Overview:

If you have read 'Complete Essentials', I want you to suspend your commitment to my advice for beginners and accept that in the case of children, there are some slight exceptions to the mounting types I recommend for adult starters.

The telescopes I recommend here are excellent in use and show a good level of detail. 

Picture:

DO NOT be tempted to buy the small 76mm Newtonians shown in the picture here  > 

They are little more than toys. They will not focus properly, and they will let your child down from the very first view. We don't want that, do we?  The image in such a telescope will be partially unfocused at all times and also 'upside down' - Not at all helpful in the early development of young astronomers!

So, what do you need?

I believe that every child deserves great image quality: To that end I will be recommending various telescope parameters that will not disappoint in the image department.  It would be easy to suggest many of the so-called 'starter' telescopes in this section, however, I strongly believe that even for a small child, image quality is very important.  I will recommend a good telescope in a manageable size for children.

For a young child sharing with an adult: (4yrs to 10yrs old) The AZ mounted small refractor (60-80mm) is a simple and usable instrument that will show all the basics of astronomy, whilst not complicating things with mountings that are difficult to use, or being of a size that the child cannot manage.  At this age it is usual to acompany the child in their nocturnal activities.

For an older child (Sharing or not): (11 - 13 years old) who is maybe going to be setting off on their journey without close supervision I would still recommend the medium sized refractor on Alt/Az mounting.  Maybe a 70mm f10 refractor on AZ/EQ convertible? See recommended telescopes later...

Older Teens: Can utilise 'full adult-size' telescopes. See later section.

Please read on:

WHEN TO BUY?

Planning is good for buying a scope for your own use and particularly when giving a telescope as a present.  As a hobby telescope trader I can tell you that the market is very depressed in the summer months. That's when you get your best deals from your local and online new supplier and your second hand trader alike.

Telescopes selling in late autumn, as the evenings start getting dark earlier, increase in price until near the holidays they sell for more than the recommended new price!  (Both new and second hand telescopes!)

If you decide to buy a telescope as a present, for example for Christmas, you need to be shopping in July and August really to get the best value, otherwise, you'll be spending up to three times the money you could be spending for the same instrument.

Telescopes it seems are more subject to seasonal fluctuations and the laws of supply and demand than any other product on the market. At least that's how it will feel when you see telescopes in December selling for twice the price you saw in September!

True Examples:  Second hand SkyWatcher 130Ps auctioned scopes have sold as follows: 

July £90

October £175

November £210

December £295 

(New price £260)

Prices remain bouyant all through the winter months and don't fall off significantly until mid -spring in April to May when the evenings become lighter again.

Picture:  A superb SkyWatcher 130P EQ3 bought for £90 in May 2016

A Matter of Clarity:  A Quick Note to Parents.

Please make sure that you and your child do your observations outside. 

Telescopes should not be used looking through a window or skylight and especially through an open window!

The glass in the optics of a telescope is precisely shaped (to within the wavelength of light!) to focus the light and give detail in the image. The glass in your window is not suitable for looking through at these detail levels.  The telescope glass surface is accurate to within the wavelength of light - Your window is acurate to within a millimetre (Almost infinitely bad!)

You may think that opening a window is the same as an observatory slot. But, an astronomical observatory is unheated, so there is no air moving through the slot. Observing through an open window gives very poor results, the warm air makes turbulence with the heat spilling out of the house through the window. The warm air mixing with the cold air outside creates ripples like the shimmer off a hot road in summer... AVOID!

Please: Take the scope OUTSIDE for your observations. Your views will be 500% better, at least!

See videos below: You can choose which image you'd like to observe!

Dark Adaption

It is VERY important to let your eyes get used to the dark!

When you go outside from the lit environment indoors your eyes have pupils about 2-3mm in diameter. This doesn't let in much light and the view through the telescope is dimmed.

As you become 'accustomed to the dark', your pupils open up over time and eventually they reach about 6-7mm. This takes about 20-30 minutes.

When you make observations after this time you will see much more detail in faint objects. See Illustration (Click to enlarge).

NOTE: It's the same when you go from observing the Moon to DSOs.

It's much easier to operate a telescope when the image is the right way up.  Why start with anything confusing?  Astronomy books will tell you that the image in an astronomical telescope is upside down - With a diagonal in use, this is not the case - For small children this is very helpful and you shouldn't worry. It doesn't really matter which way up the image is at all, but moving the telescope to follow an object is easier if the image is the right way up!  What matters is ease of use, satisfaction and image quality.

Picture:  The Bresser SkyLux70 AZ-EQ is a great sharing telescope. It shows a good level of detail and is ideal for sharing.  This one has a 90 degree diagonal, seen on the right of the pic.

Use with low to medium magnifications 20x - 80x - (Don't worry about "low magnifications" - I'll explain what you'll see later!) This is a reasonable starter scope for young observers that will last a few years before they want to upgrade.  A good starter for any child that will enable them to get a good grasp of telescope use and observational astronomy on a shoestring!

Picture Left: Celestron make medium focal length refractors that are very suitable for a  child's first telescope. They give good image quality and are easy to operate. There is a 60mm version, the LT60 (no surprise there) and it represents the absolute minimum size, but I would recommend a slightly larger scope to start out, even with small children. The LT70 is able to show more detail and fainter stars, representing an excellent start into the hobby.  The controls and mounting are the same as the LT60 and it is as easy to use, but you get more detail in the image and a better view of everything with the LT70. For slightly older children there is also the LT80 which would facilitate an excellent start into the hobby.

Picture Right:

The Slokey SkyWays 50080 is a great sharing Alt-Az refractor.

Slightly larger diameter than the LT70 above, but on the same simple mounting design, it shows more detail yet, and brighter images for children.

(Suitable as a 5yo 'sharing scope', up to a 15yo or so starting out solo). This one has a 45 degree diagonal. (New price 2023 is £200+ Which is a bit much for what it is! Better value second-hand from £60 and please change the awful Red Dot Finder for an optical one!)

My Second-Hand buying  guide HERE

Travel Scopes

These are usually supplied on a more flimsy tripod, but nevertheless, they usually give reasonable wide angle images of stars and the Moon. The image scale is small due to the short 400mm focal length so they should NOT be expected to show detail on the planets. For a good all-round experience I recommend at least 500m-700mm focal length.

