Suggestions for beginners at Christmas

[AlexG]

Sticking my neck out here but every Christmas there are parents, grandparents, uncles etc looking out for a present for young people and sometimes older people who might be interested in astronomy.

And after every Christmas we hear from people who have ended up with a Jessops/Tasco cheap refractor only to be told they need to spend around £130 for a simple but reasonable first telescope.

Could we put together a list of somewhat cheaper gifts that are a good intro to astronomy (preferably from personal experience?)

Kicking it off I bought a £50 pair of 10x50 binoculars which were good for the moon, Orion nebula, pleiades, international space shuttle - showed Jupiter and Saturn as discs but no other detail.

They are also good for birdwatching, sports events etc so not a waste if the astronomy bug doesn't bite this year.

There are also quite good reports about the Celestron firstscope 76mm which is just £44 (!) now. And I have just spotted FLO has the Skywatcher heritage 76mm mini dobson which looks the same for less than £45 too.

The Celestron has poor eyepieces apparently which would need to be upgraded, but the Skywatcher has upgraded eyepieces according to the FLO site.

Another blogger is enthusiastic about it

Blackholes and astrostuff: Review, "Celestron FirstScope"

I haven't got personal experience of it but anything that can show rings of Saturn and moons of Jupiter for £44 sounds a good intro.

AG

[Brunty12345]

for a descent telescope which is good for beginners will cost around £130, and i have learnt do not go to stores such as argos and such places like that for telescopes because they are poor quality knock offs, go for popular names such as skywatcher, celestron, meade etc. thats about all i can say lol

[alfingido]

The problem is, it depends on budget and what people class as a "starter or beginners scope", though I understnd where you are coming from.

Most people only want to spend up to a couple of hundred, usually less, to see if they like the hobby, but some can afford thousands.

Allan

[Astro_Baby]

Its sad that on ebay there are a constant stream of dreadful scopes that cost MORE than a decent starter scope from a reputable manufacturer.

I have recent seen some awful junk go for silly prices.

If I were going to nominate a scope for a beginner I'd put the Sky-Watcher 130 at the top of the list as its a good all rounder, cheap enough to get started with and powerful enough to get some good views.

For a bit more money some of the clearance bargains at FLO are hard to beat.

[pvaz]

I agree. The cheapest scopes I would recomend would be the skywatcher 130p that seams like a great all rounder. For a bit more the 150p dob would always be my own cheapest first choice.

For a child under 12yo the heritage 76 mini dob may be great but I don't see an adult having much fun with it.

[AlexG]

No I am not suggesting proper telescopes - that's for later. I am talking about much cheaper presents people can get without wasting their money or putting people off. I am suggesting this so anyone coming to the forum for present ideas will get some suggestions.

A friend of mine gave me his list: the book "Turn left at Orion", a David Levy planisphere and Philip's Night Sky atlas plus some money towards a proper telescope. He sent those to his teenage nephew, who had the use of some binoculars and used the atlas to go moon exploring. Low key but a good grounding.

[russ]

It's hard to come up with a good scope for under £100, let alone under £50.

For kids i would go with one of the small dobs, EQ's are pain in the backside for a newbie. They have no idea what to do with it and normally end up with it some wierd arrangement that just won't work. It's just something they really don't need to be worrying about.

I've looked though the Orion XT4.5 and the Starblast 4.5, both were cracking. I amazed just how good they were. The Heritage 130 would a good choice with ample aperture for a beginner (young or old).

There's also the Skywatcher 80T spotter OTA for £80, providing they already have a decent camera tripod at their disposal. And the Skywatcher 90AZ throws up cracking views of the things a newbie (young or old) would want to see.

But all those options are in the £80-£160 range.

Perhaps just a pair of Meade 10x50 and a good book would be the best option.

[Tony.S]

I would go for a well known make second hand scope.

They can proberly be bought for about half the price of a new one & as long as they are in good condition & have been well cared for can be a real bargain.

Also I would do a quick google search for a review on any particular scope before I bought it.

[russ]

I was going to suggest secondhand (always the best way for a good deal) but then thought it's great for us well seasoned lot who know what to look for but for a newbie it could be a real minefield. And no warranty to fall back on if it is faulty. If they know someone who can help, that would change things.

[jimhaleysscomet]

The best gift for a budding stargazer is the book Nightwatch by Dickinson and perhaps a link to this site.

The celestron 76mm first scope (and all the tiny dob clones with 300mm focal length) is a toy. An experienced person can get a few views out of it (just the same as binoculars). But a newbie without help will look at the moon (great in every scope), Jupiter (horrible in this scope), and perhaps saturn and then put it away in the closet.

[cloud9]

AlexG. That "£50 pair of 10x50 binos" Could i possibly have a link to where you bought them from. and was it online or in a shop?

[AlexG]

Yup they were Centon 10x50 from Jessops. Don't think they stock them any more. They looked like this Centon 10X50 ZCF Binoculars, Reviews & Price Comparison but can't remember if ZCF or some other designation. I remember having to sort through about 5 pairs to find a good one (one pair had a broken lens deep inside!). I no longer have them as i dropped them and they became cross eyed.

I now have a pair of Strathspey 10x50 waterproofs for £80, very good. He has some at £30 too. Contact John at Strathspey binoculars. He is very friendly, gives impartial advice and knows his stuff. For instance his site shows how to hold binoculars so they don't tire you out - and he's right!

AG

[jazzmeister]

Not sure on the quality of this scope but Telescope Planet in Cross Hands South Wales have this starter package for under £50 and it is a 70mm refracter which is more than adequate for a beginner, plus you get some free binoculars so certainly worth an investigation???

Telescope Planet TP400 70mm Christmas Telescope Package

I use this shop a lot and if you speak with Dr. Wainwright he will give you lots of free advice, and he is seasoned astronomer so knows what he is talking about.

[jazzmeister]

You may also be interested in this one for under £50 made by Celestron:

Celestron First Telescope (IYA 2009)

Happy Christmas one and all!

[jazzmeister]

And another from Skywatcher, (also has a review from Dr. Wainwright)

Skywatcher HERITAGE IYA 2009 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL EDITION!

[geoff_k]

I don't think Christmas is not always the best time to buy a scope as High Street shops put what they like to dub 'telescopes' on sale. Most are so poor that they will end up on E-bay or in a car boot sale. I managed to dissuade one person from buying a Jessops telescope.

I remember one review of a particular shop-sold scope rated it only marginally better than binoculars.

There is plenty of good advice to be had from folks on here, but sadly not everyone knows about this forum and I suspect there will be a few unwise purchases this festive season as there always are.