starting off

Hi there, good site! My parents are moving to a new house in the countryside with much less night-time light pollution (and thus a better view of the sky). I'm thinking of getting them a telescope to use but as I'm not sure how into it they will be, I want to limit the cost.

I know there are posts here re what to look for in a telescope, but I was hoping that someone could give me a specific recommendation or two.. (ie a brand/item name and where to buy). I looked on ebay but no idea if they are good or bad there.

I was wondering if it is possible to get a decent beginner scope for around about 100-120 euro or less? Ideally this could also be used in daytime too (they are keen on nature etc). I realise that the better telescopes cost a lot more but it's really just something for them to use from time to time. If they get into it, we can look at a better telescope then.

Thanks for your advice!

Hi stokesymadrid,

Welcome to the site! Hope you will enjoy your time here.

Well, there are a plethora of options open to you. My personal advice would be to invest in a beginner's guide to the night sky, such as this www.amazon.co.uk/Collins-Stars-Planets-Guide/dp/0007251203 and a decent pair of binoculars.
The key things here are:
1. They understand what they see
2. They learn their way around the night sky
3. Binoculars can also be used for daytime use so all isn't lost if their interest wanes
4. They offer a nice way of introducing magnification. More magnification isn't always better.

Next Christmas, if they are still interested, buy them a decent scope which they will be able to cherish and appreciate.

Just my 2 cents.

Clear Skies,

Hi, welcome aboard.

The best thing you can give to a beginner is a pair of 10x50mm binoculars and a good book to go with them. Until you learn your way around the sky you can't do anything interesting with a telescope, and the best way to learn the sky is with binoculars.

People think that astronomers need telescopes but that's not true. You can do an awful lot with nothing more than you eyes and even more with binoculars. By contrast, a true beginner can do almost nothing with a telescope.

Hope I'm making sense,

Bart.

Hi guys, thanks for that. Are 10 x 50 powerful enough to get a good luck at the moon, etc, or should I go for a higher magnification? (I presume the strength is 10x with those binoculars?)

Hi guys, thanks for that. Are 10 x 50 powerful enough to get a good luck at the moon, etc, or should I go for a higher magnification? (I presume the strength is 10x with those binoculars?)

Yes, 10x is the magnification. Yes, it will give you a nice view of the moon. Be very careful about getting higher magnifications. Firstly, the more you magnify the harder it is to find anything. Secondly, the more you magnify the more difficult it becomes to hold the binoculars steady. Finally, the more you magnify the bigger the lenses need to be to gather enough light to see the same amount of stuff. This makes good high magnification binoculars REALLY heavy.

It's for all these reasons that 10x50mm really is the ideal for anyone beginning astronomy.

Bart.

Welcome to the boards stokesymadrid!

Yes, the 10x is the magnification of the binoculars. It's about the highest magnification you can go for handholding the instruments. Anything greater and a tripod with a clamp is required.

I have a pair of Celestron 15x70mm and you can handhold these when seated (the price in Argos is TWICE what I paid in the US however!) but they do reveal that bit much more detail in objects.

The Moon in 10x binoculars will have a lot of black sky around it -- in fact, you need to bump up the power to 40x before the Moon fills the field of view in a small telescope.

That said, 10x will give pleasing views of star fields and much more. As the guys said, a good book on what to see will add to the experience. I would recommend "Stargazing with Binoculars" by Robin Scagell (just published and available around Dublin). A planisphere and map of the Moon will round out the package.

A subscription to one of the astronomy monthlies is also worthwhile. "The Sky at Night" is more expensive to subscribe to than purchase in the newsagent (!) but other magazines for budding astronomers include "Astronomy Now" and "Astronomy and Space". "Sky and Telescope" and "Astronomy" might be too advanced at first -- but get December 2007's issue of "Astronomy" as that will have a sky almanac for 2008

The planets will not reveal any detail unfortunately in 10x instruments but you can see the 4 largest moons of Jupiter changing position from night to night as they orbit the planet. Uranus and Neptune can be swept up too providing you've a chart to home in on their positions.

All the best,

John