OT: Any one here interested in Astromomy
- Thread starter mskohl
- Start date
mskohl
Active member
Is this a decent telescope for a first buy for a 5-8 year old and parent? The kid is really interested in planets, stars, and nebulas. He has a limited knowledge base, but likes watching the tv programs and looking at the hubble pictures.
http://www.opticsplanet.net/meade-ds2000-1.html
Thanks.
http://www.opticsplanet.net/meade-ds2000-1.html
Thanks.
WHat I got, that is easier to handle, is a pair of deep-sky binoculars [super-light-gathering coating.]. Mounted on a tripod, they're much easier to aim, and have many uses besides. They're elephant-sized, but are tough, and you don't have the complexity of a sighting scope. On a cold night, you run out, look up, sight, steady it on the tripod, point it out, and get back in before you have hypothermia. You can see rings on Saturn, moons at Jupiter and you can spot nebulae and many more stars than your eyes can see. It's not so good for near objects like the moon, but it can spot a heron on a lake shore adequately well.
Those will work but you will be aperture limited in what you can see. What is your budget? Those Meade scopes are on closeout (model changes) so they are priced pretty attractively. Something like this would be the ideal but may be more than you want to spend. This Meade would also work well. The real question is the ability of the telescope to find things for you (goto or push to finding). You would probably use a scope with automatic finding more often but it will cost more to buy.
Come out to a star party some time. The OKC Astronomy Club has them all the time and they are open to the public. Plenty of scopes to cage a look through. It's hit or miss as to whether you will see me there with my schedule.
mskohl
Active member
Thanks for all your help. I think I've found one that will work for us. It's better than the first one I posted, but not as nice as the ones JasonF posted.
The description says:
super easy to use and with its 325x practical magnification you can see the rings of Saturn, the four largest satellites of Jupiter, moon craters and much more
If this interest turns into something more for our son or us, then we'll see about upgrading later, but for now, I think I've spent enough money.
We may have to check out the astronomy club. That sounds like fun. We could have astronomy club on Friday night and COMAS on Saturday (except in Jan).
Thanks again.
The description says:
super easy to use and with its 325x practical magnification you can see the rings of Saturn, the four largest satellites of Jupiter, moon craters and much more
If this interest turns into something more for our son or us, then we'll see about upgrading later, but for now, I think I've spent enough money.
We may have to check out the astronomy club. That sounds like fun. We could have astronomy club on Friday night and COMAS on Saturday (except in Jan).
Thanks again.
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8786716#post8786716 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mskohl
Thanks for all your help. I think I've found one that will work for us. It's better than the first one I posted, but not as nice as the ones JasonF posted.
The description says:
super easy to use and with its 325x practical magnification you can see the rings of Saturn, the four largest satellites of Jupiter, moon craters and much more
If this interest turns into something more for our son or us, then we'll see about upgrading later, but for now, I think I've spent enough money.
We may have to check out the astronomy club. That sounds like fun. We could have astronomy club on Friday night and COMAS on Saturday (except in Jan).
Thanks again.
Be highly skeptical of that number. I have an 8" scope and have never used that high of magnification. Viewing conditions just don't support it and anything under about 25x the diameter of the scope in inches (ie 200x on my 8").
Edit: See here
djc1026
New member
Steph, I think that for a 5-8 yr old and parent, your first option was probably a very good choice for an entry level telescope. I second Jason's word of caution on scopes that advertise "325x practical magnification." What would have been more acceptable would be max magnification on a 4"-6" aperature scope. Also, the atmospheric conditions have a lot to do with the amount of magnification you can use. Unless you are doing a lot of terrestrial or lunar viewing, you will most likely use the lower magnification eyepieces 80-90% of the time. The "goto" function of your original post is a pretty decent function and for everything that it had, was reasonably priced even as a closeout. The barlow lens that it comes with sells separately for $40-120 depending on the brand and build quality. It also comes with 2 eyepieces and the goto function. So all in all, I think it would have been an excellent entry level model for a youngster and their parent(s).
Dave
Dave
mskohl
Active member
http://www.opticsplanet.net/meade-114-eq-a-reflector-telescope-04007.html
This is the one I ended up getting. It's about the same price as the other.
This is the one I ended up getting. It's about the same price as the other.
It's fine. The included eyepieces will give a magnification of 111x for the 9mm and 40x for the 25mm. You would need a 3mm to get the advertised 325x magnification. You could add a cheap barlow which magnifies the image if you wanted, but those two eyepieces will cover most of the viewing you are going to do. Enjoy the scope.
Similar threads
