Help please.

[turtleglos]

Hi guys,I am new to this and although I enjoy looking at the night,I never thought I would be looking for a telescope! My 9 yr old son has had binocculars for 4 yrs and has told us he would like a telescope for xmas. We live near a big hill and he wants to be able to carry it up there and set it up by himself(after a while).They all seem very heavy to me,although I have seen the celestron travelscope which is light, I am concerned about how good it is though because of the price,ideally he needs one that is better than binocculars. I know nothing about telescopes and am now so confused please please help.

[barkis]

Do you have a budget, or a the high end limit for the purchase.?

Telescopes vary a great deal, but for a youngster, I would suggest simplicity of use should be a prime factor.

That would lead me to suggesting a Dobsonian mounted scope, which is quite easy to point at an object. It has two movements.

Altitude, and and Azimuth, usually shortened to Alt-Az.

The equatorial mount is a bit more complicated, and not so easy to manipulate for a beginner. As I say, budget will determine the best choice in either type. The Dobs usually allow for a larger mirror, which is the heart of the telescope.

There are Refracting telescopes, which have a lens, not a mirror, and usuallly are on an equatorial mount.

We can help you to spend your money wisely though.

Ron.

[turtleglos]

Hi Barkis,thanks for getting back to me. I dont have a huge budget, but will stretch as far as I can for the right telescope. I know that he will want a better view of the night sky than he gets with binocculars,and I know he wants to transport it uphill for about 1/2 a mile on foot. I am happy to get him a fairly basic telescope for now as long as it makes a difference to his enjoyment on the basis that in a year or so we will upgrade if he still wants to.(This is very likely as he is crazy about the night sky). Beyond this I know nothing and have a lot to learn,with so many brands and features to consider.Any help you can offer will be appreciated greatly.

Many thanks

turtle

[barkis]

Perhaps a good way to begin, would be for you to ask him his main interests as far as his astronomy goes.

Most youngsters go for the moon and planets. The moon is a very exciting subject, and will enthrall anyone who studies it with a decent scope. Of course the views are somewhat dependent on the phase of the moon. It is best viewed during the phase periods, and not when full. Of the planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and Mars, are populat targets. Of course they are not always best placed for observation, and he would need to do some searching in books etc.

Mars's orbit can bring it quite close to the earth, and affords a great opportunity to see details and the polar caps.

As well as the Solar system objects, which are what I have been referring to, there are the Deep Sky objectss, such as Galaxies, Nebulae, Double Stars, Open Clusters, and Globular clusters.

These latter objects are more easily seen in a decent sized objective, usually a mirror of the refecting telescope.

Since you say he has to carry the scope up a hill, a reflector iis a bit bulky, and normally breaks down into two sections. The mount, and the scope tube.

To give you an Idea, look at the top of the page on this forum, and you will see a logo for First Light Optics. If you click on that, it will take you to the site, where you can browse through the various types of telescopes.

If there is anything you want to find more about, just ask, and we'll do our best to give the information that you need.

Ron.

[ombos]

Small refractor, something like around the 100mm with a goto mount if the budget is good for it, check out FLO clearance section, he won't grow out of it quickly and you won't end up with a scope under your bed IMHO. Give steve a bell at FLO and you'll not be far wrong.