best telescope for my son's 8th birthday

[becky marshall]

Can anyone advise me what would be a suitable telescope to buy for my son's 8th birthday on June 8th. I have tried looking online and there seems to be a minefield of information. The concept that "everyone is unique in their prefence" does not help when you are a novice and wanting to start something new.

I hope to spend between $250 - $300. The few telescopes that I have seen described as good for children are from the USA and I cannot seemd to find a supplier in Western Australia or one that will ship here.

Please help as I am getting desperate!!!!

[Pinwheel (Doug)]

Although some may disagree with my answer you could get a good start up Refractor or Reflector from Dick Smith electronics. Basic YES but lets not scare him to death with a hi tech scope for some one so young.

Also you will have some change to buy him a cake!

Lastly a mine field is postage to WA. Aussie post wont deliver anything over 20 kg or 140cm girth. ($$$)

[that_guy (Tony)]

Originally Posted by becky marshall

Can anyone advise me what would be a suitable telescope to buy for my son's 8th birthday on June 8th. I have tried looking online and there seems to be a minefield of information. The concept that "everyone is unique in their prefence" does not help when you are a novice and wanting to start something new.

I hope to spend between $250 - $300. The few telescopes that I have seen described as good for children are from the USA and I cannot seemd to find a supplier in Western Australia or one that will ship here.

Please help as I am getting desperate!!!!

You could always go with a tabletop Mak! they are easy to use and small enough to move around with ease. However, they may be a bit out of your price range.

[Hans Tucker (Hans)]

Have a look at Oz Scopes www.ozscopes.com.au

You could go for the Celestron Firstscope up to the Skywatcher 6" Dobsonian.

As has already been suggested DSE, but also take a wander into Australian Geographic...they also sell Celeston First scopes ideal for kids. Just go with an altazimuth or alt-azimuth mount which is a simple two-axis mount and not complicated like an equatorial

[Suzy]

Has he had any previous telescope experience? What does he expect to see?

In my opinion I think the Celestron First Scope is the way to go, for $99.00. It's a table top telescope designed for the beginner with kids in mind. It has a 70mm aperture but bare in mind a planet (from what I hear) will only look like a pin point of light. The Moon however will look amazing and so should some star clusters. Get him a good Moon map and he can do some serious Moon observing. You get 2 eyepieces with it plus an accessory kit. From what people in the past have said about this scope, you are better off with binoculars. But that involves steady hands and for a child that could be tricky. This will give him the pleasure of having a telescope that's not only extremely portable, there also no setting up required

Ozescopes in Melbourne ships throughout Australia, service is fantastic. Here is there site
http://www.ozscopes.com.au/celestron...-iya-2009.html

There is a video on that site as well to view it. I would though recommend getting the accessory pack with it for the extra $50. It comes with extra eye pieces and the very necessary "finderscope". He will waste too much time trying to find things without it. Read the reviews as well - many people buy them for kids starting out.

[michaellxv (Michael)]

I'll put 2c in for a 70mm refractor on an alt-azimuth mount. As well as the stars it can be used during the day for land based viewing. Bird watching or other wildlife at a distance. Even just zooming in on distant buildings or land features is a lot of fun for an 8 year old. Just make sure he never points it at the sun. Ever!!! no matter what you get.

Just one word of warning. When you are buying ignore the pretty pictures on the box, they rarely if ever reflect what you will see.

[becky marshall]

Thanks so much Guys...my son has had no previous experience....but is really keen and spends a lot of time with his head in books about Astronomy.

Cheers for the help!!!!

[renormalised (Carl)]

Hi Becky....I can remember being your son's age and having a very keen interest in astronomy, I was somewhat younger than he is now, when I first started, but even so if you can really encourage him, he'll have a lifelong hobby. Who knows, he might even become an astronomer when he grows up

So far as telescopes go, in your price range ($250-$300), one of the smaller Celestron or Skywatcher refractors would be an excellent choice of scope. You may be able to pick up one from one of the larger camera shops, as they do stock these telescopes, however, if you can't get them there (I'm assuming you live in Perth), have a look at these sites...

Bintel

MyAstroshop

Andrews Communications

They have a few good scopes in the price range you're looking at and if you need to have it shipped, they will help you with this as well.

Good luck with your telescope hunt and I hope your son really gets into astronomy. It's a great hobby and a wonderful subject to be interested in

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

There is a WA scope retailer that I've heard good raps on:

www.theastroguy.com.au

Shane holds regular star parties for purchasers of his scopes. He can be hired for this purpose too.

Speak to Shane, he will guide you very well.

