is it better to start with a small refractor telescope (60mm with goto) or a refelector?

Question

of Say 114mm for a 13 year old (we have a good set of binoculars and he learnt some of the constellations) and he would like a telescope now.

Answer 1

refractors are more expensive than reflectors. a 6 inch reflector can be bought for under 200 quid with an azimuth mount. TAL are a good starter scope. or Orion. for light grasp on a budget you could get a 10-16 inch dobsonian type reflector. same principle as a Newtonian reflector but its on a rocker mount. basically its a tube with 2 mirrors as normal but it points straight up and the eye piece is at the front of the tube. i started off with binoculars then a 3 inch refractor then a 4 inch reflector i now own and use an 8 inch schmidt cassegrain reflector on a motorised equatorial mount with field tripod. Meade lx 10 cost me 1800 quid with accessories all together. you've a good kid there watch his head explode with the quest for knowledge. in one year with astronomy he'll learn more than 5 years of high school science.

Answer 2

I would get a reflector with no less than 4.5" (114mm) of aperture. The refractor is too small to see anything significant with. In general, the more aperture you have, the more you will be able to see.

I would not get something with goto because that extra money is better put towards aperture.

You may want to get a Dobsonian. Orion Telescopes makes affordable dobsonians. The website is www.oriontelescopes.com

Zhummell is also making large 10" Dobsonians of fairly good quality for around $500

Answer 3

You really need to be careful. I cannot emphasize this enough: DO NOT buy a telescope from a department store. 99% of them are complete rubbish and will instantly kill this youngster's admirable enthusiasm.

DO buy a telescope from a reputable dealer. I would recommend www.oriontelescopes.com, or Meade, or Celestron.
they all have a full range, and their inexpensive scopes are still quite good.

Now, which scope to buy? If you're living in light polluted urban skies (which, unfortunately many of us are), I would recommend a small refractor - the size you mention is just fine (more on goto below). That is a good scope to see the moon, Venus, mars, Jupiter and Saturn (and yes, you CAN see the rings in a small scope). That's about all you're going to see in light polluted conditions anyway. If you have access to darker skies and want to also see nebula, galaxies, star clusters, etc. I'd recommend something like a 6"-8" Dobsonian reflector. You get a lot of bang for the buck with reflectors in general, and Dobsonians in particular. I have built two Dobsonians myself - which is another option if you're even a little handy. In fact, it's an ideal father-son (or mother-daughter!) project. Plans can be found online.

Next, make sure you get high-quality eyepieces - a range, the higher mm number = lower power. Buy plossls. Don't equate lower power with less good, it doesn't work that way, but explaining that is too much to go into here. Get at least something like a 25mm and maybe an 8mm and maybe one more in the middle. The 8mm will allow you (if sky conditions are decent) to see a lot of detail on the moon (which is, despite all I've seen, still one of my favorite targets).

As for goto, I would skip it at this point. I find that it's just too easy for beginners and many never really learn the night sky as a result. If you get a good guide book, you will be able to find what you're looking for without too much effort. I highly recommend "Turn Left at Orion" For a rank beginner and even for myself (been amateur astronomer for 20 years), it's just a wonderful easy guide.

It's a wonderful hobby! good luck.

Answer 4

The goto will take away a lot of the pain of finding things, but it's a very small 'scope and you're not going to get impressive views. A 114mm reflector would be better, but you're still not going to see anything like the Hubble pictures. That said, there are some nice 'scopes out there (I'd add another vote for TAL) and with practice you'll get some enjoyable observing.

Answer 5

A refractor relies on light going through the lens, but some is reflected away. The reflector relies only on reflection, so it is almost 100% efficient and consequently better for low light targets. Ultimately the quality of image is the most important.

Answer 6

hi a 114mm starter scope would be ideal but if you want one with a go-to a Meade etx80at or etx90at would be good if your in the uk
look on www.warehouseexpress.com

Answer 7

for a thirteen year old I would suggest a very good pair of binoculars, as a telescope would be awkward for him to use even a cheaper small one isn't very good.