Telescope help

[Pburgh]

I want to buy a reasonably priced telescope for my grandkids for Christmas. Any suggestions?? I will have to buy two of them. One for Columbus and one for Roanoke. I keep this in mind when pricing.

[Regit]

What do you consider reasonably priced?

By telescope standards, 500 dollars could be considered reasonably priced.

[Pburgh]

I think reasonably priced for me (since I'm buying 2 of them) would be $400 apiece. I would like something that would be great beginning telescopes for 7-8 year olds but that the parents would enjoy and not find too cumbersome.

[dizzyfish]

We have a Bushnell model #78-9512. Not sure how much they cost though. Hubby got it as a comp at work. It's pretty good. We use it for looking at stars, shuttles, critters in the trees etc. It came with a tripod and 3 (I think) different loupes. It shouldn't be major expensive I wouldn't think and Bushnell is a good brand. Try to stay away from the unknown brands - the view is likely to be fuzzy.

Good Luck!

oh yeah, it came with a tripod too.

oops gotta go - here comes the weather - the satellite just went.

[Pburgh]

Thanks dizzy. I'll look into Bushnell. I was looking at Meade too.

[Regit]

I think reasonably priced for me (since I'm buying 2 of them) would be $400 apiece. I would like something that would be great beginning telescopes for 7-8 year olds but that the parents would enjoy and not find too cumbersome.

With that price in mind, I'd also recommend some of the Meade telescopes with AutoStar.

Here is a good place to look and compare.

[Aquawind]

Keep in mind telescopes can be very complicated. Many do offer automatic guidance systems but that will cost a few dollars. I would highly consider ease of usage like setup, traveling, and adjusting. Definately get a software package for them to learn and get primed for a night of finding and observing. Here is a link for deciding on product. Try the product selection wizard.

http://www.telescope.com/

Refractors are fairly easy to use and durable and a good start imo. Reflectors are the best value for deep space. Cassegrain and Dobsonian are great for deep space but can get spendy. It's all about capturing light. Alot of places sell the same Telescopes so do some price shopping. DO Not buy used. If you can find a local astronamy store that can be very helpful as well as a local astronomy club. Alot of the time you can go with them on viewing nights and check out the different systems. DO Not get something to complicated or it will be wasted money and just sit in the closet. Pick a style then a particular unit.

[Aslkahuna]

The telescopes Orion (the site mentioned above) sells even in their smaller sizes and especially the reflectors have consistently gotten high marks from Sky and Telescope for optical quality and ease of handling. I would recommend getting the scopes from there. On important thing to remember is the level of interest at this point in time not to mention age and physical strength as the bigger scopes can be difficult for a child to handle. An excellent all around scope is the venerable 6 inch f/8 reflector but like I say Orion has some excellent scopes for beginners. The go to scopes are more expensive but make it easier to find faint fuzzies if that's where you want to go. I'm an old time so I star hop using the finderscope and a good star atlas.

Steve

[gwalls]

My youngest son (6) asked for a telescope for Xmas. Since it's something that we all would enjoy, I have been trying to research a little on the internet about them. I know absolutely nothing about telescopes, but I do know they can be expensive. We don't want to spend over $200.00 because I don't know how long this will entertain him. The local Walmart vision center sells telescopes. They carry the Telestar by Meade. They have three models: the inexpensive one ($59.99) that is your basic refractor telescope, no bells and whistles; the middle one ($148.00) that is also a refractor, but has computer assisted guiding; and the most expensive one ($250 & ^) , which is a reflector, but does have the AutoStar computer controller. We want a refractor so I think we will get the middle of the road model and try it out. If we enjoy it enough, we may upgrade at a later date.

[Ptarmigan]

Depends on what you plan to observe and do. The most idea beginner telescope is a 6 inch Dobsonian telescope. Here's a cool site about telescopes.

Cloudy Nights