Good Telescope for a budding astronomer?

[Mr. Pickles]

My four year old informed me that she would like to be a "junior astronomer". Can anyone suggest a good quality telescope for looking at the moon and basic stargazing?

We live on a remote hilltop with very minimal light pollution if that matters.

Thanks in advance.

[Lady Kayri]

First, I'd go with a reflector rather than a refractor (reflector uses mirrors to increase the length of the tube) you get a lot more magnification for less money. Spend that money saved on getting a decent clock drive. A clock drive, when set up right, has a motor that moves the telescope to 'follow' the stars so you don't have to keep on adjusting the telescope (the stars move across the sky, if you don't have a clock drive, the telescope keeps looking at the same area of the sky, but the stuff in that sky have moved...) I'm not sure if they're still around, but I used to buy most of my astronomy stuff from Edmunds Scientific. If nothing else, buy some issues of various astronomy magazines, there will be ads from various supply companies. Also get yourself a few basic books on astronomy that explain the differences between the various types of telescopes, etc. For that matter, I'm sure you can find such basic info on the interwebs as well... You might also want to think about starting out with a nice set of high powered binoculars to start with, as they'll be useful for other types of viewing 'work' (say birding, watching dragonflies, etc.) as opposed to the more bulky, awkward telescope. Check CL and ebay as well, once you get a good feel from checking catalogs for what prices are good for new - you don't want to pay more for a used telescope, clock drive, etc. than you could buy it for new. Scam artists sell astronomical equipment as well as musical instruments...

I no longer have a telescope, gave it away years ago, but I have a digital SLR and one of my lenses is a 500mm telephoto - works as a decent mid-range telescope. But I don't have a clock drive anymore, so can't take photos that take very long exposures, unless I'm TRYING to get a specific type of photo, known as 'star trails' among astro photog buffs.

Also - check out local schools for adult / night education classes in astronomy; they're for interested kids as well as adults; wouldn't hurt to take the class along with her, either. If they're available, usually have telescopes to work with, and you might get some 'hands on' experience that might help you decide which telescope you want to put money toward.

It's been a few years since I did any real astronomy work (strictly amature, took a few classes in college but I never got beyond calculus, so didn't go into the field for real), but if you have any questions you think I might be able to help you with, feel free to PM or email me.

[Absentia]

Bit off topic but if you don't have stellarium ... get it, freaking wicked program.

[RWP]

I am no expert but years ago I bought a 4.5 inch Meade Schmidt Cassegrain type telescope. It was great for looking at the moon and planets, but not so hot for anything else. Since you are in a great place for deep space observing I would recommend larger. If I were buying today I would check out used equipment in the 12" range. Something that size would be very effective.

[mrpackerguy]

I would not get a reflector for a 4 year old. I would get an inexpensive 60mm refractor to begin with. And don't be seduced by claims of high magnification or "500x" lenses. They are useless unless you have an expensive clock drive to move the telescope as you view. And even then, for the brief moment you might see the object, if indeed you can find it at all on such high magnification, it will be dark and fuzzy. Best, brightest and clearest viewing will be in the 40x - 120x or so range. High enough to see Saturns rings, etc.

Best IMO to start out light with a regular azimuth mount which can be moved manually to find your stellar object. You'll be amazed what you can see with such an inexpensive small scope. Learn your way around the night skies, then after you know what you might want, or if the kid sticks to it, see about maybe upgrading to a reflector, or a larger mm refractor, or even something like a dobsonian.

Most anything in those specs from Meade or Celestron or Orion will do just fine. Have fun!

[hbarcat]

Experienced telescope user and builder, here. If this scope is for a 4 year old then ease of use is the name of the game. Forget about equatorial mounts, clock drives and other tracking add-ons. They only add weight (and cost) to the scope and your child will think of using the scope as a chore rather than as a pleasure.



My recommendation is for either a quality pair of binoculars for astronomy or for a small spotting scope (closed hybrid design) with an alt-azimuth mount.

But first check out some info on choosing a scope at the Sky and Telescope site.

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/equipment/basics







Here's a few first scopes you might want to check out.