The Celestron Travel 70 and 80 are good, as is the Orion GoScope II shown here. Travel scopes are typically f5 - f7 and are easy to handle for a small child. 

Picture: An Orion GoScope II. A good quality 70mm x 400mm, f5.7 refractor mounted on a tiny plastic flimsy mounting.  If you could remount the scope onto a sturdy alt-az that would be better. But you would be restricted in your planetary viewing detail.

Focal lengths of 400mm and over are essential and represent a basic start into using a telescope. They are generally cheap enough to scratch the itch of having a telescope, BUT, travel scopes are not up to the job of satisfying long term astronomical desires!

Please, AVOID ANY telescope with a focal length shorter than 400mm.

NOTE: Travel scopes are designed to be 'no bother' when carried about the countryside, so they are designed with lightness as a high priority.  Consequently, the mounting can wobble in use, somewhat more than a small refractor on a more sturdy mounting/tripod.

Travel Scopes typically employ magnifications from about 20x up to 100x.   (More about magnification below).

The Verdict: 

Travel scopes represent a very basic start into using a manual telescope, but generally won't reveal enough planetary detail.

I would argue against these for children. Having objects found for them will not help with their education of the night sky. They will get used to having everything put on a plate for them and they will more than likely give up on their interest. Simply having everything given to you, without having to work for it, rapidly becomes very boring!

Finding an object for yourself, certainly in small telescopes, is a very large portion of the experience. Missing out on tracking down objects leads to apathy for the subject and may result in 'giving up'. 

In a small telescope there are no 'Hollywood' views of the planets or galaxies, they are small, almost featureless discs and fuzzy blobs.  There's nothing quite so rewarding as figuring out which of the 'stars' you can see should be a planet and seeing a disc instead of a point of light when you look in the eyepiece. At this size of telescope 'view' is not the main thrill... The main thrill is finding the object in the first place! 

A go-to telescope takes away most of this thrill, this sense of achievement.  What you can see of the object is largely secondary at this size of telescope.  Nevertheless, it's where we all start, and those that start 'right' carry on and don't get bored and give up!  I want your child to thoroughly enjoy their astronomy and never give up improving their observational skills.   You will never forget your first view of Saturn and its rings, or the moons of Jupiter, and finding them for yourself is so very satisfying.

Learning your way about the sky, and the satisfaction of finding something in all that space and blackness is far more rewarding than just dialling in a number and letting the scope find it for you.  There is a place for GoTo scopes, but not in the early years of children's astronomy.

Statements like this can sound pompous and such advice can sound like it has no basis in practicality, but they do serve a serious purpose. I want them to have a good experience. I don't want beginners to feel the let down that a Go-To provides. I want them to be filled with a sense of achievement and enjoy the whole experience. 

PLEASE AVOID The 'Stirrup', also called the 'Yoke', Alt-Az Mounting.

Do not be tempted to buy any telescope that is supported on this type of mounting.  It is typified by having adjustment bolts at the tips of the yoke and a steady bar (Sometimes with a rudimentary slow-motion screw).  These are more trouble than any other Alt-Az type to use and often become wobbly and unsteady after just a few week's use.

Both refractors and Newtonian telescopes are offered on this troublesome and ineffective mount type.

It would be better to wait and save up for a bit longer to get a better type of mounting (And probably a better telescope too!) than struggle with this design booboo!

Sometimes manufacturers don't even bother with the absolutely necessary steady-bar. It is very difficult to get these telescopes to point where you want them to, and moving smoothly is not easy.  These stirrup mountings, particularly, are to be avoided!

Please take some time to study the mountings of the scopes I do recommend in this guide and choose something like that!

Refractor or Newtonian for a Child's Telescope?  

I would always recommend the refractor for children starting out, for a few very good reasons:

Firstly: 

It is much, much easier to buy a poor quality Newtonian than any other type of telescope.

Second:

The image, as we have discussed, is the right way up when using a diagonal in refractors. Newtonians cannot use diagonals and so the image is usually inverted.

Third:

Refractors are pretty much bomb-proof and are much less likely to be put out of alignment with rough handling. Newtonian telescopes are quite fragile in comparison.

It is wise to train your child with the premise that the telescope is fragile and must be looked after and handled carefully - Respect for equipment is good - But, you will have the reassurance that even occasional rough handling of a refractor will not cause harm.  (More on the more delicate Newtonian reflector later).

Picture:

One of those awful spherically figured f4 'Bird-Jones' Celestron Powerseeker127 Newtonians. Definitely Not suitable!

 (Honestly!  The horrible scopes I've had to try out so that you have all the information you need!)

My "Children's Telescope" and "sharing scope" Recommendation:

A medium focus (f5 - f11) refractor with an achromatic object glass of 70mm or more and reasonable magnifications. 

What I have recommend is an easy to use telescope, supported on a good solid tripod and mounting head, with a handle for directing the telescope or, ideally, 'slow motions' (on either AZ or EQ telescope mountings). Slow motions are operated by the flexy knobs you see on some photos. They minutely control the direction of the telescope and enable the following of objects very accurately as you observe through the eyepiece.  If you magnify the object 80x, you also magnify the movement of the Earth by 80x.

Beware of tiny, flimsy tripods though.  Children won't see much if the slightest breeze has the image dancing about!  The SkyWatcher, Slokey and Celestron refractors come on sturdy enough mountings. You'll soon be ready to start observing with an excellent telescope. Here's a link to my astronomical projects for beginners page.

Magnifications for Children's Views:

For children, you need to use eyepieces that give a low to medium magnification, so that you can locate the object and then hand over the observation to the child.  Try not to select too high a magnification. You don't want the object moving out of the field of view too quickly, or the tripod to be so flimsy that the slightest disturbance moves the object out of view.

You can see a surprising amount with magnifications well under 100x.  There is no hard and fast rule about magnifications other than use one that has a clear image... If it starts to get blurry, that's too much!

Picture:  The excellent Celestron LT80 f11 on AZ3 with manual slow motions. A great set-up that you may never need to upgrade!

To find your eyepiece magnification (usually written on the top or side), then simply divide the telescope focal length by the eyepiece focal length.

Eg: SkyWatcher 130P: A 650mm Newtonian telescope with a 25mm eyepiece is: 650/25 = 26x

Eg: Bresser SkyLux: A 700mm Refractor telescope with a 10mm eyepiece is: 700/10 = 70x

Of course you can use higher magnifications, (up to 50x per inch of apperture!) but the essence of this section is to show that these details can be seen at surprisingly low magnifications, which makes sharing so much easier.

