Suitable Scope

[daddystargazer]

Hi all, my daughter (seven years old) has been asking for a telescope for the past two years. She loves all things astronomy related and this is showing no sign of fading. So this year for Christmas I wanted to buy her a scope setup, something we could do together and really get into as we don't share many other interests.

• I would prefer something with enough power/reach to pickup more than the moon.
  
• Something that can attach to a laptop maybe for tracking?
  
• Something that I can attach a camera to and document our. findings (print my daughter some posters).
  

I am a total beginner so forgive my lack of knowledge.... all help most appreciated.

[CGolder]

Hello and welcome to SGL,

do you know the budget you are looking to spend?

this will make a big difference when looking for computerised models.

Colin

[John Beale]

You didn't mention how much you were willing to pay. Celestron makes a 4" Schmidt Cassegrain that has computer tracking for around $500.00. The Nexstar 4se.Here is a link to one on ebay. Celestron NexStar 4 SE Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope - eBay (item 390248803668 end time Nov-04-10 12:33:53 PDT) It is easy to carry around and set up and easy to set up for viewing. I own an 8" model that costs a little more but the 4" is a wonderful "first" scope. Just my opinion. I hope you and your Daughter find one that you like and have many hours of enjoyment together.Wishing you clear skies.

[CGolder]

I normally recommend something like a evostar 90 on az mount or a Skywatcher Heritage 130p for a first scope for kids, they are simple up/down left/right movement scopes so are normally easyier to understand. they are also at a good price range.

I have a 7 year old and she loves looking through my scopes but I wouldn't let her operate a go to on her own as it would just make her get up set.

a eq mount would probably also be too much as this confuses many adults too.

[Chris H]

Hi and welcome to the forum. A scope suitable for a 7 year old to use and enjoy is not the kind of scope suitable for astro photography. For kids simplicity is the key for prolonged use and enjoyment, simplicity is not normally a word associated with astro photography. I recommend a 6" dobsonian telescope

Dobsonians - Skywatcher Skyliner 150P Dobsonian

It is a simple up/down left/right telescope, which does not require a power supply but you do have to search out your own targets, a 7 year old could easily set this up on their own. It will show excellent views of the moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn and many other deep space objects such as star clusters and nebula. If you want to produce posters the best thing is to print off pictures from the internet (remember that pictures produced by the Hubble etc are nothing like what you would see even through the biggest telescopes).

[daddystargazer]

Thank you for all your response, they've given me some food for thought.

Price range would be around the £300 mark at most.

I wouldn't expect my daughter to use this on her own as we have no garden. Trips would have to be planned and supervised so I'll always be with her.

They key for me is the ability for the scope to find objects for us, as we are clueless at present. Followed by the ability to starp on my Olympus E-P1 for snapshots.

[WayneR]

If budget becomes a problem, don't forget to consider the secondhand option to get more for your money.

[CGolder]

wanting a go to for a £300 budget does limit your options slightly, the main thing to remember is the larger mirror or objective lens the better,

soewthing in this range might be a good place the try, you have the syntrek (Autotracking) and synscan(full goto).

the 130p and the startravel 102 are both within your price, but then you will need to power the scope (batterys or powerpack)

being alt/az mounts will make these scopes less than ideal for Astro photography.

good luck in your search