typically with these also make finding or browsing the sky easier.

[Stu1smartcookie]

44 minutes ago, mr_belowski said:

my niece got a cheap 72mm short Celestron refactor on a basic alz-az mount / tripod and she *loves* it. It gives reasonable views but more importantly (for a 6 year old) it looks like a real telescope and she wants to use it and enjoys using it

absolutely my point

 

[bomberbaz]

7 hours ago, Elp said:

For ease of use a refractor will be better than any other type for sure. The shorter focal lengths typically with these also make finding or browsing the sky easier.

I agree with this sentiment entirely

6 hours ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

absolutely my point

However I will caveat that many kids will also be equally blown away with the tech side of things. That is why I liked the seestar, dwarf idea.

I guess it will depend on the individual child, much as our own observing depends upon us. For me, DSO rules, although I started out as a planetary man!

[EliinAfrica]

On 02/11/2023 at 18:00, Stu1smartcookie said:

I would suggest a refractor on an alt-az non computerised mount would be a good starting point as it would be casically maintenance free . Not sure what your budget is though , so that is a key factor . How easy is it to buy astronomy gear where you live ? Here i the UK i'm sure we sometimes forget that buying scopes etc can be somewhat challenging in certain places .

Thanks for your answer - any specific model in mind?

I am open in terms of budget, buying I would need to get in the UK and freight forward - which I have done many times, as far as stuff is properly packed it is not a problem.

If you can recommend a specific model (or more) I can have a look online.

Thanks a lot for your answer!

[EliinAfrica]

Thanks all for the great suggestions.

Here are some clarifications:

1) my daughter has the same attention span of a 6 years old of course but she showed interest in the sky since she was small and plays with a pretend telescope, I also always wanted to have a telescope and never did so I'd like this to become one regular thing to do together

2) I'd like her to learn about the sky and I'd be keener towards a traditional telescope for a series of reasons, once being that she doesn't have a phone and I am not a fan of gadgets, second that I learn to sail the traditional way before learning to use instruments and I understood much more of what is behind, so I think this is applicable to everything

3) light pollution close to none so we are good there

4) I really need something portable as we would move it around and also, I have to ship it from the UK, so the lighter the better

5) I need something sturdy and not over complicated to fix/maintain. Here the issue is the high humidity that kills a lot of electronics and challenges the mechanics too, so I need good quality equipment

6) we would definitely stargaze outdoors, climate is always warm here, so we got some advantages

7) budget is flexible within reason 

Thanks again everyone!

[Earl]

I always look at equipment that can have multiple uses rather than just one so in this case Binoculars are the ideal starting point, if they are successful and you want to go further refractor on Alt/AZ mount with a longer focal length to compliment the binoculars.

[bomberbaz]

1 hour ago, EliinAfrica said:

Thanks all for the great suggestions.

Here are some clarifications:

1) my daughter has the same attention span of a 6 years old of course but she showed interest in the sky since she was small and plays with a pretend telescope, I also always wanted to have a telescope and never did so I'd like this to become one regular thing to do together

2) I'd like her to learn about the sky and I'd be keener towards a traditional telescope for a series of reasons, once being that she doesn't have a phone and I am not a fan of gadgets, second that I learn to sail the traditional way before learning to use instruments and I understood much more of what is behind, so I think this is applicable to everything

3) light pollution close to none so we are good there

4) I really need something portable as we would move it around and also, I have to ship it from the UK, so the lighter the better

5) I need something sturdy and not over complicated to fix/maintain. Here the issue is the high humidity that kills a lot of electronics and challenges the mechanics too, so I need good quality equipment

6) we would definitely stargaze outdoors, climate is always warm here, so we got some advantages

7) budget is flexible within reason 

Thanks again everyone!

Given you have apparent excellent skies and will be joining in with her plus your preference for traditional as well as portable along with ease of use you really won't go far wrong with one of these:

Sky-Watcher Evostar 90 (AZ3) | First Light Optics

You have a reasonable aperture for a begginer scope, it is a traditional telescope in appearance and as mentioned is easy  to move around as well, sturdy and also simple to use.

[bomberbaz]

Oh and I would get a better diagonal than the 45 degree one supplied, cheap ones are available to get you going and you can update your setup to better stuff once you get into the swing of things.

One bit of advice often metered out is to get used to existing equipment before you upgrade, this usually refers to eyepiece however I would immediately upgrade the diagonal as mentioned above as it can be posted together with the telescope, see diagonal below:

Astro Essentials 90º Mirror Diagonal | First Light Optics

[Elp]

Dark skies? The world is your oyster. I wouldn't worry too much about shipping, this forums sponsor FLO deliver international. So you have a number of options:

1. A 80-100mm aperture refractor will provide excellent sharp views, isn't too heavy or large but it'd have to be paired with a decent tripod (I use a thick leg carbon fibre one bought of Amazon) and a decent alt az mount (I use a Tecnosky Cubo). The 100mm do get a bit pricier if budget is constrained, if not they'll offer more light gathering capability and focal length than a smaller aperture scope.

2. If storage isn't an issue, I'd go with a 6-8 inch dobsonian or larger, the mount is built into the base of the scope. You'll have to learn collimation but it's not difficult. Being an open design it won't suffer from dew as much as glass optics but there is a chance the primary mirror (rare) and secondary mirror (as well as eyepieces) can dew up but there are anti dew provisions you can use (dew heaters, hairdryer).  Note the larger size you go up you may need some steps for the little one to be able to see through the eyepiece comfortably if looking at targets overhead. The dob will work excellently on deep sky objects and planets.

Edited November 4, 2023 by Elp

[MartianHill]

Some suggestions @EliinAfrica…..

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

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/evostar/skywatcher-evostar-90-az3.html
 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/evostar/skywatcher-evostar-102-eq3-2.html