Scope advice

[Big walt]

Hi all, thanks for letting me join. I'm Fter some advice. I'm after purchasing a telescope my little girls are interested in the stars And also wildlife. I'm on a limited budget to get them started, we have a bird spotter that's doesn't quite view far enough. Around 0.5 miles to 1.5miles we need and something that they could see stars a little clearer to keep them interested. Any ideas or advice would be appreciated, thanks in advance cheers

 

[Classical Motion]

I am not an astronomer, not familiar with telescopes, but no one has answered you. 50 years ago a friend showed me his Celestron telescope. It was a reflector type I believe. It wasn't very long and had a case, but could set on a desktop. It was meant for the stars, but he used it for spotting insects. At several hundred yards.

It was very impressive and versatile. It's hard to tell what they can do today. Check on Celestron or other brand forums, for spotting applications, for a more recent viewpoint.

 

[billslugg]

Spend some time checking out your local junk stores. Telescopes are notorious for very rapid decline in interest due to difficulty in pointing, ease of bumping out of collimation, ease of losing bits and pieces. I have Celestron 225x100 binos, 4.5" and 6" Newtonians I got real cheap, fixed up myself with decent tripods and good eyepieces.

 

[Big walt]

I am not an astronomer, not familiar with telescopes, but no one has answered you. 50 years ago a friend showed me his Celestron telescope. It was a reflector type I believe. It wasn't very long and had a case, but could set on a desktop. It was meant for the stars, but he used it for spotting insects. At several hundred yards.

It was very impressive and versatile. It's hard to tell what they can do today. Check on Celestron or other brand forums, for spotting applications, for a more recent viewpoint.

Thanks for the reply, I think the lack of response is because I'm not a star buff but my girls are interested so I will research regardless. I do appreciate your help cheers

 

[Big walt]

Spend some time checking out your local junk stores. Telescopes are notorious for very rapid decline in interest due to difficulty in pointing, ease of bumping out of collimation, ease of losing bits and pieces. I have Celestron 225x100 binos, 4.5" and 6" Newtonians I got real cheap, fixed up myself with decent tripods and good eyepieces.

Nice one, thanks for your advice cheers

 

[Dark Sky Seeker]

Hi Big Walt, you might try posting this question in the forum for telescopes, etc. to get more feedback. I'm not sure what your budget is but IMO a great beginner telescope for astronomy might be a tabletop type reflector telescope. Check telescope.com for Orion Skyscanner BL 102mm. It's compact and the dobsonian mount is very stable and easy to use. It will show Jupiter, Saturn/rings, and the brighter deep sky objects such as the Andromeda galaxy (M31) or brighter star clusters and globular clusters. The moon will look splendid. However, it won't do a very good job for terrestrial viewing as a reflector will show images upside down and reversed. Irrelevant for astronomy, but disorienting to say the least for terrestrial use. A more ambitious first telescope might be a 6" dobsonian. The more aperture, the more you'll be able to see. The stable dob style mount means you dont' have to spend big $ for a stable mount.

However, we still need a solution for the terrestrial side of things. An 80 or 90mm 'short tube' style refractor scope would do pretty well both for basic astronomy and terrestrial viewing but you have to be careful here as the quality and stability of your mount is critical for successful viewing.

Perhaps the short term solution is go with a 80 -90 mm short tube style refractor on a tripod, and if you or your daughters get more into astronomy, you can see about a dedicated astro rig.

Another thing to consider is looking up a local astronomy club and attend a star party with your daughters. Free and you can look through all kinds of gear. You might find you like something else, like a small Mak type scope. Going to a star party is probably the best advice for starters, then you can figure out what gear might work best for you.

 

[Classical Motion]

This is such a bargain one could call it a spare. 38 bucks.

Celestron Travel Scope 60 Portable Telescope with Backpack and Tripod - Walmart.com

Buy Celestron Travel Scope 60 Portable Telescope with Backpack and Tripod at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com