Recommend easy to transport Telescope for beginner?

Yellow Snow

Hey all,

My girlfriends birthday is coming up soon and i'm thinking of picking her up a telescope. She's absolutely mad about planets and space but is a complete beginner in the field. I've noticed a few threads about telescopes here and even though i read through them i'm still no closer to a decision.

Basically she'd need somthing thats easy to transport and set up without too much hassle. We live in the city centre so i'm not too sure what we could see with the light pollution here so we'll more than likely drive out to the countryside every once in awhile to use it properly.

Price region around 300-400... it's not the only pressie i'll be getting so I really cant afford to stretch much more (without getting a second job! )

I know it's not a big budget for what i'm looking for so the best for the price is all i'm after.

I know nothing about them and what different ones would be worth so if anyone could point me in the right direction i'd really appreciate it!

Does anywhere in Dublin sell them or will I be ordering in from UK / Europe?

Even any good deals on e-bay anyone knows of?

Sorry for all the questions,

Thanks everyone

murphyme

Hello,

If your girlfriend doesn't own a pair of binoculars then I would say buy a pair of binoculars and a planisphere.

Have a look here for some more links:

http://www.irishastronomy.org/boards/viewtopic.php?t=5542

http://www.astronomy.ie

Regards,

Michael.