You can use either type of telescope to look at whatever you want. But, the two types, depending on focal ratio (f), have their specialties too!

The planets: are best seen with longer focal ratio refractors with 70mm diameter or larger, f6 to f11.

Mercury will show it's pinky colour at 45x (You'll need a bigger telescope and 100x magnification to see the half phase.)

Venus shows the phase from 45x when crescent.

Mars will show its firey orange coloured disc on closest approach from 60x

Jupiter shows its four Galilean moons at any magnification and in any instrument!

You can spot bands and belts on the planet disc with 80x in 70mm refractors and larger.

Saturn will apear elliptical and show its ring system, (Except in 2025 when the rings are edge on!) even in a 60mm refractor at 45x magnification and above. Rings are more clearly seen in a 70mm at 80x  You can observe the moon, Titan, at any magnification and spot a further three or four moons with practice and experience.

Uranus and Neptune can be seen with any magnification as star-like blue/green points. (It doesn't get better than that until you get to 200mm diameter really!)  Somewhat surprisingly, both these worlds can be easily found in 10x50 binoculars!

The Moon is fantastic in a phase at any magnification.  You can use 20x for full disc views up to 100x for detail. There is plenty of light with this subject! At full phase it can be bright, but you don't really need a Moon filter if your scope is less than 200mm in diameter!  If you are looking at the Moon, you won't need to worry about 'dark adaption'.  If you have fainter things to view, try to see them first, before you look at the Moon through your telescope.

Deep Sky Objects: are best seen with short focal ratios of f4 to f7. Also best for a general look about the sky.

Larger diameter, shorter focal ratio, telescopes will gather more light and show DSOs better.  An 80mm telescope gathers 178% more light than a 60mm telescope. This equates to nearly two thirds of a magnitude more.  DSOs are faint - You're going to need a bigger lens!  If DSOs are your thing, then I would recommend at least a 130mm Parabolic Newtonian sharer (See later) to view all the Messier Deep Sky Objects (Though such a telescope would be an excellent all-rounder, showing the planets on detail too).

Galaxies and nebulae (Eg: Andromeda Galaxy, M31 and Orion Nebula, M42) will be well seen in a dark environment in a 60mm+ refractor between 30x and 70x. An 80mm telescope will give a better view of the nebulosity and split the close stars better too. (The Trapezium in M42 requires at least a 70mm refractor and 80+ magnification. It is well worth it! The Trapezium is beautiful.).

Star clusters like the Pleiades, the Hyades and the Beehive cluster are all seen very well at around 20x in a small Parabolic Newtonian telescope of 114mm or larger diameter.

So - There is no need to worry that you won't be able to see anything if your telescope doesn't magnify 300x... In fact, a telescope that magnifies much more than 100x is pretty awkward for the application of a 'shared telescope' for youngsters. 
Slow motion controls are almost essential for magnifications over 90x. We don't want to be adding complication before we've learnt to see the Moon!

NOTE: Did you notice there's an overlap in the recommended focal ratios? That's because there are no hard and fast rules on this point. It also means that a scope (refractor) between f5 and f8 is pretty good for viewing ALL subjects! (See pic below)

Picture:  The ideal SkyWatcher 'StarTravel 70' telescope shown here is a particularly good one for sharing.  It is on a very sturdy AZ3 mounting with slow motion controls.

It is a 70mm diameter, 500mm focal length f7.1 and produces excellent image quality. Magnifications range from 20x with a 25mm eyepiece to 100x using a 10mm eyepiece and a 2xBarlow together. 

This telescope represents the best of both worlds. This ideal scope is useable for observing the planets and Deep Sky Objects with equal ability and quality.

The SkyWatcher StarTravel series is made up of a range of refractors: 70, 80, 102, 120 and 150mm diameter!  They all give excellent views (I have owned and used them all) and I must say that the ST102 gave absolutely amazing rich-field views of the Milky Way.

The ST70 to ST102 telescope on an AZ3 mounting with slow motions represents the ideal sharing telescope for children.

Don't miss the opportunity to get a fantastic scope for the price of rubbish!  You should consider second-hand telescopes:

The scope, in the picture here, is a superb SkyWatcher ST120mm f5 instrument mounted on an AZ3 manual slow motions mounting.  The AZ3 mounting is an excellent stable support with slow motions that can carry up to 120mm telescopes with ease. It takes virtually no setting up and works very well, with the slow motion controls always easily to hand.

A scope like this is great for beginners of any age and for sharing with the children! Just don't try magnifications over 120x when sharing an AZ mounted scope, for best results.  

This telescope would serve you for a lifetime of observations of all astronomical objects.  This brilliant example was bought from eBay for just £102.

A scope like this, at less than the price of some awful toy telescope from Amazon, can be had with just a bit of patience and some buying knowledge.  (If this aspect of telescope purchase interests you, see my Second-Hand buying guide by CLICKING HERE once you know the type of telescope you'll need).

This second-hand refractor's specifications: 

Achromatic object glass: 120mm diameter.

Focal length: 600mm

Focal ratio: 600/120 = f5

Useful magnifications:  Range = 18x - 250x

Stellar magnitude limit 13.0M

Resolution: 0.97"

Bought from eBay for just £102

Eyepieces for Children's Observations:

Another consideration for young children is that the longer the focal length of the eyepiece, the further from the eye-lens your eye can be whilst still seeing an image and, importantly, the larger the eye lens is to look into. (Eyepieces comprise several lenses. The one nearest the objective is called the 'field lens' and the one nearest the eye is the 'eye lens').

The longer the focal length of the eyepiece, the wider the field of view will be, and the chances of the child seeing something properly is increased as the magnification gets lower! 

Picture: See the difference between the eye lens apperture of the 20mm eyepiece and the 6mm.  How much easier, for a child, would it be to look through the 20mm?

As they become more experienced, it becomes easier for them to use an eyepiece and higher magnifications can be used.  It is for this reason I recommend starting with about 20x to 35x magnification.

Try to keep the magnification in the first few observation sessions in the range 20x - 35x.  After some experience is under their belt, you can edge the magnification upwards in subsequent sessions.  Up to 40-50x for a few goes, then finally 60-80x.

