I'm looking to buy a telescope for my sons birthday. What features should i look for. Cheaper isn't better

Question

Our budget will be no more then £100 but i would like to buy one that will be able to be upgraded later, perhaps with motorised tracker etc although i dont even know what this is yet.

Any tips would be welcome as i know nothing about this.

is this one any good

http://uk.aldi.com/special_buys/productnl_412.html

Answer 1

Hello Sir:

Wow...Neat Idea for a gift. One Hundred British Pounds is around $350 US give or take some.

You could get a fairly good 60 to 80 mm refractor telescope and mount to fit that budget. Bigger is better but you must also realize that "GOOD" optics cost money, lots of money. I just paid $380 US for a good Eyepiece. At the same time, I am not a child. So...I guess my budget is a bit over your set limits.

For information on telescopes see:
http://www.cloudynights.com
http://www.astromart.com
http://www.telescopes.com
http://www.meade.com

Pick one that will be "STABLE" on a good mount, or when you use it, things will shake all over the place and you will be unhappy with the views. Do not get suckered into the Magnification Power concept such as Mag Power to 600 X...
Most of your viewing with a telescope like that will be at 40X, 80X, 120X and 150X max. You will need a totally dark sky and vicinity to use for telescope work, and that means no outside lights, street lights, shopping center parking lot lights,etc. Daytime viewing of terrestrial things is something else. At those times you should have plenty of light available to look at almost anything you desire.

Views of the Moon will require a moon filter to allow you to look at it for extended periods without the glare. Deep sky views are possible and most interesting, but you cannot expect Observatory Telescope performance from a small
unit like this. Bird watching and checking out sailoboat races, hydroplane boat races will take on a new meaning with a good telescope. Have fun...

Caution...Never let your child point your telescope at the Sun.
Instant blindness will result. You must be serious about this fact.

I encourage you and your son to join a local Astronomy Club near you and go see what is available by attending some of their Star Parties where many folks bring their scopes to compare notes and performance.

Answer 2

For a first telescope you need only two things:-

1. The optics are the most important thing. The point is to collect as much light as possible, so a refracting telescope (with a lens at the business end) should have a useable aperture of three inches diameter, and a reflector (with mirror) should be no less than six inches diameter (you’ll never get a worthwhile reflector for under £100 unless it is a real bargain!). The brightness of the image is what counts, so ignore boastful nonsense about magnification. If the lens hasn’t the light-grasp needed the magnified image will just be a useless murky blob.

2. The next thing to worry about is the mount, which at least should be a stable floor-standing tripod to keep it all steady so you can see what you are looking at.

That’s all you need.

Things like motor drives to counteract the Earth’s rotation are only of real use on an ‘equatorial mount’ i.e., one that is accurately aligned with the North Celestial Pole, perhaps a pillar-mount set in concrete, and is really for long-exposure photography.

Motor drives are sold on small telescopes as a flashy gimmick, to stop you asking questions about the size and quality of the optics.

Also, looking at the moon is no test of a decent telescope! Don't let the salesman fool you!

Christmas grotto plastic toy binoculars will show you craters on the moon! You need to be able to see the rings of Saturn or the cloud-bands and principal moons of Jupiter to know you’re getting value for money!

Don’t be shy! Telescopes aren’t cheap, but a decent one will last a lifetime so don’t be fobbed off with gimmicky rubbish. It’ll only cause frustration and discouragement for your son and end up thrown into a skip by his next birthday.

It might well be worth joining your local astronomical society for encouragement, support and advice, so look in here:- http://www.liverpoolas.org/component/option,com_weblinks/catid,8/Itemid,3/

Answer 3

You can buy cheap powerful telescopes but as the first guy said
the mount is important and the more powerful the telescope the more critical it becomes.
A friend bought a cheapo years ago. It was powerful and the optics were probably good but the real problem was to point the scope at the portion of the sky you wanted. When you're dealing with xxxx magnification the fine tuning is all important!(on really powerful ones you've got to hold your breath, it's so sensitive)
Look up your local astronomy club. They'd be only too glad to show you and advise and you might do some bonding.
(And you'd save a lot of wasted money and disappointment. You might pick up a second hand bargain!)
Have just seen Geoff G's contribution. A good pair of binoculars is good too and useful for other purposes. Althought I saw the Hale-Bopp comet through observatory telescopes the best was by good binoculars, (then again it was a big object).
Just saw your link. If Aldi is good about returns (and they are German, so if they say it's a good mount it probably is) then try it.
KEEP THE RECEIPT!!

Answer 4

Various questions come to mind when I see this sort of enquiry. How old is your son and how long has he shown an interest in astronomy being the first two.

First of all I personally wouldn't touch with a barge pole any telescope you see in a supermarket. These are likely to have very poor quailty optics and next to useless mounts. these products are described as telescopes but in reality they are more like to put him off this fascinating subject through sheer frustration.

With the budget you mention, by far your best investment would be in a good pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars. These will show the craters of the Moon, the four brightest moons orbiting around Juipter and countless rich star fields when scanned along the Milky Way. Binoculars are also very versatile and portable so can be used for many other activities apart from astronomy.

If there's any spare cash after buying the binocs, a good star atlas to identify the constellations would also be very useful.

Hope that helps and good luck! Oh yes and avoid zoom bincoulars in this price bracket too...

Answer 5

A pair of Binoculars on a Tripod is the best start to Astronomy for your son. (indeed anyone)
With the money left over, buy a basic set of star charts and a red light torch.
With binoculars you'll get great views of the moon, the absolute best views of the Andromeda Galaxy (better than a telescope!) lots of open clusters and some of the brighter nebulas. With the wide field views you get, meteor showers are awesome.
Honestly, I have 2 telescopes, one quite large, but my binoculars are one of my best observing tools.

Answer 6

Unfortunately, you can't get much of a telescope for £100; you need to spend about twice that for a good beginner's scope, such as this 6" Dobsonian reflector:
http://www.opticalvision.co.uk/astronomical_telescopes/sky-watcher/dobsonians

Anything priced less than that is essentially a toy; you'd be better off spending the money on a 10x50 binocular.

Answer 7

You got that right! Cheaper isn't better! I have had the best luck with Orion products and their customer service.

oriontelescopes.com

My first scope was an Orion Observer 70mm EQ Refractor. It was pretty amazing what that little scope would pull in. Very reasonable priced too.

Answer 8

the very first thing is to know where you'll set up and if there's enuff darkness, REAL darkness to be able to see worth a darn..... I bought a doozie and then never got to 'travel' to find a good spot out of the city to set up, but maybe once or twice a year.... and that stinks!!...

Answer 9

I did the same for my grand daughter and was very disappointed as they live in the edge of a large city. The city lights blind the telescope so u can't see much.

Answer 10

wellness shes your daughter and he or she wont somewhat care if the cake is "keep offered" or not. in case you certainly need the plans you had and to make her 1st birthday cake circulate forward. It shouldnt rely what different ppl think of its not there day. Btw I made my sons first bday cake and he enjoyed it. It replaced into an hassle-free cake yet nonetheless he ate it only the comparable =). it would be approximately celebrating a great first 365 days of existence to "stated" man or woman in any case. tell them to get themselves!