ALDI have a telescope on Special on Sunday

My apologies Denton.

I failed to realise how sensitive you are. I had little idea that you would take my post as being 'sarcastic' and therefore 'offensive'.

Denton wrote:
along with references to persons who have not been quoted at all


I'd appreciate you enlightening me on this line though, if you wouldn't mind. I'm not sure what you are inferring.

Denton wrote:
I do after all work for an organization that has an internationally sold astronomy magazine and gets interviewed on national radio and TV. I don't notice others being in that same position, but please correct me if I'm wrong on that subject.


I'm sure there are plenty of people working for internationally sold magazines who are interviewed on radio and TV - Rick Feinberg, Denis, di Cicco, Greg Bryant, David Levy, Phil Harrington, Ray Jayawardhana.... I don't think you're the only one Denton.

Denton wrote:
a small telescope is a bad idea for anyone interested in astronomy.

This would be hard for me to sell to my 7-year old niece and

Denton wrote:
Quite a good scope can be purchase for a few hundred euro, one that will bring many deep-sky objects into view as well as the bright members of our Solar System.


I am not going to go out and spend a few hundred euro on a 7-year old girl:

1. for a gift that will be used three times before Barbie becomes far more attractive
2. who has no concept of 'Solar System', far less 'deep sky object'
3. to assuage my guilt at possibly destroying the kernel of curiosity in a 7-year old girl, whose curiosity will last about the same length of time with either a 49 quid scope or a system costing half a million.

Denton wrote:
I think comments of the nature of the one I refer to have little place in an astronomy site such as this. We are all on the same side, right?


Denton - if you spent more time on this site, I think you have 15 posts in a little less than a year, perhaps you would understand that far from being eggheads discussing the finer points of the three nanoseconds after the big bang, we're (mostly) all here to share ideas, wisdom and have a bit of jocular fun whenever we get the chance. I'm sorry you failed to see the 'jocular fun' in my post but then perhaps a few more visits here would give you a better taste for the general cut and thrust of posts between amateur astronomers who have day jobs in the humdrum of the real world.

Denton wrote:
I do actually know someone who had a little scope, poor optics, and said they put it in the attic and never bothered with astronomy again because they "couldn't see anything".

And there are people on this board who started off with a little scope, which the 49 quid scope from Aldi would put to shame, and they're still here...

Denton wrote:
a small scope is limited. If you must get one, then at least get a good quality one, not something from Aldi.

Are you saying that the Aldi scope is of poor quality? Have you seen one? Have you tested one? Are you saying that all those folks on this board who bought the Meade ETX70 or Skylux refractor from Lidl bought lemons?

Just because Aldi, or Lidl are selling a scope, you shouldn't automatically assume you are buying poor quality.

Denton, you are of course entitled to your opinion. And I would defend your right to my dying breath. But lighten up man. Really. You've turned a harmless jocular post into a crusade. I personally find THAT offensive.

Finally, if I have offended anyone else on this board, I offer my sincerest apologies and a €49 scope from Aldi :lol:

Dave

8" Celstron C8
Meade ETX70 refractor (from Lidl)
8" Newtonian
AstroPhysics 1200 GTO German Equatorial Mount
Meade DSI with IR Filter
Celestron 6.3 Focal Reducer
Lumicon UHC Filter
Laptop
Rolling shed
Trusty Observatory Assistant (Holly the Dog) as mentioned on The Quantum Leap, RTE 1 National Radio Show.

If you wanted a 'good quality' 60mm refractor, and assuming the Aldi scope is not up to scratch, then there's no need to spend hundreds of euros. Just shop around.

For example, the Celestron Firstscope 60AZ can be bought from Telescope Planet UK for €111

It is also available from B&H in the US for €60 , but the delivery+duty charges add up.

cgi.ebay.ie/Telescope-16-inch-Reflector_...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Might be a bit better than what you might get at ALDI/LIDL but is this 16" "one of Irelands largest telescopes"
Cripes, my 20" is a fair bit bigger and thats still a bit off the mark id say
:lol:
Charles !!!!!

And there are a fair number of those 20" scopes around Charles, including a number of other 16" scopes.
I'd imagine Eamonn A's scope is the biggest in the country, short of the Leviathan Birr. :lol:

My 7-year old niece has just asked for a telescope for Christmas. Oh well, I guess the Aldi scope is a bad idea because it'll kill her interest in astronomy.

Well, I guess it depends on how much you want to encourage your young niece in entering the world of amateur astronomy. You could buy the scope, test it and then decide if you really want to give it to her for Christmas. Throw it away if (or when) you find it's useless and then go out and buy her a decent one. It's only €49.99 so won't kill you. Let us know. For what it's worth, my advice would be to get her something like Edmund Scientific's Astroscan. You know she'll be getting a good small scope, one she'll see a lot with and will last her for ages. www.dansdata.com/astroscan.htm It's also available in the UK.

Just a thought - perhaps this astrology scope can pick up Russell Grant, although I don't know that I'd want to look at him at 262.5x.

Gordon

Gordon - tut tut, besmirching Russell Grant? My hero - he told me in 1987, via 'Your Sizzling Sun' that I'd be rich and famous. I can't wait! Its gonna happen 'cos he was on TV and in the mags and he's a professional.

As for the niece, who is 7, I know for a fact she'll genuinely be delighted with anything that she can look at the stars with. And I'd bet you a tenner that if she looked through the eyepiece, and I told her she was looking at the exact spot where Neil Armstrong put his foot down, she'd say (and I genuinely mean this) 'yes Uncle Dave, and you know what, I can really see his footprint"... And she will see his footprint, in her imagination.

Of course, if my niece was in her teens, and still interested in astronomy (over boys and ballet), I'd get her a pair of binos and a book . That's a no-brainer and the best advice from many of the folks here. The Astroscan looks cool and ncieley spec'd for the price - but not available outside the USA unfortunately - through resellers or by mail order.

But she's only 7 and the scope will be in the attic or bin within a week not because she couldn't see anything through it but because either

1. her mind and imagination will be on winning 'You're a Star' because she's great on the Karaoke machine her Mum got her for Christmas...

or

2. her brat of a sister (5) fed it to the dog next door

But if a germ of interest can be kindled, even for a moment, I'd prefer that than getting her nothing, and always wondering if....

Would Russell Grant fit in the Aldi scope at 262.5x? Suppose it depends how far away he is. Probably the further the better

Cheers

Dave