New member and some advice needed please!

[Marilla]

Hi everyone. I’ve joined this forum in the hope of getting some advice on telescopes!

My dear dad turns 80 in October and has always wanted a telescope to do some basic stargazing. I’d like to get him one for his birthday but I’ve no idea where to start in getting something that will be a decent bit of equipment for an amateur. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Or recommend a model that would be suitable? Many thanks 😊 

[BAZ]

Hi Marilla, a warm welcome to the forum. I guess the first question is what's your budget? This will dictate more what scope would be best.

[tuckstar]

Hi welcome aboard, as Baz said, let us know what kind of budget, also how mobile is your father? The bigger the better, but no good if he can't move it about. Are you thinking back garden or taking it out and about? Would your father be thinking of taking photos with it?

So many options, i know it can be confusing but I'm sure we can point you in the right direction. 

[Marilla]

Hi thanks for the replies. Budget is up to £500. My father is very mobile but he would be keeping it in his conservatory, not moving it around. However he only has limited space in there so a more compact model would be better.  Taking photos would be a nice option if available within our budget. Thanks 😊 

Edited September 16, 2022 by Marilla

[Nightspore]

Maybe something like this? Or this? They shouldn't take up too much room. The (Synta-made) optics are quite good for what they cost. 

 

 

The second one is very much like my old Sky-Watcher ST80. The odds are these are made by the Suzhou Synta Optical Technology corporation on the Chinese mainland (a lot of Celestron scopes are).

 

 

Although not an 'expensive' scope these are very popular even with more experienced astronomers. They are relatively lightweight, robust and simple to use. My ST80 still occasionally gets used. Albeit slightly modified.

 

Edited September 16, 2022 by Nightspore

[Marilla]

8 hours ago, Nightspore said:

Maybe something like this? Or this? They shouldn't take up too much room. The (Synta-made) optics are quite good for what they cost. 

 

 

The second one is very much like my old Sky-Watcher ST80. The odds are these are made by the Suzhou Synta Optical Technology corporation on the Chinese mainland (a lot of Celestron scopes are).

 

 

Although not an 'expensive' scope these are very popular even with more experienced astronomers. They are relatively lightweight, robust and simple to use. My ST80 still occasionally gets used. Albeit slightly modified.

 

Thank you very much! I’ll look into these models

Edited September 16, 2022 by Marilla

[tuckstar]

Just to clarify, when you say keeping it in the conservatory, he would still need to take the scope outside. You can't really observe through windows or skylights etc, causes issues with refraction and thermal imbalance.

[Clive]

If you haven't looked already, to get an idea of what you can get for your budget perhaps have a look at https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/beginners-telescope-buying-guide.html or https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html.

And check which are actually available to buy, some popular scopes are on long delivery times.

Edited September 16, 2022 by Clive
Availability

[Nightspore]

1 hour ago, Marilla said:

Thank you very much! I’ll look into these models

 

You're welcome. I linked those particular scopes as they have decent achromatic optics and they are full packages, including accessories, mounts and tripods. Astronomy is not an inexpensive hobby and costs can mount up when you factor in tripod/mount combinations and others.