Best telescope for me and my 6 year old son?

[thrax30]

Hi

my son has been mad on space for the last 6 months, wanting to know all the facts about our solar system and the planets etc. It was an interest of mine when I was a child, and all the talk has sparked my interest off again!

He has asked for a telescope this Christmas and I'm currently deciding which is the best one to buy him. I'm not wanting to spend over £150 on one just incase his fascination with it all doesn't last long. I've decided that a dobsonian would be the best, and I am thinking of purchasing the Sky Watcher Heritage 130P FlexTube Dobsonian telescope from -

Sky Watcher Heritage 130P FlexTube™ 130mm (5.1") f/650 Parabolic Dobsonian Telescope (inc book set)

as this comes with a free barlow lens (not sure what the quality is like though!)

The reason I'm looking at a dob is because they are a 'grab and go' scope, I feel he would become too bored whilst I set up a scope on an equatorial mount, I don't want anything complex looking putting him off.

Do you feel this is the best dob I can buy for the money I want to spend? Do any of you own this scope and what do you think of it? And finally, what accessories would I need to buy with it? Moon filter etc.

[ollypenrice]

Probably a good buy, though might a solid tube Dob be more robust and quick to set up?

I don't know the supplied EPs and Barlow but others will comment. A collimating eyepice would be a good idea, I'd say. Also some kind of system of charts, whether an IT download like Stellarium or a book of paper charts and a planisphere?

Olly

[dweller25]

The 130 flextube is OK but this is serious kit and very manageable ....

Dobsonians - Skywatcher Skyliner 150P Dobsonian

[russ]

I know the 150P is vastly superior to the Heritage but there is a snag with the 150P and that being it's too tall and too big for a 6yr old to reach the eyepiece or manage the scope. My 7yr old could not get near the eyepiece on the 200P and it's the same FL as the 150P. I think the Heritage 130P is ideal for a child of that age. It's a scope that is small enough for the child to use alone (they get very stroppy if you interfere too much). Although the open tube is a bit of a worry with a young child and it doesn't take a huge leap of imagination to see an eyepiece dropping into the lower tube.

On the other hand, if the adult is always going to be present and want to use the scope as well, then the 150P makes more sense. Just have a step handy.

[johninderby]

The little Heritage 130 dob isn't too bad for the money, but the 150 solid tube dob as recommended above is a lot more robust and has better optics and a better focuser as well. However the eyepiece is farther off the ground.

An alternative, but a bit too pricey really, is the Orion StarBlast 6 Astro Telescope, as while it's a 6" dob it's only f/5 so the eyepiece is a lot closer to the ground than the Skyliner 150.

http://www.scsastro.co.uk/catalogue/orion-starblast-6-telescope.htm

John

[Mouse on the Moon]

I have a 130p Flextube and can absolutely recommend it for what you want. My 5 year old daughter can reach the eyepiece with no problems at all and it packs away nice and neat!

I needed an ultra-compact scope but without sacrificing the quality of the image, and I've very pleased with it's performance.

You can pick these up second hand occasionally (mine was £70 from fleabay) which will leave you with some spare cash for some new eyepieces.

The EP's that come with the scope are a bit rubbish and the supplied barlow will probably make things worse.

Second hand plossls and decent barlows are cheap and once you have 50 posts you can search the "for sale" section of SGL!

Hope this helps - feel free to ask anything

[thrax30]

Thanks for your replies so far, it's definitely going to be either the Sky Watcher Heritage 130p FlexTube or the Skyliner-150P 6" Dob.

I've seen the 6" Dob for £199 at

Starter Scopes for New Astronomers of all ages

I know you can get it cheaper elsewhere (£179) but this comes with x2 Deluxe Barlow Lens.

Which one will give me and my son the best nights viewing together

Now to make my mind up Help!!

[russ]

The 150P will give you both the best nights viewing. Just have a box or 3 step ladder handy for your son.

I would go with the £179 deal and use the money saved to buy an extra eyepiece. The Skywatcher Ultrawide 6mm is a great eyepiece in that scope and only costs £25 delivered. Would give vastly superior results compared to the 10mm and barlow included with the scope. And 200x is nice power to observe the moon and planets with, useable most nights of the year. But you may want a second lower eyepiece for the not so good nights, perhaps the 9mm (133x).

http://www.scopesnskies.com/prod/Sky-Watcher/%20Ultrawide/%20Eyepieces.html

[thrax30]

Excellent! Thanks for your replies, I'll definitely purchase the 150P for £179.

Russ - I'll use the money saved to get the Skywatcher Ultrawide 6mm eyepiece and possibly the 9mm.

