Buying a Telescope as a Christmas Present

It’s that time of year again. Burnt turkey, chimney fires and family rows: Christmas can go wrong.

One common mistake you can avoid, though, is killing someone’s budding astronomy interest with the wrong telescope.

Having bought scopes for my daughter, run astronomy evenings at the local Cubs and star parties at a local dark sky site, I’ve got some idea what works in a beginner’s telescope. Here are some seasonal guidelines and recommendations based on those experiences.

I will work through some basics to let you make an informed choice. Alternatively, if you’re pushed for time, skip straight to my recommendations.

What Makes a Good Beginner’s Scope?

Six things:

1)    Wide field of view

2)    Good finder

3)    Simple, stable mount

4)    Good optics

5)    A smooth focuser that takes 1.25” accessories

6)    Quality eyepieces and diagonal

Let’s briefly look at each in turn.

1) Wide Field of View

A telescope’s maximum field of view (the amount of sky you can see) is not down to the diameter of its lens or mirror, but its focal length (same as a camera lens). You’ll find this somewhere on the tube or box.

Stick to telescopes with a focal length under about 700mm to show a large area of sky and make finding things easier.

2) Good finder

Simple red dot finders are best for beginners because they are easy to align and use. Avoid optical finders with plastic brackets: they never keep their alignment and are frustrating to use.

  

3) Simple, stable mount

A simple up-down (alt-azimuth) mount like this, with slow motion controls, on a good, lightweight tripod is ideal for a beginner. Avoid fancy GOTO mounts, which can be frustratingly hard to set-up.

  

4) Good optics

Stick to major brands like Skywatcher, Celestron and Meade. Do not buy a toy telescope like this:

5) A smooth focuser that takes 1.25” or 2” accessories

The focuser should have a metal tube and an opening of at least 1.25” (not 0.965”).

 

6) Quality eyepieces and diagonal

Look for quality eyepieces, with metal barrels and proper coatings, that give low to moderate magnifications: 10mm to 40mm are ideal (this is a typical decent 25mm):

My Recommendation

That’s it for my six buyers’ guidelines. Let’s get specific (at last, I hear you say!)

This is my overall top recommendation:

Skywatcher Startravel-80 (or Startravel-102)

This is a small refractor (lens telescope) with a wide field of view on a simple alt-azimuth or basic equatorial mount. It comes bundled with quality accessories and meets all my six criteria. Later on, it’s easy to start doing basic astrophotography and you can even use it for nature viewing/photography as well. It should cost about £260.

The 102mm version is even better, but not much more expensive. I’d enjoy using either setup myself.

Optics can be damaged in shipping, so I’d recommend buying from somewhere with extended no-quibble Christmas returns, like Amazon or a major photo retailer like Wex.

(Click on the photo for a link to this on Amazon):

 

(Click on the photo for a link to this on Wex):

Other Recommended Options

On a tighter budget, the tiny Celestron Firstscope isn’t a bad budget choice – it’s a tiny Dobsonian:

 

Merry Christmas 2024 from Scope Views!

(If you head out to try out a new scope on Christmas Day, be sure to check out the planets. In the late afternoon, Jupiter is low in the east. Venus is low and bright in the south. By 9 pm Jupiter will be high in the southeast, Mars rising in the east.)