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Having an eight year old daughter myself, and recently purchased a new scope (after some great advice from the IIS forum) I would recommend the 8 inch SkyWatcher dob. The six inch isn’t that much smaller, the OTA is the same length and the base is about the same. My daughter thinks it is great and 8 inches is enough WOW factor. At eight she is just tall enough to look into the eyepiece by herself. The other thing with the SkyWatcher is that it is finished off much nicer than other dobs for the price. While this may not be an issue for grown men, judging by my daughter’s reaction it is very important for eight year old girls. Now the only disadvantage is the weight, but then an eight year old girl isn’t going to be carrying any telescope by herself anyway and the other option of a tripod would be relatively difficult to carry as well. The dob is also much easier to move around (unless of course we consider a GOTO). The only thing I would add to the Dob pack is a RACI finder – makes it much easier for a child get on target.
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