[renormalised (Carl)]

Originally Posted by mental4astro

There is a WA scope retailer that I've heard good raps on:

www.theastroguy.com.au

Shane holds regular star parties for purchasers of his scopes. He can be hired for this purpose too.

Speak to Shane, he will guide you very well.

Hadn't thought of him...that would be even better!!

[astroron (Ron)]

Hi Becky and welcome to iceinspace you could try Kieth Williams at Binocular Telescope & Optical World at 41 Holder Way Unit 5 Malaga, about a kilometer or so of the Reid Highway.
They are very helpfull and also have Star Night's to help you learn about your Telescope and the night sky.
Cheers

[Blue Skies (Jacquie)]

Any of the Camera House stores should be able to help. The stores in Midland Gate and at Carousel both have long and good reputations as telescope sellers.

[ausastronomer (John Bambury)]

Hi Becky,

Some of the telescopes recommended so far in this thread I would honestly rate as nothing more than a waste of money. I might upset a few people with my comments, but I don't want to see you waste your money. Some of these cheaper scopes have poor optics, poor finderscopes and even poorer mounts. You "not your son" will find them to be nothing more than an exercise in frustration. You will not be able to find very much, when you do find something you won't see very much and what you see will not stay in the FOV very long and you will then spend the next 30 mins trying to re center the target. After 2 weeks of frustration the telescope will spend the next 2 years unloved in the corner of the closet, the loungeroom or the garage. Avoid any telescope sold by any store other than a store that specialises in astronomical telescopes. Avoid stores like Dick Smith Electronics, Australian Geographic and Camera stores. These stores carry a very small range of astronomical telescopes and what they do carry is nothing more than junk, in most cases. Experienced people call these XTT's. Short for XMAS TRASH TELESCOPE's. Further, the people who work in these stores might sound like they know what they are talking about when talking to someone who is a beginner, but truth is 99% of the people working in these stores don't know one end of a telescope from the other themselves. Some of these small cheaper scopes are very difficult for an experienced person to use, let alone a beginner and a child.

If you can stretch the budget a little further I would recommend a 6"/F8 dobsonian which you can buy from Andrews Comms for about $350. A scope like this will show you 500X more than some of these other "toy" telescopes and most importantly will be infinitely easier for you and your son to operate and find things in. You want your son to foster his interest in the hobby, not leave it out of frustration after a short time period. This scope may be a little big for your son to carry at the moment (you or hubby carry it) but he will very soon grow into it. You want to get him something he will grow into and use for a couple of years, not something he will grow out of. My son who is now nearly 14, was using my 10"/F5 dob (including the argo navis DTC) like a pro when he was 9 yrs old.

Cheers,
John B

[Vanda (Ian)]

I tend to agree a bit with John. A key comment from Suzy was what does he expect to see? Possibly those big beautiful pictures we see in the press taken through very large telescopes with long exposure times. Perhaps spend some money on joining an astronomy club so he can learn more first. You may even find some good scopes going cheap second hand. Would good binoculars which can also be used for sport & wildlife interest him? They are a good introduction to the stars. x5 mag is easy to hold steady. Hope you can keep him keen Becky!

[JethroB76 (Jeff)]

Agree. 6" Dob; no good for terrestrial views but far better for astronomy

[M54 (Molly)]

6 INCH DOB.

Easy to use and a good size for an eight year old.

[renormalised (Carl)]

Problem, John, is she may not be able to stretch the budget a further $50, so most of the dobs are out of the range of her budget. That's the worry with such a small budget. You can only afford what's within your price range. If that means a 70mm refractor, then that's what you can afford. The Celestrons and Skywatchers are much better than the Shmicky Dicky and dept store scopes, but yes, they're not the bees knees either. But like I said, it's a compromise. Yes, it would be excellent if she could afford $350-$500 and grab a 6-8" dob, and that would be the ideal starter scope. But we have to be realistic with our advice given what she says she can afford.

[renormalised (Carl)]

Originally Posted by M54

6 INCH DOB.

Easy to use and a good size for an eight year old.

Unfortunately, even the cheapest new 6" is over budget...unless you buy 2nd hand.

[AstroJunk (Jonathan)]

I was given a completely rubbish refractor at that age and absolutely loved it. The apalling views of the moon (the only night time object i ever saw) blew my socks off, and for the most part, I played with it as a toy and imagined the rest.

Save your money and Keep it cheap. Ask your local astro club if he can go along and look through a 'big' scope one evening - I'm sure they will oblige.

The images I saw at Port Macquarie observatory when I was 9 are still burned on my retina (thanks guys)!

[Suzy]

I agree with everything re-normalised said in reference to John's comment.