Anyone here have a telescope?

[MaxDepth]

I want to get one for my nephew. He'll be eight on New Year's day. He is very interested in maps, the Weather Channel, and the science in general.

I am looking at something like this.
Something to automatically point to specific points in the sky (and not just the neighbor girl's bedroom window)

 

[MikeMike]

well get him a telescope, and binocs, then he will have the best of both worlds.

MIKE

 

[arcas]

I generally cringe when someone proposes buying such a small telescope (70mm objective) for general use. That telescope will be fairly limited in what it can see simply because it doesn't collect enough light. The moon and most planets will be accessible though at best you won't be able to go much above, say, 120x magnification (figure around 40-50x per inch of aperture on a clear, clear night) so you won't see much detail.

Why not take a look at one of the Dobsonian reflectors from Orion? They're among the most inexpensive GOTO-capable Dobsonian reflectors I can think of. They offer a much larger aperture than the EXT-70 so more objects are accessible.

Why not consider something like this?

Edit: beware that the scope I linked to does not include the GOTO controller by default and including it puts it quite a bit above your price range. Your options are pretty limited if you're looking for an inexpensive GOTO telescope. If you had more time before his birthday, you could keep your eyes open on the used market (the classifieds at Astromart and Astrofieds are the best places to find used astro equipment...not ebay).

 

[Armitage]

Not to hijack the thread, but can anybody point me to an amateur telescope "tutorial". I'm want to be able to read telescope specs & discriptions wrt size of the field of view, what visual magnitude objects it will pick up, pointing accuracy & slew rates for the motor driven ones, etc.

Along those lines, are there any scopes out there that can be pointed via a PC ... or has anybody hacked one of those hand controller things to hook it up to a serial port or such?

 

[DrPizza]

I'll also hijack this thread and point out that you'll have an incredible view of Saturn at the end of December.

 

[tritium4ever]

I'll agree with arcas here in saying that 70mm aperture is too small to see a good selection of celestial objects. I'll also agree that the Orion Dobsonians are a very good choice for the beginner, since they are affordable and feature very good optics (something you can't tell just by looking at the spec sheets). However, you should be aware that Orion's "goto" Dobsonians are not really "goto" scopes in the truest sense of the word. Basically, if you get the optional hand controller, it tells you where you need to move the scope to find the object. Compare that to a true goto scope, where you select an object in the controller and it automatically moves to find it.

However, a word of warning about goto scopes for beginner use. Most beginners get the idea that they can just take the scope out and it'll automatically point at anything you want. That's not quite true, because even with goto scopes there's a setup procedure, and it involves finding and aligning the scope to two bright stars. If you can't point to Betelgeuse, Castor, Pollux, Aldebaran, or any other bright stars when asked to, you will not be able to align the scope. You still need a basic understanding of the night sky to properly use goto.

When buying low cost goto scopes, a disproportionate amount of the asking price goes into the electronics instead of the optics (which is a far more important factor in the overall enjoyment of a scope). After all, if the view is fuzzy, who cares if the scope can find it? That's why more often than not, non-goto scopes are recommended for beginners...the money you spend on electronics can be better spent on aperture and optical quality, both of which will help show you more objects and in greater detail.

Luckily for you, you can get good scopes for not a lot of money. Since the intended recipient is a child, it is best if the scope is portable enough for him to take it out on his own, without adult help. There are two good options here: the Orion SkyQuest 4.5" Dobsonian for $199 (http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=364&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=4&iSubCat=9&iProductID=364) and the Orion StarBlast 4.5" reflector for $169 (http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=4644&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=4&iSubCat=8&iProductID=4644). Both scopes are portable (17.5lbs and 13lbs respectively), affordable (cheaper than your suggestion of the ETX-70!), feature excellent optics, and have enough aperture to show a good number of the sights the night sky has to offer. The SkyQuest is the better general-purpose instrument, but the StarBlast excels at providing low-power, wide-field views of the sky.

They are not computer controlled, but they will be very easy to use. No complicated setup routine to deal with (just take it out and start observing), no awkward (and often jiggly) equatorial mount to fumble around with, and no batteries required (they often die very fast in the cold). All you need in addition to the scope is a basic set of star charts (the book "Nightwatch" by Terence Dickinson is basically an essential read for the beginner, and it also includes a set of star charts down to about magnitude 6, or roughly the naked eye's limit under dark skies). Later on down the road, you can add accessories to broaden the range of powers available with your scope.

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RESOURCES:

Interactive guide to choosing a telescope: http://www.astronomy.com/content/static/beginners/scopebuyingguide/sbg_1.asp

Choosing your first telescope: http://skyandtelescope.com/howto/scopes/article_241_1.asp

Other astronomy basics: http://skyandtelescope.com/howto/basics/
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I hope this helps.