After ten observing sessions, or if you have no problems following the objects, you can increase to the maximum, around 100x - 120x. The child will be sufficiently experienced to see through a 6mm eyepiece. (I don't recommend 4mm eyepieces, even for experienced observers - Steer well clear for children!)

Note:  Having said that, please give them a first view of Jupiter and/or Saturn on the highest, blur-free magnification (under 160x) you have as soon as they learn to look through an eyepiece. Just to show them the amazing view.  Then settle down to learn your way about the night sky and how to use a telescope on it.

You don't need to put your eye right up to a long focus eyepiece. With a 25mm, for example, there will usually be a gap of about 8 to 10mm between your eye and the eyepiece.  The shorter the eyepiece focal length the closer the eye has to be to the eyepiece to see the image. And the eye-lens diameter (the 'hole' through which you have to look) gets smaller. Not an easy thing for very small children to balance with one eye shut. They tend to grab something for stability, and that is going to be the telescope!  Avoid this by steadying the child as they look into the eyepiece.

The Barlow Lens: This will help with higher magnifications.

A 10mm eyepiece with a 2xBarlow is better for a child than a 5mm without a Barlow, although both arrangements give the same magnification. This is because the Barlow preserves the 10mm eyepiece's eye relief and the eye-lens aperture will be wider, therefore seeing the image would be easier for a young and inexperienced observer. 

I always recommend paying a little extra for an all metal 'achromatic' 2xBarlow for around £25. The image quality is much better than the £12-15 plastic jobs.

Note: If you ever need a Barlow of more than 2x. It's not a Barlow you need... you need a bigger telescope!

 Supporting Older Children:

Children of twelve years and older will be keen to get a 'proper' telescope and can be introduced to the wonders of the Equatorial Mounting.  This will enable the use of higher magnifications as the mounting follows the movement of the stars through the sky, rotating around the RA axis.  I wouldn't say that the EQ was usable by any child younger than 12 unaccompanied, though.  The EQ1 (Pic - Try to avoid this EQ1 design) can be a handful, getting caught up on itself at some angles. The EQ2 and EQ3 are much better designs and have full free movement without snagging.

The use of an equatorial is not at all intuitive and the telescope gets into some very strange positions, especially when moving between different objects in the dark. However, it is so much easier to follow objects with higher magnifications with the EQ mounting, it's well worth having one and learning how to use it (See my Mounting Types Guide - I have made a video demonstrating their use).

The rules about magnification are about the same though. Regular use of 80-120x would be fine, but, I wouldn't recommend magnifications over 120x even with an EQ for youngsters until they are quite adept at using the EQ. Then, after a few weeks try magnifications of 150x. (The telescope shown could manage 200x, but the image wouldn't necessarily be 'better' than 150x, on most 'ordinary seeing nights'.)

Picture: The scope shown here is a Meade 102mm x 800mm f7.8 achromatic scope on EQ1 with slow motions.  A superb all-round telescope that will last many years. The only caveat is the EQ1 is a bit flimsy and can get caught up on itself!  The EQ2 is a much better and sturdier design, and the EQ3 is ideal for this size telescope.

Supporting adults and older children can learn about the set-up and use of the EQ mounting HERE

Newtonian Telescopes for Youngsters:

IF your child has his/her heart set on a Newtonian telescope, all is not lost.  For instance if they're really interested in seeing Deep Sky Objects, then a parabolic Newtonian of 100mm, 114mm or 130mm might be their best choice! 

Please read on.

Newtonian telescopes are not as robust as refractors, but they aren't so delicate that careful use will do any damage.  You should need to know how to collimate the telescope if your model permits collimation.  It might be prudent to select a model whith no collimation ability for their first one, then they aren't tempted to see what all the bolts and screws do!

Collimation is important and cannot be ignored as part of initial and regular checking of the set-up of larger Newtonians (130mm+).  A laser collimation tool is available on Amazon for under £30 and would help immensely with your 130P Explorer telescope.

Picture: A Kepler Optik 110mm f6 parabolic Newtonian.

It had a very useful range of magnifications and excellent image quality.

Kepler Optik telescopes are very good quality, but are quite rare.

One thing you have to bear in mind from the start with a Newtonian, is that the view with an ordinary eyepiece will be inverted or "upside down". This doesn't matter in astronomy, but can unsettle children a little to begin with when they want to use it to look at earthly objects.  This is another reason why the refractor is recommended for children.

Most importantly you need to make sure you get a telescope with a parabolic mirror to give sharp images.  Parabolic Newtonians can stand a magnification of up to 50x per 25mm of apperture without the image quality going through the floor over 40x as happens with wide-field spherically figured and Bird-Jones telescopes. There are a number of decent parabolic Newtonian telescopes out there in sizes that would suit a child beginner and that would lend itself to 'observation sharing'.

120x is my recommended magnification limit for Alt-Az, shared telescopes. The parabolic Newtonian telescope's optics, even in these small sizes, can successfully employ magnifications of up to 150x with very good image detail.

If you decide to get a Newtonian, (or the decision is made for you by a small person with a big opinion!) please check with the manufacturer's specifications online, that it has a parabolic main mirror. 

Rather confusingly, PARABOLIC telescopes are also called ASPHERICAL.  But, I cannot stress this enough - A spherical mirror under f12 is just about good enough for shaving with whereas an aspherical (ie: Parabolic) mirror of f7 is great for everything and a parabolic f4.4 is a wonderful thing on DSOs!   You have to be very careful when buying a Newtonian, it can be very confusing and there are so many awful ones out there.

There are several manufacturers, SkyWatcher, Orion, Kepler Optik, Bresser and Meade, for example, making 100mm parabolic Newtonians and larger (I wouldn't recommend getting a Newtonian telescope smaller than 100mm even if it was parabolic!  I'm not alone in this recommendation, Sir Patrick Moore was adamant that, "a Newtonian under 4" inches [100mm] diameter would be very limited in its usefulness".)

WARNING: Many manufacturers also produce spherically figured telescopes too! (Apparently they have to have a presence in the market at all price brackets - Crazy thinking! That means that even manufacturers of good telescopes make rubbish ones too! My job in this website is to steer you clear of these awful telescopes... A VERY EASY way of doing this is to steer clear of Newtonians altogether!)