Is there anything else I need for the scope, filters?

[russ]

That should give you a good setup to get under way with. The 25mm that comes with the scope is actually okay and will do fine as a low power eyepiece. I pretty sure you'll still get the 2x Barlow with the £179 deal, which would give you a 12.5mm eyepiece when combined with the 25mm. All bases covered.

Oh you will need some form of collimation device. A simple colli-cap is fine for the job and cheap at £7.

[yeti monster]

Which ever you get, I hope you and your wee one have loads of clear nights viewing. Get a good wide field EP to take in the star fields, they are spectacular.

[thrax30]

Thanks again for your replies!

Anyone point me in the direction of a cheap colli-cap? Just post a link if you know of one. Thanks for you help.

Also, do I need to buy a moon filter?

[the_laughing_crow]

Speaking as an adult, the 130p is a little gem. I've yet to be convinced that theres a better scope out there for the beginner. You get a lot of bang for your buck, its small, very easy to use and provides superb views.

[russ]

It appears the Colli-cap is longer available

You could go with one of these:

ScopeTeknix Cheshire eyepiece for collimating Newtonian and other telescopes

or one of these:

Collimation - Cheshire Collimating Eyepiece

I bought one of these, popped the badge off to reveal a hole in the centre, painted the back black and added a paper circle. That's basically all the Colli-cap was anyway.

Astro Engineering Astro Engineering Posh 1.25" dust plugs (AC756)

There maybe one in their astroboot for £1.50 or £2.

[red dwalf]

ask around on here to find if there`s anyone in your area who could help with setup and colmination of the scope, i bought a skywatcher 130p auto trak for my daughter 2 christmas`s ago and it was a great scope for the money, very light and easy to use, but i knew nothing about astronomy, but asked on here and found some now very good friends that helped out alot with my lack of knowledge, it`s alot easier for someone to show you how to do a job than read about it and understand nothing.

good luck

Rob

[russ]

There is indeed two dust caps in the Astroboot for £2 each and there's also a 1.25" ND (moon) filter for £3.

AstroBoot

[optical thrombosis]

I can't improve on the advice here - but I can wish you and your boy the very best - have lots of fun, Kids really get the 'wow' factor when they see planets through the eyepiece. Spend any leftover cash on 'Turn Left At Orion'. This book, published by Cambridge University Press is possibly the best beginner book for instant gratification I have ever come across - that plus a red light torch should be nestled next to the scope every night.

[dweller25]

And download Stellarium - it's free.

Stellarium

[thrax30]

Thanks again for all your replies! In particularly Russ, appreciate the help with tracking down some of the items i need

[russ]

No worries. There's something special about being out in the garden observing with the kids. As others have said, i wish you and son all the best and hope you have some great moments. Look forward to hearing how it all goes.

[AkiThePirate]

I would definitely recommend the 150mm, as I own a 200.

You'd have fantastic views of the planets, you'd see Jupiter's moons, easily see Saturn's rings, see Mars' polar cap, etc.

And when that's all done, you'd be able to pick off a lot of clusters and at least ten galaxies.

It's also light enough for somebody(Not a six-year old, though) to pick up and take outside in one piece. I'd also expect the eyepieces on the 130 to be a slightly lesser quality, but I might be surprised.

[thrax30]

Thanks again for all your replies.

I have a question about the dob with regards to planetary viewing. I have no problem with finding and tracking the planets manually, but I'm just wondering when I find one and then ask my son to take a look, will the planet still be in the field of view long enough for him to see, as I have a distinct feeling he won't be able to manually track back to it himself.

[russ]

This is a problem with dobs. But at moderate powers (120-150x) the planet doesn't zoom off too quickly and my son has no problem getting a good look before he announces it's gone. And he will try and keep the object in the eyepiece and is getting quite good at doing so. Not always successful but not bad.

Obviously this is where a driven EQ really scores above the dob. But you have a far less capable optical tube.

[thrax30]

Thanks for that. I had thought about an auto-trak for a split second, but I really like the look and spec of the 150 dob. As he gets used to the scope, and gets a little older, I'll try and teach him to track, at his age now, he's just a little heavy handed!

I was up late with him last night as he wanted to watch a solar system doc! The little lad can't get enough, and then when darkness came he wanted to go out to the back garden to see Jupiter again (shining really bright at the mo).

Christmas can't come soon enough for him (and me! We both want the scope now!)

[dweller25]

If you buy a wide angle eyepiece the planets will stay in the field of view much longer. Something around the 8mm (x150) or 7mm (x170) will be ideal.