Another beginners what to buy thread??

[gss]

Hi there,
My 6yo old son has started to show an interest in astronomy and has been pestering me to buy him a telescope. I've done a bit of research on this forum among others and think I've narrowed my choices down to the following:

1/. 6 or 8" GSO Dob,

2/. Orion ED80 refractor or,

3/. Meade ETX-125

Which of these 3 would be the better choice given that the main focus initially would be observing the moon & planets and some DSO's?

I realise the dob would be the cheaper option but I was thinking either of the other 2 choices may be a bit better in the long run if he wants to pursue other options like astrophotography.

Cheers,
Glenn

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Hi Glenn and welcome.

I can only answer for the Dob. They are great for the dollars. As for the other scopes, I wouldn't have a clue.

Great that your son is interested. If you buy a crummy scope they tend not to stick with the hobby.

Listen to the others and choose well.

[slice of heaven]

Hi gss
The 6" dob would be perfect for a start and its the cheapest too. It will give the best views out of those 3 options.A decent EQ mount can be fitted later for imaging.
The refractor will be limited by the mount you put it on.

[Starkler (Geoff)]

I cant imagine a 6yo operating goto or dealing with an eq mount.
I definitely recommend the dob as its just a point and look affair and will show a lot more than the other options anyway.

[p medcraft]

Without doubt the 8" dob, neither of the other options will show a great deal to someone of his age from the backyard (given light pollution) simply because they lack enough aperture although the 80mm Orion is not so bad from the burbs, its problem would be the complex EQ mount you would need to use it properly. The GOTO features of the Meade are actually somewhat of a disadvantage because they introduce a degree of complexity to something that should be for pleasure. Bottom line both of those options require a fair amount of work to set up plus patience. 8" dobs are fantastic workhorses that keep many enthusiasts in Astronomy for their entire lives. Learning to star hop is a skill that will last him his entire life as well. I joined an Astronomy club in my High school and waited months to be allowed to take the scope home the first time. No technology then so it was all star hopping followed by setting circles which really is a dead art. That was 30 years ago and I am still obsessed and still learning. The more glass you buy now the more he will see and appreciate and importantly it wont cost you another scope when he decides to look at something other than the Moon and Jupiter.
There is one other option you might wish to consider, an Edmund Astroscan. They are not sold in Australia so you would need to order it off the net but they are purpose built for kids, right height, right size field of view, right amount of glass and finally the right amount of skill requirements which means nil. They pop up in Australia second about once a year, I just bought one from the US second hand for $380.00 AUD including shipping.

http://www.dansdata.com/images/astro...troscan800.jpg

Paul Medcraft

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

8" dob is way to heavy for a 6yo. 6" dob may be too, but he will grow into it soon. At least he'll be able to reach the eyepiece without assistance.

[davidpretorius]

Hi Glenn, i have just bought a 10" dob (not even 1 week old). Here is my 5 yr old next to it as we were assembling. She is tallist for her age, but unless I go 60 degrees or higher, she can still see thru the 10" which is 1250mm long. Dobs seems to be the preferred option for everyone that has asked this similiar question.
It leaves you with some change left over to buy some extra special things. I have just bought a 30mm 80 degree ultrawide eye piece from Andrews Communications for $149. To be truthfully honest. Best $150 I have ever spent!!! Nice wide views of the skys and very clear. I was also able to invest in a Toucam (webcam) and an adapter and have started taking video and making pictures. Eventually I will invest in a proper equatorial mount or system for long exposure photography. But the best thing is that i will have had a large aperture all along! I might not be taking hubble shots, but gee i am having fun.

http://www.precons.com/iis/gallery/M...pe%20small.wmv

[slice of heaven]

That was my way of thinking too Steve.
Its a simple instrument and not overly bulky. At F8 he'll probably need a step.
With some guidance he should be able to operate it comfortably.

[Miaplacidus (Brian)]

Hi Glenn and son, welcome to the club.

All excellent advice so far, but no one seems to have mentioned two important bits of advice commonly recommended to all beginners. Namely, seriously consider getting a pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars first (ideally mounted on a tripod), plus a set of downloadable star charts or the Bright Star Atlas. Second, before thinking about telescopes, join your local astronomy club: chances are you'll be able to try the various options, pick people's brains, and get the best buying advice. (It's also fun.)

But if you've done all that, then I'd vote for the dob!

Good luck,

Brian

[iceman (Mike)]

Brian is right, too..

The CAS (Canberra Astronomical Society) would likely be the closest to you, and there's a couple of other canberrans as members here (stringscope and BC) - between them they have a range of dobs (6", 8" and 10" dobs I think), so it might be a good idea to PM them, maybe arrange an observing session with them, or head along to a CAS observing night. I'm sure they'll be glad to help.

You can take your son as well, see how big the scopes are compared to him and whether with a bit of practise, he'll be able to "drive" it.

btw, to the forum.. How did you hear about us?

[slice of heaven]

Binos are awkward for kids,I wouldnt recommend them.
The dob, setup properly is a stable platform. My 8yr old swings and aligns the 12" no problems. I could imagine my 6yr old swinging a 6" no probs.

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

Good point about the binos; you've gotta have binos. THey show you where to point the scope. But they'll never impress a child like that big shiny telescope would. (At least not until they've learnt to look through them and not just at them.)

The 6" Dob would be great, but it is still a huge scope for a child. I didn't even realise it was an f8. Pity they don't sell the 4.5" Dobs in Australia (to my knowledge). That would really be a perfect child's scope. It's still big enough to impress the uninitiated by its sheer size, and it's also big enough to show plenty of heavenly wonders.

[slice of heaven]

Now that 4" would be perfect if light pollution isnt a problem. Nice kids sized scope.

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

Originally Posted by iceman

... You can take your son as well, see how big the scopes are compared to him and whether with a bit of practise, he'll be able to "drive" it.

The downside of that, of course, is that once your son sees just how big big scopes can get, ... he might not ever be happy until he gets his 25" Obsession.

[rmcpb (Rob)]

Glenn,

My 6 year old son is quite happy using my 8" dob with a step to have a look at zenith. He pushes it around like a pro and can easily locate many of the major views. Both he and his brother are really competitive when it comes to showing a friend around the sky as the younger one still uses my 8" scope but the older one uses a 6" scope we made and is really possessive about it.

My view would be for the dob, the 6" is easier for them to handle and would need a simple sturdy step made for your son to use when it is pointed at zenith.

Cheers

[Miaplacidus (Brian)]

This link is a fairly useful starting point, too (if a little dated).

http://astronomy.trilobytes.com.au/scope.htm

Cheers,

Brian.

[elusiver]

i'll be giving my younger brothers, 6yo and 5yo a go on the dob tonight.. so I'll let you know how i go.

el

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Now this is a great kids scope. I would love to get one for myself but sadly this one isnt sold here either.

http://www.telescope.com/shopping/pr...ProductID=4644

[ving (David)]

welcome aboard glen

that scope looks ok geoff

i'd go the 6" dob. it's cheap and easy to use, not too tall, and your 6yo can grow into it and still be happy with it for years after that... once he get the hang of it take him somewhere where the skies are really dark and have a look around.

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

The Orion Starblast that Geoff posted a link to has had absolute rave reviews from Sky and Telescope..unfortunately not available here-would have been a great travel scope or grab and go scope