Pic:  The Orion Skyscanner 100

One of several Newtonians I would recommend as a children's sharing telescope is the 'Orion Skyscanner 100'. It is well made, very portable and parabolic too.

Newtonian telescopes, with their larger light grasp, and their (generally) shorter focal ratios, are excellent all rounders, leaning toward Deep Sky Observation.  They come mounted on what the manufacturer will call a 'Dobsonian' style mounting, but they are just Alt-Az Newtonians. 

Picture: The SkyWatcher 100P

I would also recommend this telescope as an ideal sharing scope. It is the same design and production as the Orion.  It has a good quality parabolic mirror and is well made. These two have 'factory set collimation' of the primary mirror.

I remounted one of these onto a full size tripod and it was much better in use.

Pricewatch:  SkyWatcher 100P NEW £129 / Ebay starting at £75  (September 2024)

Make your life a lot easier!

The one thing that I would do to improve the experience, on any very small Newtonian telescope, would be to replace the red-dot finder with a right angle optical finder. This would make it much easier to use, as the eyepiece would be on the side rather than having to get your eye underneath the scope - As well as the other reasons why anyone would bin the RDF! 

Note: Another great advantage to the right-angled finder is that you can arrange the eyepiece so it matches the telescope eyepiece orientation - So, using the finder just involves moving your eye, not your whole position!

 PRICEWATCH:

Pic: A SkyWatcher 6x30 right angled optical cross-hair finder can be bought for £45 in March 2024.

The SkyWatcher "Classic Dobsonian" 150/1200PL

A 'Dobson' mounted Newtonian which has excellent resolution and detail.

This is an ideal size that will give years of great views.  With its long focal length it is easy to get magnifications that will show detail on the planets and split double stars. The Trapezium stars in M42 were very nice in this instrument. It would be an easy project to follow the light curve of the Trapezium variables (See Projects page.)

With a SkyWatcher "Classic Dobsonian" 150P (150/1200PL) I have had the best detail on Mars, a famously difficult object to see detail on, with this recommended size 150mm f8 parabolic telescope.

Not as 'big' as you might imagine except when vertical for small children. Mostly the eyepiece is less than a metre from the ground!  Adults can sit on a stool or add legs (please ask!) to make more comfy.  For children especially, it's great as it comes.

Pricewatch:  SkyWatcher 'Classic Dobsonian' 150P.   NEW £298 Not cheap, but worth it!

Ebay examples are around £150 (September 2024)

THREE Special Mentions...

For Your Consideration:

The excellent Bresser SkyLux 70mm f10.  AZ / EQ

Although quite a large instrument, it weighs in at less than 4.5kg, as it does not have a counterweight, and also benefits from a light-weight steel tube tripod. 

This German engineered telescope is very steady in use though, despite this lightness of construction.

The 70x700mm optical system with a good quality achromatic objective in these SkyLux f10 refractors gives you a great image quality.

I am constantly amazed at the sharpness of the image in the SkyLux.  Over the years I have had many of these come through my hands and I would recommend the Alt-Az/EQ convertible for a first telescope. The image quality is superb.

This model does have slow motions, so following an astronomical object is very easy. It is an Alt-Az in normal use OR it can be converted very quickly to be an equatorial!  The head tilts to make this telescope an equatorially mounted one. The change from one type to the other is done in a matter of seconds!  This is ideal for young children, as it can evolve as they do.

Start off with the telescope in Alt-Az mode and get used to using it. Then, when the time is right, months, or even years down the line, convert to EQ use!

The Bresser SkyLux usually comes with three eyepieces:

The 20mm (35x magnification) and 12mm (58x) eyepieces are very useful sizes for children's observations.  These telescopes also come with a 4mm eyepiece (175x). Please put this away somewhere safe for at least the first year or two! (Better still, try to lose the useless thing!)

Other Models: There is also an f12.85 (f13), 900mm focal length version called the 'SkyLux EL', which is great for the Moon and planets, but would be much more limited when used to view Deep Sky Objects.

Pricewatch:  Bresser SkyLux Second Hand only:

Hardly used examples in the original packaging can be found for around £120 (September 2024)

Good, but well used, examples from £60 (Sept 2024)

Very poor examples with possible missing parts and/or damage, for fixing up, from £35 (September 2024)

NOTE:

In order to have the ideal magnifications available for your child's first observations with the SkyLux f10, you may wish to buy yourself a 32mm (22x) to 40mm (17.5x) eyepiece for a lovely low magnification to get started off as suggested above (Amazon start at around £25. Make sure of your telescope eyepiece fit size by measuring your draw tube diameter. It will be 0.965" or modern, good quality scopes tend to have 1.25" . Search for 'Telescope eyepiece' in the size you require. This will return a list of different focal lengths and types. Be careful, and make doubly and trebly sure that the fit is correct for your scope and the focal length is what you want!  Amazon searches return some items well off the desired spec.

After a while, as experience builds, you may use a Plossl 10mm eyepiece, which would give 70x, or a Plossl 9mm (78x) for excellent planetary and Lunar views in this telescope.  (I buy decent 1.25" eyepieces from Amazon for under £25 - They're good quality and cheaper than specialist astronomical suppliers, for the exact same item! Recently Amazon had a sale on and I got four Plossl eyepieces of excellent quality for under £5 each.)  Once the telescope and mounting is mastered, and the child is old enough, an achromatic 2xBarlow of good quality would be able to be used with the 10mm or 9mm eyepiece to give great 150x views of the planets.

For reasons that I won't go into here - you can't use a 40mm eyepiece in an f5 or 'faster' telescope! Look up 'exit pupil' in the Magnification section of the website.

Best Value NEWTONIAN

"Children and Parent's Sharer".

The SkyWatcher Pronto1145PS-AZ is an excellent instrument, ideal for a sharing telescope.

This lovely Newtonian has a 114mm 500mm focal length f4.4 PARABOLIC mirror to give great definition in the image, good light grasp for the brighter DSOs, a wide field of view and slow motions on the mounting.

Comes on a good adjustible tripod and AZ mounting with slow motion controls.  I recommend AZ with slow motions for sharing telescopes as they are easier for children to set up for themselves, which helps their involvement in the observation process.

Comes with two magnifications, 20x and 50x, which is ideal for starting out (See 'Supporting Parents' section).  To extend the magnification range in future you could buy a good quality achromatic 2xBarlow, which would give you two more magnifications (40x and 100x) which would be ample for many observations with a shared telescope.  In this short focal length optical system magnifications over 100x are a little impractical.

