Help buying a kids telescope

[T@T]

For a 10 year old, I don't want spend a lot in case he shows no real interest but needs to be good enough to see the planets and track them. Only places I found that sell them in the city are camera stores and I'm sure their marked up 3 times.

Any info would be great on product and places to buy.(would rather not order online)

Thanks.

[dissentowner]

Can't offer advice on where to purchase but avoid those camera store ones anyhow as they tend to be overpriced no no names. I recommend a nice starter scope by Meade who make excellent telescopes!

[dissentowner]

Here is a good link
http://www.rocketroberts.com/astro/first.htm

[annasuave]

The Royal Astronomical Society of Calgary will rent you a scope if you want to try before you buy. http://calgary.rasc.ca/ The RASC has programs for young 'uns They do Build Your Own Scope programs as well as Friday Night Star Gazing Parties. They usually meet up at the Telus World of Science. There's bound to be someone there that can recommend a good scope. (In fact, just try to get astronomical society folks to not tell you about their scopes!)

Tele-Optics in Calgary is a reasonable bet.

My personal fave is the Celestron Sky Scout Pocket Planetarium. Its not a telescope; it combines a GPS device with an astronomical database for hours of sky gazing fun. I got one for Christmas a couple of years back and I'm delighted with it. Meade makes a similar product, but I don't know what it's called.

[I_am_Beast]

give the calgary science centre a call, they used to sell them.... though not sure anymore...

[photon]

Great link dissentowner.

Nothing kills a kid's enthusiasm faster than high expectations combined with the terrible quality of most retail telescopes.

You could even start out with a good pair of binoculars combined with a tripod.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by photon

Great link dissentowner.

Nothing kills a kid's enthusiasm faster than high expectations combined with the terrible quality of most retail telescopes.

You could even start out with a good pair of binoculars combined with a tripod.

That is what I started with at 10 years old, a god pair of binocs. Your dead on about the the high expectations Photon but hopefully he sticks with it because it is a great hobby! Telescopes get really expensive very fast once you start getting a bit bigger. My current scope is the Meade ETX-125, very portable and lots of power for it's size but it will set you back about $1000.
http://www.escience.ca/telescopes/RE...075/11867.html

[4X4]

I know you're asking about hardware, but I have a suggestion for reading material. An old book I have (old, like 10 years old) by Terence Dickenson called Nightwatch. It's an excellent guide to beginner astronomy. Layman enough that a ten year old (with an interest in astronomy) will comprehend it, and also interesting enough for an adult.
I might be a tad biased, though. I give this book extra kudos for having a lay-flat spine so that you can leave it open and observe, without losing your page.
If you're getting your kid into astronomy, be prepared for some late nights and/or early mornings.

[SinceDay1]

A good book should really go hand in hand with any telescope purchase. As 4x4 mentioned, you can't go wrong with Nightwatch. In fact, I'd suggest Nightwatch and a pair of binoculars to get started. It's a great way to learn the sky. Another nice thing about Nightwatch is that it does go into some detail about the different types of telescopes and what their strengths and weaknesses are.

If you're really want to buy a telescope, I'd stay away from a computerized "GOTO" scope unless you're prepared to shell out at least in the neighborhood of $500 for something like a Celestron Nexstar 4SE or Meade ETX90. These are small aperture catadioptric designs. Decent optics with GOTO and tracking but with limited light gathering power due to their small apertures. The Nexstar 6SE or 8SE would be a better way to go but it's a big price jump. They also have a bit of a learning curve and require a power source (they will run on AA batteries but not for long).

A better & cheaper way to go for beginners would be with a Newtonian reflector on a manual Dobsonian mount (commonly referred to as Dobs). There are a couple of good entry level Dobs available for ~$250 to $350 that will give you a decent amount of aperture. The Skywatcher Heritage 130mm and Orion Starblast6 are pretty good bang for the buck.

As for dealers, Michael Bandmann operates Tele-Optics here in Calgary and he won't steer you wrong. If you don't mind driving to Didsbury, then I'd recommend All-Star Telescopes. They have several scopes on display and run monthly Observer Nights where you can take a scope for a "test drive". Their next Observer Night is December 12th.

http://www.all-startelescope.com/
http://www.tele-optics.ca/