First telescope for my 6yr old son?

Hi,

Complete newbie here with a space-mad 6 year old. He has his heart set on getting a telescope from Santa, so I'm wondering where do I start?

He's seen on in Smyths for Eur120 that he's taken a shine to ( www.smyths.ie/Shop_Product_Detail.aspx?pcode=C06695 ) but I've no idea if it's good, mediocre or rubbish.

I'd love some advice on what to get for him.

Also, we're living in Wexford - any astromony clubs for kids in the area?

Many thanks,
J.

Hi,

You definitely don't want to give him/her a telescope from a toy shop. They are generally so poor that they will kill any interest the child has. A good rule of thumb is that any telescope advertised on the basis of high magnification is pure rubbish.

I was unfortunate enough in my youth to get one of these and it almost killed my interest in Astronomy. They are so poor you can really only see the moon with them and the frustration they cause is endless. Myself and my father spent hours trying to see anything interesting and when we failed the telescope was packed away to gather dust. A waste of my parents money and a real dent to my enthusiasm.

So, what can you get your space-mad six year old to help foster their interest in Astronomy, I'd suggest three things that together should not cost more than the telescope you mentioned:

1) A good pair of 10x50mm binoculars
2) A good beginners astronomy book dedicated to teaching the sky and what you can see with binoculars (which is a lot)
3) A subscription to an astronomy magazine.

The reality is that cheap telescopes from toy shops are made with very poor materials, often plastic for the lenses instead of glass and set up to give rediculous magnifications that the optics just can'd deliver. Add to that they fact that you need a really good mount to actually accurately point anything that magnifies a lot and you get a recipie for disapointment. Most of the sky is empty, you need to learn your way round and know where the interesting stuff is before you can point a telescope at it. The more you magnify the worse the problem gets. That's why you need to learn the sky with binoculars first. Until you know your way round there is nothing you can do with a telescope (apart from spy on your neighbours ).

I hope I'm making sense,

Bart.

You could also try contacting Slaney Side Astronomy Club wexford_astronomy@yahoo.ie who should be fairly close to you.

Phil.

PS - Bart... the kid's only 6 years old - binocs, a heavy duty book and a mag could be just a wee bit OTT for his tender years and enthusiasm! At that age a real telescope's the thing burning in his imagination. There *are* GOOD cheap refractors out there (Skylux, Bresser, Meade, Celestron) - but I'd go for a simple tripod-mounted Alt-Az rather than an equatorial head which will just confuse him. Whatever he ends up with, I'm afraid Dad's going to have to learn his way around the sky if junior's going to get to see anything other than the moon.

My 2c worth!

Hey guys,

Thanks a lot for the replies. I need to do a lot more research, eh?! (Equatorial head? A simple tripod-mounted Alt-Az? It's like a foreign language to me but I'm sure I'll become more fluent with time!)

He's longing for a telescope of course, but if binoculars are the way to go we'll go that way and Santa can leave a note to explain that the elves recommended them for a beginnner instead of a telescope... :roll:

Where do I even go to source any of this stuff? I want to get the best I can for whatever I spend - as with everything I'm sure there are plenty of places ready to rip me off, specially when they realise how green I am.

Thanks again,
J.

Where do I even go to source any of this stuff? I want to get the best I can for whatever I spend - as with everything I'm sure there are plenty of places ready to rip me off, specially when they realise how green I am.

Thanks again,
J.

Three places immediately come to mind:

1) Andromeda Optics
2) North Down Telescopes
3) Astronomy Ireland

Personally, I get all my stuff from the guys in Andromeda Optics because they are really sound guys and they really know their stuff. Being very passionate observers themselves they have direct experience with everything they sell.

Bart.

Thanks guys!

I tried going onto Andromeda's website, but it's in the process of an overhaul, so they just have an email address. I've sent them an email so hopefully they'll come back to me.

I'm after coming around to the idea of good binoculars rather than a telescope. He has a little toyshop telescope at the moment, and always finds it hard to scrunch up one eye to look with the other.

I've been looking around online for binoculars, and as an example I found a pair, Zhumell 20x80 SuperGiant Astronomical Binoculars, on binoculars.com (but they seem to only ship to the States) Are they a good make? Is 20 x 80 necessarily a good thing?? What should I look for in binoculars? Tripod-mountable, but what else? (Are tripods standard? I have one for the camcorder - is it likely to suit binoculars?)

I've been looking at star charts too - this is all really interesting!! I'll be robbing his binoculars and going out to study the night sky - he'll have to wait his turn! :lol:

Thanks for all your help, and no doubt I'll be back with more questions soon!

J.