Celestron spotting scope:
http://www.telescopes.com/spotting-s...ttingscope.cfm

Meade computer controlled: http://www.telescopes.com/telescopes...jn&subid=19373

Binoculars with tripod:
http://www.telescopes.com/binoculars...binoculars.cfm

[RWP]

Originally Posted by hbarcat

.....Binoculars with tripod:
http://www.telescopes.com/binoculars...binoculars.cfm

These look really cool.

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by Lady Kayri

I'm not sure if they're still around, but I used to buy most of my astronomy stuff from Edmunds Scientific.

Still around. They have split themselves into Edmund Optics, which sells industrial optics, and Anchor Optics, which is more of the educational stuff.

I bought the optics to make a telescope from Surplus Shed:

www.surplusshed.com

It will be a simple refractor with a 60 mm aperture. Part of the adventure will be showing them how a telescope actually works. Also, with the objective, we can build a camera obscura, which will be fun for my daughter who enjoys drawing. I also expect that the kids will be interested in playing with the scope during the day.

[mrpackerguy]

I saw two decent Meade refractors at Walmart the other day - they had a 50mm and a 70mm. Both were under $100. Again, don't be seduced by high power - it's useless.

[Mr. Pickles]

Thanks everyone. This is all useful.

We started out with binoculars last night, but there was too much cloud cover.

[vicky86]

Originally Posted by Lady Kayri

First, I'd go with a reflector rather than a refractor (reflector uses mirrors to increase the length of the tube) you get a lot more magnification for less money. Spend that money saved on getting a decent clock drive. A clock drive, when set up right, has a motor that moves the telescope to 'follow' the stars so you don't have to keep on adjusting the telescope (the stars move across the sky, if you don't have a clock drive, the telescope keeps looking at the same area of the sky, but the stuff in that sky have moved...) I'm not sure if they're still around, but I used to buy most of my astronomy stuff from Edmunds Scientific. If nothing else, buy some issues of various astronomy magazines, there will be ads from various supply companies. Also get yourself a few basic books on astronomy that explain the differences between the various types of telescopes, etc. For that matter, I'm sure you can find such basic info on the interwebs as well... You might also want to think about starting out with a nice set of high powered Binoculars to start with, as they'll be useful for other types of viewing 'work' (say birding, watching dragonflies, etc.) as opposed to the more bulky, awkward telescope. Check CL and ebay as well, once you get a good feel from checking catalogs for what prices are good for new - you don't want to pay more for a used telescope, clock drive, etc. than you could buy it for new. Scam artists sell astronomical equipment as well as musical instruments...

I no longer have a telescope, gave it away years ago, but I have a digital SLR and one of my lenses is a 500mm telephoto - works as a decent mid-range telescope. But I don't have a clock drive anymore, so can't take photos that take very long exposures, unless I'm TRYING to get a specific type of photo, known as 'star trails' among astro photog buffs.

Also - check out local schools for adult / night education classes in astronomy; they're for interested kids as well as adults; wouldn't hurt to take the class along with her, either. If they're available, usually have telescopes to work with, and you might get some 'hands on' experience that might help you decide which telescope you want to put money toward.

It's been a few years since I did any real astronomy work (strictly amature, took a few classes in college but I never got beyond calculus, so didn't go into the field for real), but if you have any questions you think I might be able to help you with, feel free to PM or email me.

I have saw many Compact, Pocket-Sized , Standard and Waterproof & Water Resistant Binoculars before. It's very good for children. But didn't see Binoculars for astronomer.

[Mr. Pickles]

So, it turns out my wife's stepmother had an old telescope "lying around." It is about 20 years old as far as I can tell. It's a Tasco 11TR reflector with D=4 1/2" F=900mm.

It seems pretty intimidating. It's assembled in my dining room and I'm going through the manual to learn its parts.

Therre's also a bunch of charts that I haven't looked through yet.

Any tips or suggestions.

[emor]

Originally Posted by hbarcat

ease of use is the name of the game.

I did a bit of star gazing several years ago when living in a more rural setting. When researching the purchase of a telescope, the universal advice was that the best telescope is the one that you will use.

If I were to do it over again, I'd probably go with the big binoculars with a tripod mount.

I remember checking out this telescope builders convention on the web at the time. I never got to go, but it looked interesting.

http://stellafane.org/

http://stellafane.org/tm/tg/index.html