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Old 01-04-2020, 07:29 PM
SkyWatch (Dean)
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SkyWatch is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Adelaide
Posts: 401
Yeah: what they said! I think you will find the Saxon tabletop dob will be perfect for your 9yo. I have shown 1000's of children through telescopes, and I think this is ideal for beginners.

I see it has 2 eyepieces: a 10mm and a 25mm, giving 65x and 26x magnification respectively. I assume these are basic plossl eyepieces, and they will be fine for initial viewing: he will get wonderful views of the moon and bright deep-sky objects like the Orion nebula, Eta Carina, 47 Tuc and Omega Centauri. From a dark sky there will be literally 1000's of objects that will be visible, including lots of galaxies.

I agree with Alex: I would have loved one of these as a kid. They offer brighter views than even the (then) much more expensive 4 1/2" Tasco scopes, and with a much more beginner-friendly mount.

Absolutely follow Jeniskunk's suggestions for apps and some sort of skymaps. Stellarium is great (and free), and check out http://www.skymaps.com for a free monthly all-sky map. Make sure you get the Southern Hemisphere edition, for 35-degrees south!

He is a lucky boy!

The only problem he might find is that terrestrial views will be upside-down, so this type of scope is not the best for looking at birds or yachts.

All the best,

Dean
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