Everything you need in a Newtonian for sharing to give your child a great start into astronomy. A telescope that will last and be useful for years!

(Bin the RDF - Get a 6x30mm optical finder! See Finders Guide)

Pricewatch:  SkyWatcher Pronto1145PS-AZ.  New from £199 (September 2024)

And finally:

A Newtonian worth a mention for teenagers? 

This is the SkyWatcher Heritage 130P Flextube.

For the parent of an older child, who wants to get a scope that will be of use right into your child's twenties and beyond!

NOT FOR VERY YOUNG CHILDREN: A bit more care has to be taken with this telescope, it is even more fragile than other Newtonians. (See the exposed secondary mirror?  Disaster awaits right there for very young fingers!)

But, there are several reasons why this is an excellent telescope for children of 12 years and older.

1: Although it is large enough to be a 'serious' instrument it is compact in use and packs away into a very safe, secure and small package when not.

2: 130mm Parabolic mirror gives very good images. Being an f5 it is great for Deep Sky Objects, and being 650mm focal length, it can easily attain magnifications suitable for detail on the planets as your child gets older, and more experienced - 150x gives a great view.

3: It is a 'full sized' telescope, capable of giving satisfactory views for many years and will not necessarily need to be upgraded. Patrick Moore used an Alt-Az Newtonian for more than forty years.

4: It is a very easy instrument to use. It is supplied on an Alt-Az table-top stand, but does not have slow-motions. 

(Bin the RDF - Get a 6x30mm right-angle optical finder! See Finders Guide)

Pricewatch:  SkyWatcher Heritage 130P Flextube. New from £200 (September 2024)

If you're looking to buy a good telescope for a teenager (14+) who has an interest in the sky, you can skip the introductory level telescopes mentioned above and go for something that will satisfy for many years without them exhausting the potential subjects.  (When I was fifteen I had no trouble operating a 150mm f8 Newtonian on EQ mounting. I had two of them in my early years!)

I recommend the SkyWatcher EvoStar 90mm and the 80 or 90mm Celestron Powerseeker refractors on an equatorial mounting, or maybe a parabolic Newtonian reflector (I recommend the SkyWatcher 130P or the 150P) also on an equatorial EQ2 or EQ3 mounting.

These are 'proper' instruments which will provide excellent views of the objects in the night sky and follow them easily with the EQ mounting using the slow-motions.  We are moving out of the realms of 'children' and into 'young adults'... Their telescopes can be much more complicated!

Pic: SkyWatcher 130P Newtonian f5 on EQ2 / SkyWatcher EvoStar 90 refractor on EQ2.

Due to their optical qualities, both these telescopes show the planets equally well, but the 130P shows DSOs better.

A teenager is usually sufficiently adept at technology that they can grasp the workings of the EQ quite easily and use the telescope to its full potential with minimal practice.  There is a guide to setting up and using the EQ in this website to aid them if they are unsure.  Please do this - It is awful to see EQ telescopes used in an AZ configuration... What a waste!

You won't go wrong selecting either of the telescopes pictured, or the Celestron Powerseeker 80-90mm refractors (Depending on the child's area of interest and personal taste!) Refractor for Moon, Planets and Stars or the Newtonian particularly for Deep Sky and General viewing.

New Telescope Prices a Concern?

Tip: Second-hand telescopes are usually every bit as good as new ones!

See my buying second-hand telescopes guide HERE.

Pricewatch: 

SkyWatcher Explorer 130P EQ2. New from £249  (September 2024)

SkyWatcher EvoStar 90 EQ. New from £229 on EQ2  and £349 on EQ3  (September 2024)

Celestron Astromaster 80 EQ. New from £199 with motor drive but with RDF!  (September 2024)

Celestron have stopped producing the excellent Powerseeker refractors in favour of gimmiky 'Inspire'

refractors which start at £169 for a 70mm AZ. (September 2024)

The very last thing I want to do is have you thinking that 400x in a 70mm refractor would give you a better view.

I have created this picture to approximate the difference between 150x and 400x in a 70mm f10 refracting telescope on a normal seeing night... 

To experience this fully, click the pic to enlarge and then close one eye.

Observe the detail on the two images.

Which would you prefer?

 The atmospheric turbulence is more marked in high magnification views aswell and it is much harder to get a good focus.  I hope you'll agree that using a lower magnification gives a better view of the planet.   When you have a bit more experience, even 200x is a nice useable magnification for planetary observation, but until you get experiance, stick with 150x as your maximum.

Read on to see the planets and other objects as seen in the telescopes I recommend.

MOON:  225K miles (363K km) away at closest approach. 

Av. dist. from Sun = 93M miles. Orbits Earth in 29 days.

The Moon is a fantastic object in a small telescope.

You can see many features and watch the light and shadows change on them over the course of just a few minutes.  The picture shows a small section of the Moon, not the whole.  Watching the shadows change along the teminator is great fun for children. It gives them a sense that space isn't unmoving and boring!

Look for mountain tops in sunlight just off the end of the cusps (points of the Moon) when it is a thin crescent. Marea ('seas'), rilles, ray craters, central peaks in craters, valleys and mountains are all there for your entertainment.  Pic shows mountains on the terminator, with crater Copernicus with a couple of central peaks.

(The large crater Copernicus, at the bottom of the picture, is 1/37th the diameter of the Moon, and is just a tiny bit larger in apparent size than Jupiter, while the whole disc of the Moon is just about half a degree, the disc of Jupiter, and Copernicus, is about one minute of arc!).

The Moon in 2024: This body goes through its phases every month and is easily spotted.

Moon WOW Level = 10/10

VENUS:  25Million (25M) miles (38M km) away at closest approach. 
Av. dist. from Sun = 67M miles. Orbits Sun in 225 days.

Venus is seen in the evening or morning sky. It never gets very far from the sun and is usually seen against a blue sky, rather than a very dark one.

Venus can be seen in the daylight, though extra care has to be used when using a telescope if the Sun is up!

Venus, along with Jupiter, is the largest apparent body in your telescope (Appart from the Moon).

