TheSkySearchers

Hi All,

Thank you for including me in this group. I live in Massachusetts and was looking into purchasing a telescope for myself and 8 year old daughter who is obsessed with stars and the sky. I was hoping to come here and learn about the type of telescope needed and how to go about getting into this hobby.

Thank You,
Tom

Hello Tom

Welcome to the Forum.

Regards

Graeme

Hi Tom and Welcome to TSS. You have come to the right place!

to tss .

Hi, Tom. Welcome.

A dobsonian reflector is a good beginner scope, but before diving in, you might want to see if there's an astronomy club in your area and attend a star party. There you can see all sorts of different rigs and gets lots of good advice as well. This is great hobby to share with your daughter. My Dad introduced me to astronomy when I was 10 and once I started I was hooked.

Welcome to TSS Tom, thanks for joining us

Hello and welcome!
I second @starfield: don't rush into buying a scope before gathering some advice first.
First: avoid Bird-Jones type telescopes for beginners. Bird-Jones works fine if it's precision manufactured, what beginner's scopes are not. Many scopes are also sold with not solid enough mount. You probably don't want an F/4 scope, because well-working eyepieces are expensive, and I don't think you'll like some F/15 scope either, unless you have decided to stick with observing planets.

These are examples of things you need to know before going into a telescope shop.

Hi Tom, and welcome here to the Forum!

smp

Hello Tom and welcome to TSS. Glad you joined us.

Before we can give you our best advice, knowing what your budget is would really help us help you get what would work best for you and your daughter.

Cheers

Tom18202 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 21, 2021 2:39 pm Hi All,

Thank you for including me in this group. I live in Massachusetts and was looking into purchasing a telescope for myself and 8 year old daughter who is obsessed with stars and the sky. I was hoping to come here and learn about the type of telescope needed and how to go about getting into this hobby.

Thank You,
Tom

Hello Tom and welcome.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21885

Hi Tom. We're all happy to have you on board here on TSS. Welcome to the forum Tom and the best of wishes on your future telescope purchase to you and also to your daughter.

Hello and welcome to the forums

Hello Tom and welcome to the Forum.

Welcome to TSS Tom

Welcome on board Tom! Getting to astronomy with your daughter, this is great! I spent many evening observing with my daughter when she was growing up, fun times.

Hello, Tom! Welcome to the group!

Dave

Hi Tom, Welcome aboard, lots of choices out there and which scope to go for, it depends a bit on what you want to concentrate on and your level of expenditure. The good news is that there is plenty of help here to help you in your decision.

Hi Tom, and welcome! I second the comments above about telescopes. May I suggest that when you are ready you let us know your budget, the sort of things you are most interested in looking at, and if possible do some research and give us a list of what you have come across. Don't just leap in and buy something or you might be disappointed.
For example: a popular "beginners" scope (last least until people buy it and try to use it!) is the "Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ Newtonian", which is a type of "Bird-Jones" design that Juha mentioned (it is not strictly speaking a "Newtonian": bit of false advertising there!). In my experience (trying to fix it for people) it has a flimsy mount/tripod, doubtful optics and is a source of immense frustration for first-time users...
"What telescope should I buy?" is a similar question to "How long is a piece of string?", so expect lots of different answers.
However, there are a lot of good options out there for a reasonable price, so don't despair!
This is why, if possible, you check out a local astronomy club.
All the best to you and your daughter,

Dean