Beginner, but nice telescope for my kids?

Question

I would like it to be remote that automaticly finds certain planets and things like that. Any suggestive brands or links would be greatly appreciated! thx

Answer 1

First, go to an astronomy club.  That could be the end of your search.  The scope i got would give me 26 years of family membership at my club.

The Orion xt6i is the smallest scope that i've actually used that i recommend.  I have the xt10i.  These are reflecting telescopes on a sturdy dobsonian mount.  They are also called the Intelliscope.  That means they have a computer to help you find things.

The xt10i was the largest scope that was less than $1000 (it was $800) that fit in my car with a computer locator at the time.  It's a tube scope (not a truss that you must assemble each time) so it sets up in under 3 minutes, including 2 star alignment.  And it's awesome - i had checked one out at my club first.  The parts of the xt10i are 25 and 27 pounds.  So the xt6i might be better for kids.

Tracking scopes are more complicated to set up, and often require bigger batteries or even external power.  The Orion push-to scopes use a 9 volt battery that lasts months.  I added home made dew heaters for my scope for about $15.  I use AA batteries for that.  They last all night on a charge.  Sky & Telescope has hints on how to make them.

I don't believe in beginner scopes.  Get something that you'll use.

Answer 2

Go to an astronomy club and buy it second hand. You'll get a great scope at a great price plus they'll show you how to use it  

Answer 3

Budget telescopes are quite good these days, as Sir Patrick Moore notes in his book Astronomy with a Budget Telescope.

You almost certainly want to get a Newtonian telescope, based on mirrors rather than lenses. The price is a mite bit greater but the quality is well worth it, since refractors can give you distortions in light and colour.

Edit: Also check out the Celestron Astromaster sries, it comes with a free CD rom with planetarium software that makes it really easy to find things worth looking at. They start at around $230

I'd reccomend a Firstscope 114 EQ, since its relatively cheap and comes with the newtonian mount that makes it easy to view with.

Edit Edit: Anything automated is going to cost $$$ and is really only reccomended for professionals or extreme enthusiasts. If you're still interested check out Schmidt-Cassegrain scopes, cheapest one I could find was around $650, http://www.celestron.com/c2/product.php?...

Answer 4

This litte Celestron is rated very well and has go-to capabilites. It is rated as an intermediate telescope as you're going to need to know something about what you want to find in the night sky. http://www.telescope.com/control/product...



This one is a great beginners telescope but does not have any computers on it. http://www.telescope.com/control/product...

Both of these products are rated very well.