There is no obvious detail to be seen on Venus, what we see is the top of the cloud layer that covers the whole planet. Sometimes there are dusky markings to be seen in larger telescopes. However, it is very interesting to watch the phase and size changes.  If you follow Venus as it emerges into the evening sky, you will first see the planet as a tiny disc somewhat larger than half phase, but as the weeks go by it rapidly grows in size and brightness as the phase gets thinner and more pronounced until, just a few days before it disappears into the twilight, it reaches the phase and size seen in this illustration.

Venus in 2024:  Venus is an evening object in November 2024. Look low, SW after sunset.  It will get further from the Sun and brighter as we aproach 2025.

Venus WOW Level = 9/10

MARS:  35M miles (55M km) away at closest approach.

Av. dist. from Sun = 142M miles.  Orbits the Sun in 687 days.

Mars is quite a disappointing world.  Not a lot to see on the surface, and it is only close enough to see a decent sized disc for a few months every two years or so (26 months).

Mars was last at opposition (closest to the Earth and opposite the Sun in the sky) in 2020. It will grace the skies again mid 2022.

It is interesting to watch how its size changes: quickly growing as it approaches opposition and noting how quickly it gets smaller again afterwards.  The colour, a firey orange, is striking!  You can't see Mars' two tiny moons in amateur sized telescopes.

A long focus (f10 - f16) 80mm+ refractor, using 120x magnification, should show Martian markings, and the polar caps when they are extensive near opposition. But, you do have to be fairly experienced at observing. Mars' features don't exactly jump out like Jupiter's do!

Mars' orbit is quite elliptical and oppositions vary in size considerably.

Mars in 2024: Available for observation from late evening in November 2024.  Annoyingly, the northern oppositions are the small ones!

Mars WOW Level = 7/10

JUPITER:  365M miles (588M Km) away at closest approach.
Av. dist. from Sun = 484M miles.  Orbits the Sun in 11.86 years.

Jupiter is the largest of the planets (both apparently and actually as far as our telescopes allow) and shows a good level of detail in a small telescope.  Two to four bands can easily be seen with a 70mm telescope.

The four Galilean moons give endless entertainment as they whizz around the planet giving the observer a nightly changing show.

Jupiter is always large in the telescope. The difference between the largest apparent size and the smallest is not that much, about 25%, so, you always get a good view of Jupiter.

You can watch the moons with any instrument at all and any magnification over 5x!

Detail on the planet requires at least 60mm diameter and 60x and higher  magnification.   The Great Red Spot requires an 80mm+ scope, 100x+ magnification and a good eye and experience! (Good luck with that one!)

Jupiter in 2024:  Jupiter is observable and large in your telescope late in the evening from November 2024.

Jupiter WOW Level = 10/10

SATURN:  746M miles (1.2Bn Km) away at closest approach.
Av. dist. from Sun = 886M miles.  Orbits the Sun in 29.46 years.  

The jewel of the Solar System.

Saturn can be seen to be elliptical, even in 10x50 binoculars. A telescope of 60mm or more with 45x plus magnification will show the rings.

You will need an 80mm plus telescope, and double the magnification, to spot the Cassini Division, but that first view of Saturn, with the wonderful ring system, will stay with you for life, whatever scope it is in.

Saturn's apparent size (including rings) is just about as large as the disc of jupiter in the telescope, so Saturn is quite a large object in our eyepiece.  As with Jupiter, the size doesn't vary much, only about 20%, so, Saturn is always good to view.

As we go further out in the SolarSystem, the planets take longer to have observable differences. The ring system is tilted at 29 degrees and twice in Saturn's 29 year orbit the Earth passes through the ring plane and they disappear for a few days (next 2025). 

Saturn in 2024: Saturn is getting fainter as the rings close completely over the next nine months or so. The rings are closing up for edge on appearance in December 2025.  Saturn is available again at midnight from September in 2024.

Saturn WOW Level: 11/10  People talk more about Saturn than anything else they have seen for the first time. The rings are indeed magical! 2025 is interesting, but you'll miss a good view of the rings for a few months!

Andromeda Galaxy M31                             Distance = 2.2M light years

The idea that you can see another galaxy without a telescope is mind boggling, M31 is just such a galaxy with a magnitude of 3.4 it is well within the capability of the unaided eye to see.  With a small telescope or binoculars it is even more impressive.  When you realise how many other galaxies you can see with your telescope in the sky it will amaze you. The light from this object started out towards the Earth 2.1 million years ago!

The Andromeda Galaxy, M31, is a nice bright object in our telescopes and although you can't see detail of the spiral in our small scopes it is an amazing object to see. 

In the view, ALL the other stars are in our galaxy - We look through them at M31.

Nothing much happens in the Galaxies or nebulae within our lifetimes, so the interest in viewing them is a little more limited, I find.  There is a chance of seeing a Supernova!  Bigger telescopes show more features and detail within them.

There are 110 Messier (M) objects and it is an interesting project for children.  At the end of this guide I will give you a list of the easiest objects for children to find, which may give you a project to follow.  Please don't try to do the Messier objects in order - M1 is one of the hardest ones (I have never seen it in fifty years!)

Finding M31: This object is easy to locate in the constellation of Andromeda and has a high northern declination. From northern temperate latitudes it can be seen throughout the year. However, the summer and autumn months are best for high elevation views.

M31 WOW Level: 7/10

The Great Nebula in Orion, M42     Distance = 1,344 light years

The great nebula is a cloud where stars are made!  It is made up of gas and dust reflecting the light of the stars around and inside it.  The light started its journey to the Earth in the dark ages, over a hundred years before the Vikings started raiding English shores, around the year 679.

There is a group of four stars near the center called 'the trapezium' and it is a good test of your telescope to see if you can resolve them. (The bright point in the centre of the cloud).  You will need about 60x magnification minimum.

Nothing much happens in the Galaxies or nebulae within our lifetimes, so the interest in viewing them is a little more limited, I find.  There is a chance of seeing a Supernova!  Bigger telescopes show more features and detail within them.

There are 110 Messier (M) objects and it is an interesting project for children to see how many you can find.  At the end of this guide I will give you a list of the easiest objects for children to find, which may give you a project to follow.

Finding M42: This object is equatorial in declination and from northern temperate latitudes can be seen below the three stars of Orion's belt. Best seen in the winter and spring months. See below for location map.

