best telescope for my son's 8th birthday

[Suzy]

I have concerns for the sheer size and weight of a 6" dob, that it will be appropriate as a first scope for an 8 year old, despite what John said. John, your son grew up in an environment of telescopes and you as a teacher. Let's not forget, Becky is after a children's telescope. The child is going to have to rely on someone to get it outside, call for help everytime he wants to move it's position around the yard if there's trees in the way, and get help to bring it in. I have a 6" dob myself, and I cannot handle the weight of this, so ended up having to get wheels fitted to the base, but still have to lift it over humps. I see nothing wrong in keeping to a low budget and seeing how this interest grows before committing to $$ and storage issues with such a large scope. I had a lot of fun with a 70mm reflector and binoculars when I was young and getting my first decent scope was something I eventually worked towards. If I had a penny for every 8 year old that said they were determined to do "....." (fill in the blank- marine biologist, archeologist etc),and then got over it, I would be very rich (my child included). But you do what you can at the time and within reason to foster your childs interests obviously, not go full out and full on straight up. The 6" dob is considered is considered the entry level "serious scope".

However, all this being said, Becky, you would have a better idea of what your son can handle, so now that you are armed with some information, you need to physically have a look at these scopes and talk to someone in person.

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

Hi all, Good to see John "ausastronomer" still making the effort to help newcomers by taking the time, drawing on his many years of experience, to write well considered replies to queries such as the one that started this thread.
Becky, it sounds to me like you could stretch the budget a little further, and that little further - to a 6", or better 8", Dobsonian - would be a very wise thing to do. John already articulated more clearly than I could why.

If you cannot stretch the budget then the best thing is to buy the same second hand, or get a small refractor on a sturdy alt-azimuth (AZ) mount. It's got to be a sturdy mount otherwise it will be too frustrating to be useful.

[iceman (Mike)]

to IIS becky. There's some good advice in this thread. I hope you can find what you want for your son, and I hope it sparks a lifelong interest.

[BerrieK]

Hi Becky, what a wonderful gift to give your son.

There is a lot of good advice in this thread.

I have 2 kids (8 and 11), both of whom have little refractors on alt/az mounts. Everything they see blows them and their friends away, even at low magnification. My 11 year old also has a little 5 inch reflector, again on an alt/az mount. She does prefer this as it gives a higher useful magnification. My kids just love to go exploring rather than search for specific objects, unless I point them at a planet.

They also have, shared, (yes I have no self control) a 6 inch reflector on an equtorial mount. Although they enjoy the larger magnification possible with this one, they prefer to use the little ones on the alt/az mounts as they are easier for them to handle.

Also, be aware that the image you see in a reflector will be upsidedown, whereas a refractor will be right way up. Something to consider if you want to use the scope for daytime viewing. And just remember NEVER look at the sun through any telescope.

As already suggested on this thread a 6 inch dob is also an excellent starting point (it is essentially a reflector on a base - images upsidedown).

My advice is to keep it as simple as possible - my kids will always ask for help but prefer the autonomy of being in control of their own scopes with minimal frustration.

Perhaps take your son to one of the dealers suggested by others so he can get a feel for what suits him best.

Best of luck with your decision making, enjoy the time with your son!

Kerrie

[astro744]

An 80mm f5 short refractor on an Alt-Az mount will give countless hours of joy under the night sky and can be used in the day time. A more serious telescope would be a 150mm (6") f8 Dobsonian telescope. This would give a lifetime of viewing as it will show numerous galaxies a smaller telescope cannot.

Note an 80mm refractor is NOT the same as an 80mm reflector (firstscope 76). The latter is really a toy and cannot be used for anything serious and could be detrimental to one's astronomy interests than inspirational and you would be better off with binoculars.

An 80mm short refractor will give clear and bright widefield views of star clusters but can aslo give sufficiently large views of the planets given the right eyepieces and Barlows. A longer 80mm refractor is a good alternative and will give higher powers but narrower fields.