can you recommend some qualities to look for in a telescope for a beginner?

Question

i am considering buying one as a gift for an eleven year old boy.

Answer 1

Wide lenses are better than long narrow ones. Next, you get what you pay for. Lastly, consider where you are using it and light pollution. Mine is practically useless in the city. 7x50 binoculars might be a better first step.

If you stick with a telescope, I would go cheaper first. If he doesn't take to it, it is an expensive hat stand.

Answer 2

Cheap scopes aren't very good except for looking at the moon and still, that isn't too good. Probably (and this is just a guess), most cheap scopes are collecting dust somewhere in the house.

As someone else mentioned, a pair of binoculars is better. There is nothing like laying on a lawn chair and gazing upwards.

Before I got my first scope, I was able to identify the brightest stars, many of the constellations and all of the visible planets and knew how the stars moved across the sky as the earth rotated each day and as the sun revolved around the sky each year.

Instead of a telescope, I would consider getting a subscription to either Sky & Telescope magazine (the amateur astronomers bible) or better yet, a subscription to Night Sky magazine which is more suited for beginners. Here is a link - http://skytonight.com

If the child then shows some genuine interest, then it is time to buy a scope, and not a cheap one.

Answer 3

Crispy has some very good points. Most importantly, it depends on what you are trying to do with the telescope. For looking at the moon, a pair of binoculars is terrific -- and cheap. Looking at the planets can be done with a small telescope. Astro-photography or deep-space observation requires a much larger telescope with a very steady base.

The single most important feature of any telescope is the aperture -- how wide is the end collecting the light. A 12" diameter telescope will collect four times the light from a distant object that a 6" telescope will collect. This makes the 12" dramatically more sensitive, and you will be able to see much fainter objects in the sky.

Forget about magnification -- a telescope with a 3-inch aperture that promotes 1000x magnification is darn near worthless for astronomy or sky-gazing. 100x magnification won't show you any bigger disk for far-off stars than one with 10x, and the star will move out of the field-of-view so rapidly that it will bore and frustrate the child to tears.

Refractor telescopes -- which use glass lenses to bend and focus the light --tend to be cheaper (especially the smaller ones), and they are more intuitive -- you point the telescope in the sky at your target, and look through the far end. However, as they get bigger, they get very heavy -- big lenses mean lots of heavy, fragile glass.

Reflector telescopes are much simpler, and are much lighter at larger apertures than the corresponding refractor. There are many inexpensive reflectors available.

If you want a good telescope, instead of some really cheap piece of garbage, look for brand names like Celestron, Orion, or Meade. See the referenced website for more info.

Answer 4

As others have said, consider binoculars. If you realy want a scope, I'd look for a rich field refractor - these are small and light, have a wide field of view (makes finding things easier) and are relatively cheap. Try and find one with good eye relief i.e. you can use it with your eye some way back from the eyepiece. I've found that many children tend to look across the eyepiece rather than through it - having good eye relief makes it easier for them. Unfortunately it's not a feature that gets included in the blurb.

A stable mount is a must, and it should move smoothly!

Some cheap scopes "improve" the optics by putting a baffle behind the lens. Try looking through the wrong end of the scope (while ignoring the sniggers of onlookers) and move your eye to the edge of the lens. You should see a semicircle of light. If you can't see anything you should run away. Also avoid any scope that's sold on the basis of its magnification - it's not that important and reputable manufacturers don't mention it (maybe in the small print!).

Answer 5

If u intend to use it in a bright city it may not be satisfy you.
One of the technical point ,the longer the focal length the better the resolution.

Answer 6

a small refracter would be best. also look for a good mount/tripod. a wobbly mount will ruin even a good scope. and don't believe the pictures on the box. try www.astronomy.com .or jack horkhiemer.com. ENJOY THE NIGHT!!!! TRIED E-MAILING YOU BACK, SAYS SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS????????

Answer 7

Which ever one you go for, don't forget to take the lens cap off!