First telescope recommendation for 6 year old + Dad

[WilliamPaolini]

With most "beginners" telescopes that are usually very fast achromats at f/4 or f/5 or short Newtonians many at f/4, they are handicapped with a lot of aberrations from lots of spurious color (the fast achromat) or a lot of coma and needing meticulous collimation (the fast Newtonians). So not really ideal. The little table top Maks like the Orion Starmax 90 is at least a scope that will not have those aberration problems of the others. It comes with what looks like a 25mm Plossl (50x), which is fine as it has good eye relief so comfortable, but then the 10mm is a bit of an extreme jump and at that magnification the field of view will look small and the eye relief tight so not the friendliest. If you get this then I would add to it a 12mm Paradigm Dual-ED eyepiece (or BST Starguider - same eyepiece just different branding - https://agenaastro.com/agena-1-25-dual- ... -12mm.html) for 100x and an 8mm Paradigm or BST for 155x (https://agenaastro.com/agena-1-25-dual- ... e-8mm.html). The Paradigm/BSTs have a larger 60 degree field of view and they have long eye relief so very comfortable. Eyepieces are important as they can make or break the experience. The Paradigm/BSTs are optically good and ergonomically good and only $65 each so inexpensive for such a good performing eyepiece. I.e., a real bargain! So that little scope is of high enough optical precision to be something to grow with and will be all the better with some better eyepieces to replace that 10mm it comes with. And with the 2 Paradigm/BSTs the scope will have a 50x, 100x, 150x progression which is quite a useful progression and range to grow into.

But a 6 year old is likely not to be old enough to be too adept at finding objects so either an adult will have to help them, or you can just have them focus only on observing the Moon and planets for the first year or so as that is an easy target for them. Any Moon Map book will also make it all the more interesting for them.

I did not start using a telescope until I was 10. Before that I just used binoculars and had a lot of fun with my friend as we would lay on the lawn at night and use the binoculars to just scan the stars at night. Then during the day was fun for daytime exploration. 10x50 binoculars may be on the big side for a 6 year old, but that power/aperture is quite good for astronomy. A very inexpensive but still quite nice optically 10x50 would be these if you want to go that route - https://www.walmart.com/ip/Simmons-ProS ... k/22949592.

[Gfamily]

Agreed. Small altaz refractor first. More complicated later, Perhaps binoculars?

This advice ok for adults and older children. They probably need something that dad can pre-point for the 6yo child. Young kids can't hold binoculars very steady and can't find things. Refractor on altaz probably better.

Echo the comment that binoculars aren't the best for small children.
In terms of an alternative suggestion, I'd go for a small table top Dob like the Skywatcher Heritage 130.

Being a table top scope it's probably easier for both a young child and an adult to use, because you view from the side rather than having to get your head behind it.
It's a very capable scope as well, and gives great views of the moon and star fields.
Like any 'starter' scope, it'll benefit from replacing the 'kit' eyepieces that come in the box, particularly the 10mm one, the 25mm is reasonable, but for higher power viewing, it'll be worth looking for a better one.

[Bigzmey]

As we are all know there are no scope to do it all, there is always a compromise. It is even more true for beginner scopes.

One of the reasons I feel that small refractor on AltAz mount (manual or GoTo) is a good first buy is that if hobby sticks and you graduate to larger scope there are still good uses for small grab and go refractor. I keep using and love mine $80 Meade 80ST. Also if the hobby does not stick it is an easy re-sell.

Same applies for small Maks, but they are typically bundled with GoTo scopes and priced higher than beginner refractors on manual AltAz. People love small Maks because they amazingly small and lightweight, good on Moon and planets, fast to setup and easy to use. And if it is does not work out - easy to sell.

[JayTee]

Right now this beginner scope is in stock and on sale and I would highly recommend it.

https://optcorp.com/products/celestron- ... MaEALw_wcB

[GCoyote]

Our 6 year old grandson asked for a telescope for Christmas. I remember having a very cheap one as a kid and basically couldn't see anything in the sky through it. We're hoping our grandson and his Dad might develop a joy for stargazing as a hobby in the years ahead. We purchased a Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ reflector scope. After it arrived, we got on some message boards and are worried this may not be the right instrument for them. People say the tripod base is hard to set-up and carry, and adjust. The eyepiece may not be easy to see through for a kid that young. Some people suggested a refractor instead of reflector for first scope. Now we don't know what to do. The dollar amount isn't really an issue. We just want them to have a good first experience. Can anyone who's knowledgeable help us make a decision? Thanks very much for your time!

Since this is for family, you can consider some additional information not usually included in the hardware discussion.

Equatorial Mounts require a basic understanding of celestial coordinates. Not rocket science but a definite turn off for some people. How math tolerant dad is will be a limiting factor in that direction.

The better beginning go to mounts all seem to be managed by a smart phone ap. How tech savy is the family? You don't want them to spend an entire night fighting with the software.

Final question, what is the child's reading level? If someone can read along with your grandson about star lore, the Moon, and other objects it can help build some enthusiasm and appreciation for what they can see. Age appropriate books for the child are also a good idea.

What you don't want is for your grandson to be all fired up for a Hubble Space Telescope view of the universe. An adult who can add a narrative explanation at the pace your grandson can handle is the most important accessory for whichever scope you end up getting.

[Greenman]

I restarted Astronomy six years back when I hit my 60th birthday. I was a former user of a small refractor (Alt Az) back in the '60s & 70's. I picked the !30 MD reflector as my scope, now I found it hard to use and I only viewed planets & the moon (I did get a good moon image on a DSLR to be fair). But it drained my enthusiasm.

Back to refractors I went - considering I was an experienced adult the combination of a GEM mount and a Celestron 130 would overwhelm a child.

Reading through this I would personally still recommend a refractor, but a MAK is an interesting alternative.