Santa needs help!

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Hi everyone my 6 year old son has always had a very keen interest in astromony, 2 years ago I bought him the national geographic telescope (not the best) he's thinking of asking Santa for a decent telescope at this stage.

I did read the beginners guide to buying a telescope but I'm not sure if this is aimed for just adult, so basically I'm asking for guidance on Santa's behalf! I'm looking for one hopefully around €100 that gives clear views of the stars ( we seen the supermoon through a telescope in August and he was blown away) and hopefully that you can connect to a pc ( no idea what thats about but I was told its something to consider!)

Thanks in advance for any info/advice you can give me ( including where to buy, websites actual shops etc)

Roselm

Astronomy Ireland have a shop that sells telescopes. I'm not sure if the shop is just online.

murphyme2010

Hi now online,

The Astronomy Ireland shop is now Scopes and Space they have a shop in Swords.

There is also Ktec telescopes. They are an on-line shop.

Both sell telescopes for under €100.

Michael.

shedweller

I was going to suggest a dobsonian for cost and light gathering/wow factor but there are some decent refractors available for not too much. Refractors dont normally need collimation for a good image, where with a dobsonian/newtonian you could find yourself having to collimate the scope every now and then. Its not a big job at all and you'll get a collimator cheap enough online (€20 approx) but the refractor is easier to maintain overall. An equatorial mount will surely frustrate the kid also so an alt-az mount will be easier to handle. Much the same ease as a dobsonian i suppose.
All that being said, maybe your kid is the next Patrick Moore and is all over equatorial mounts!
Best of luck op!

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Thanks for the info shedweller, I finally decided on aCELESTRON - Astromaster 70AZ. Hopefully it will tick all the boxes! Slightly over budget but what the heck in years to come when he's making his mark in the world he can say it was all because my mum spent an extra €30 on my first proper telescope!

disco girl

Hiya, I was just going to suggest getting a Skywatcher version of that Celestron..they're the same specs, you can get it here http://www.ktectelescopes.ie/Skywatcher-Mercury-707-Refractor-Telescope.html for €99.95 including the delivery. hth

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disco girl wrote: »

Hiya, I was just going to suggest getting a Skywatcher version of that Celestron..they're the same specs, you can get it here http://www.ktectelescopes.ie/Skywatcher-Mercury-707-Refractor-Telescope.html for €99.95 including the delivery. hth

Thanks disco girl. I've the Celestron bought already I'm like a child myself with the excitement!

shedweller

now online wrote: »

Thanks disco girl. I've the Celestron bought already I'm like a child myself with the excitement!

Remember now, this is for your kid! Step away from the telescope!

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ThunderCat

Well done on the telescope purchase

The good thing about receiving a telescope for Christmas is that it is slap bang in the middle of winter so the nights are long and there is plenty of darkness so ample opportunity to use it.

I'm not sure how familiar you are with the night sky, but just in case you are a beginner yourself I'd recommend learning the positions of a few of the main constellations. The reason being is that not every portion of the night sky gives impressive star filled views when looking through a telescope. It would be good to know where a few of the more impressive sights in the night sky are in order to be able to point the telescope at them and maximise your sons enjoyment and it could go a long way towards keeping him interested in astronomy.

I'd recommend downloading stellarium for your laptop or phone as it is an app/program that will show you the names of the main stars and their positions. It also has a search feature so you can enter the name of a star in there and it will show you where in the sky it is.

As for what to look at in the sky. Here are a few recommendations...

* The Moon. Obvious choice but an impressive one none the less. Your son will be able to see craters on the moon through the telescope that he cannot with the naked eye. The best time to view the moon is when it is not full. The reason for this is that a crescent moon will cast shadows over the moons craters and they stand out easily when looking up at them. The craters are formed when a meteor strikes the surface incase your son asks. Earths atmosphere burns most meteors up before they ever touch our surface but the Moon has no atmosphere so the meteors strike the surface unimpeded.

* Jupiter. Biggest planet in our Solar System. Most people mistake it for any other star when looking at it with the naked eye, however with a telescope you can clearly see it is a planet. You will not see any surface detail on Jupiter, you need a bigger telescope for that, but you will see up to 4 of its moons that can't be seen with the naked eye. Watch as their positions change night after night. Very impressive.

* Pleiades. This is the name of a group of stars in the constellation Taurus and are also known as the seven sisters. Very impressive sight indeed especially with a smaller scope/binoculars. There are seven main stars in the group but dozens more become visible when you look at it through the telescope.

These 3 sights are all very different from each other and should keep him interested. There are many many more however. He will also notice when looking through the telescope that the stars can be different colours. Their colour is due to their size, age, and temperature.

Sorry for the long post, and doubley sorry if you know all this already. Just thought I'd give you a few things to aim for when the telescope is up and running.

Good Luck.

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Thundercat, thanking your post barely cuts the mustard! But thanks again. I know very little about the stars but what he as a 6 year old knows astounds me. Hes a regular at blackrock castle space camp (cork) and to the first timer going there he must appear to be a know it all!

I will definitely use your post for reference when Santa does give him the telescope. In fact I'll download that app now and hopefully we'll be better prepared and armed with a fistfull of knowledge by christmas.

Thanks again

disco girl

shedweller wrote: »

Remember now, this is for your kid! Step away from the telescope!

Aww...do we have to :D