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Originally Posted by Miaplacidus
As for suitability, the best gift would be membership to an astro club so she can try out a few different scopes first.
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I think that is stretching it a bit. I cannot imagine how my mother would react if I gave her a membership to an astro club for a birthday present.
What she wants and expects from a scope is the most important thing to consider. She would almost certainly not like an equatorial mount. Not the easiest to get used to. Better a Dobsonian or and alt-az (AZ) mount. The Dobsonian's bulk might be an issue, in which case a Maksutov or refractor on an AZ mount might be a better option. The other question is: computerised (goto) or not? If you have a fixed amount of money dedicated to this, you will get a lot better scope if you spend the money on the optics and mount and observing aides instead of electronics. I'd personally buy a planisphere, a guidebook and star atlas instead of Goto.