[Closed] Want telescope for 7yr old, 10yr old and 45yr old?

[url= https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbuys/thur-26-nov/product-detail/ps/p/premium-telescope/ ]Aldi might be ok[/url]

That Aldi one looks very much like this

http://www.telescopeplanet.co.uk/national-geographic-76-700-reflector-telescope-eq

If it is, it's a big discount

* I've only done a quick google, don't really know that much about telescopes!

As with bikes don't buy one from a supermarket or a catalogue. They will be utter rubbish. And don't touch National Geographic stuff with a bargepole.

Celestron are a good brand, Skywatcher as well. You won't go far wrong with these but I'd suggest avoiding EQ mounts as they are a complete pita.

I use First Light Optics. They tend to be verygood and have a good range.

Can I slightly high-jack this and ask for suggestions for something to take pictures with?

I've never used my scope for photos so can't advise on that but you would need a scope with a motor drive for anything other than the moon, I believe.

OP search for TAL Telescope on ebay. These are Russian made telescopes which go really cheap but optically are very good and are rated as good / one of the best quality starter scopes. They usually come in at 50 - 80 quid and come in 4 or 6 inch.

Konastoner - those TAL ones seem to be quite good value and thanks Idlejohn for the heads up on needing a motor drive if we're looking to take photos.

There's a few Celestron scopes on ebay at the moment that look tempting too.

If your budget can stretch to it, one of these is excellent (couple of neighbours have them)

http://www.telescopehouse.com/telescopes/telescopes-by-price/telescopes-under-200/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube-dobsonian.html

I also cannot recommend strongly enough getting this book 'Turn Left at Orion' - otherwise the experience may be sadly dissapointing.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Turn-Left-Orion-Hundreds-Telescope/dp/0521153972/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1448291107&sr=1-1&keywords=turn+left+at+orion

I'm just getting into amateur astronomy and from what I've gleaned from books, mags and t'internet, the Skywatcher Heritage is an ideal beginner scope. You can get the smaller, tabletop Heritage 100p for around £90, but the bigger mirror of the 130p will giver better images.

The dobsonian mount on the Heritage isn't much good for astro photography though. You'd need a motorised equatorial tracking mount for that.

I was originally looking at the 130 Astromaster as my first scope as well, but I was put off by poor reviews of the wobbly tripod mount. In the end I decided to go for a dobsonian type reflector, then I went completely mad and threw my original budget out the window and got a Skyliner 200p

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The dobsonians are stupidly quick to setup, you don't have to level or align anything. The base is a big lump of wood that isn't going to be affected by wind or vibration and you can quickly pan to any area of the sky that interests you.

The downsides are as I mentioned, it isn't much cop for photography, although apparently you can get very good planetary images from them as they don't need long exposures requiring the telescope to track the target. The other thing is of course that it doesn't really look like a 'telescope' that a 7yr old might be expecting.

I've been wowed by the thing, utterly smitten!

This was a shot I took with my mobile held up to the eyepiece on Friday night (I'd had a few beers), the greenish tint comes from the glare reducing filter I'd added. Magnification's around x48

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C.

I had a Skyliner 200 like that as well. Awesome for the price, approx. £200 I seem to remember? I managed to see about most of the planets, comets, and half of the Messier list, including some of the really faint galaxies, all from a light polluted city centre back yard.

I always loved showing people Jupiter or Saturn.

Unfortunately it was getting less and less use because of the new road being built behind my house, with associated lighting, so I got rid of it last year. I'll get another if I ever live somewhere dark again.

I got mine new for £260, but I'm pretty sure you could pick one up 2nd hand for less than that. This place seems to be widely regarded for 2nd hand sales.... http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/

Another book to check out from the library before you buy your telescope is "The Backyard Astronomer" by Dickinson and Dyer. It's really useful for giving you an idea of what you might see (you won't see galaxies like they are in the mags and hubble photos. They're more like faint grey smudges), and what sort of equipment you'd need to get the views you want.

Oh, and maybe try logging onto www.stargazerslounge.com , they'll give you better advice and probably won't scream STRAVA!!! quite so much. They seem like a very nice bunch!

Whatever you do, you won't regret it. Even just seeing the moon at x120 is utterly, utterly awesome. Probably best if you don't drink as much wine as I do when you're stargazing though, especially if there's kids wandering around. 😉

Probably best if you don't drink as much wine as I do when you're stargazing though, especially if there's kids wandering around

And I thought it was just me! 😆

You're right about the price - it was close to £270 I think.

Stargazers Lounge is a funny forum. Much politer then this place. I got shouted down for laughing at someone who claimed to have seen a UFO. It was actually the ISS. The smallest bit of research would have shown him that. I pointed out that if he had checked, he could have found out what it was, who was on it, what they had for dinner, all sorts of info but he had decided that the bright light in the sky was an alien! 🙄