M42 WOW Level: 8/10

The Pleiades Cluster, M45                         Distance = 440 light years

A lovely little cluster of young blue stars in the tail of the bull, Taurus.  This cluster of bluish stars are known as 'The Seven Sisters'.  There are nine easily visible main stars and these include the seven sisters and their parents, Alcyone and Celaeno.

Binoculars show it well, but a small telescope will bring out the blue/white colour of the young stars and many more members of this delightful spectacle.  When the light from these stars started its journey to Earth, Elizabeth the First was on the throne of England in 1579, 444 years ago.

It is interesting to see if you can spot the red stars (There aren't many!) that encroach on the mainly blue collection.  There is some nebulosity associated with this cluster, but our small telescope will not show it well or at all (depending on your sky conditions).

I always know that the winter sky is on the way when I observe the Seven Sisters for the first time, in the late evening, after the summer constellations have been around for a couple of months.

Finding M45: This object is in Taurus and has a high northern declination. From northern temperate latitudes Taurus can be seen above and to the right of the stars of Orion and leads the hunter into the sky from the eastern horizon. The first sighting of the Pleaides marks the end of summer for me! Best seen in the winter and spring months.

M45 WOW Level = 8/10

M101 in Cassiopeia            Distance = 21M light years

This galaxy is visible in your telescope as a small fuzzy patch, much larger telescopes may show some detail.

In 2023 this galaxy had a supernova erupt in its outer spiral arm (See animation).  This is a photo by Gareth Jackson. It shows the galaxy before and after the supernova became aparent.  The light from a supernova can outshine all the other stars in the galaxy. See how bright it is compared to the brighter stars in the M101 galaxy.

This is the one area where DSOs may change over time.  The supernova will subside in the coming months and the galaxy will return to looking very similar to its apearance before the event. Nevertheless, this is an interesting part of observing DSOs.

Note: The detail in the galaxy as seen here can only be found on stacked photographs.  THis is not the optical view you will get in your telescope. M101 is quite hard to find and has a very low 'surface' brightness.

M101 supernova revealed on long exposure photograph: WOW level = 10/10

Man-made satellites can be seen without optical aid as 'stars' that pass through the night sky.  There are many thousands and hardly an observing session goes by without seeing one or two. 

Sometimes they pass into the Earth's shadow and disappear from view. Other times they brighten and fade as the different parts reflect the sunlight differently. They are interesting to spot and all the more fun if you know which one it is or when to look!

One impressive selection are the 'Starlink' satellites. They can be seen in an impressive line of forty or so as they pass overhead. They can be found by looking up your location with a finder web-page .  Many astronomers think they will spoil the night sky, but they are very impressive!   I found this GIF to give you some idea. 

There is, of course, a webpage that allows you to find out when the Starlink Satellites will be visible for you:

Here> FIND STARLINK  (You will need to set up your location on the webpage, which is very easy to do.)

Another impressive object is the International Space Station (ISS). This can be very bright as it passes over. A single satellite is about the size of a Ford Transit Van, but the ISS is the size of a tennis court!

Naturally, there is a finder website for the ISS too:

Here> ISS PASSES  (You will need to set up your location on the top right of the page.)

Planetary Size Comparisons:

The image here is pretty self explanetory.  Comparison of apparent sizes of the planets next the Moon.  Where there are two images of a planet, it indicates the range of sizes of that planet as observed during the year in our telescope.

Mars and Venus have the largest difference. This is to be expected as they are the two closest planets to the Earth in order from the Sun.  This means, percentage wise, they are seen very close and also from a great distance.  Mars orbits the Sun at 141M miles. The closest Mars gets to the Earth is 35M miles at opposition, the furthest is 233M miles at conjunction. So, it can be expected that Mars is tiny when furthest from the Earth, it is 6.7 times further away.

Jupiter and Saturn, on the other hand are always a long way from the Earth. The Earth's orbit around the Sun at 93M miles makes little difference to Saturn, for example, orbiting 886M miles from the Sun.  The closest that Saturn gets to the Earth is 793M miles at opposition, the furthest is 979M miles at conjunction.  So, Saturn, at its furthest from Earth, is only 1.2 times as far away as it is at its closest!

Note: Mercury doesn't have a range because it can only be seen for a few days, and so always appears at this one size! 

Uranus and Neptune are so far away that it makes virtually no difference where we are in our orbit they're always tiny little star-like discs!

The "Double Double": A Summer Test Piece.

If Orion isn't visible (eg: May - Oct), Epsilon Lyrae, the 'Double Double', is a good substitute, and is observable in good 70mm refractors, though it can be tricky in a so-so 80mm scope to be sure!

The pair is situated in the tiny constellation of Lyra, containing the bright, white star Vega.

The Double-Double is a summer sight and will stand in for M42 when Orion is not visible for you.  You'll need a medium to high magnification and patience!  It is a trickier double than the Trapezium, but if you can split these your scope is tip top!

In the diagram: (Click to enlarge as usual) The Sun starts on the right (March 21st) and moves to the left, about a degree a day, through the stars of the zodiac during the year. The apparent track is the curved line and is called the ecliptic. The tilt of the Earth is close to 23.5 degrees, and this is what causes the noon sun to rise and fall in the sky and the rising and setting points on the horizon to move between most southerly and most northerly and back during the year.   You can see that each month spans just over thirty degrees of Right Assencion.  Although it's fairly simple, this is a very useful star chart.  The planets follow the ecliptic aproximately and are usually not far off this 'track through the stars'.

A last word on quality:

PLEASE DO NOT BUY ANY OF THE FOLLOWING MAKES

I would never recommend any of the following makes, in my considerable experience, I cannot, in all consience, suggest these will satisfy at all!

This is not my personal dislike, it is based on the poor quality of telescopes from these brands I have tried in the past.

Astral / Bushnell / Edu Science / Jessops / National Geographic (Own Make)*

Optus / Science Tec / Seben / Simmons / Tasco / Vision King

Vivitar / Zennox

NOTE:

*National Geographic also offer other manufacturer's scopes  branded as their own. These are much better. (Bresser being the main one - Bresser make excellent telescopes). Steer clear of the bargain basement.

'Prinz' refractors are usually excellent over 60mm, but their Newtonians are spherically figured (stay away)

I have a page on this website which gives you a comprehensive list of observation ideas to get your astronomical journey off to a good start.

These objects are suitable for children or adults starting out and will give years of fun!

Click the pic or click HERE.