Best Telescopes for Kids (5 Rules for Choosing a Telescope)

Here are the 3 best telescopes for kids, and the 5 requirements for picking a beginner telescope in general. Links:

Celestron Omni 102 (Not Sponsored, You have to go into Costco. The internet does not seem to have the current price).

[LearnToStargaze]

NOTE: Do not look at the Sun through a telescope! You could seriously damage your eyes. (We're backed up a row of tall trees in the video, that's what Isaac was pointing at during filming).

[keeplookingup]

Thanks for the bold explanation. Celestron is, Infact advertising their "Toy telescopes" as "Beginner's telescopes". Such a hobby killer.

[zcbpzng]

I got the celestron 102 over the holidays and it was such a great gift. Seeing the moon, Jupiter and the rings of saturn have been a blast!

[stephenkwong]

I have the SkyScanner 100, Celestron Omni AZ 102, and Learn to Stargaze for Kids of All Ages thanks to this channel. Your videos are very informative, educational, and most importantly, easy to understand. Keep up the great work!

PS - I've even learned from this channel to take the Starsense Explorer Phone mount off of a SSE 114LT and installed it on an Orion XT8. I now consider this a dream setup for beginners, even my 11yr old was able to find deep sky objects fast and easy!

[vietnamese.ricefarmer]

I have the Bresser 6' planetary dobson, it has a plastic finder but it isn't crap!

[MaxGrant]

I am 13 years old from Scotland and I have a celestron motorized telescope

[eduardoce]

Nice to see you're already using some areas of the park!!

[bobandres]

Thanks john, this is by far the best video on telescopes for kids ive seen. You dont mind saying what is junk either which is great. Bought a Explore Scientific 102 doublet refractor 600mm for my grand daughter but im keeping it. I will get her a Newtonian 6" instead from All Star Telescope. Think she would enjoy it more.
Thanks for your help.

[Spacd_Out]

I use a simple Spaceprobe 130ST. Not too expensive, wide, decent aperture, and good views.

[ruthshramek]

I wish I would have watched your video before I bought a “bird feeder” telescope 🔭 from Amazon… I was so excited to see the night sky at our lake house that I just bought the telescope with the best reviews on Amazon. Ugh, now I’m frustrated and can’t see anything. I’ll be sending it back and buying one of these 3 telescopes tomorrow!

[MountainFisher]

I use my Z-100 for solar viewing with a solar film. Only being 400mm focal length I found it works well for bright objects. The dust cover comes with a big hole I taped the solar film to it. Use a 20mm eyepiece at 20x magnification it shows sunspots quite well.

[Darrduck]

This is phenomenal information. Thank you so much for posting this information for dads that have inquisitive kiddos!

[andersonzuinsalustiano]

What an interesting video! Some years ago, I bought a Nikon 8x12 binocular for me and a kids type for my daughter. Hers it was a waste of money, because with plastic lenses, we could see better without then with. Now, that she is turning 7, I would like o to give a telescope for her, the choices on a budget are overwhelming and I know that a bad choice would be more discouraging for the hobby.

[rldaniel]

Im wondering if the skywatcher heritage 100p is any good?
Was also thinking about the ursa major 102mm Tabletop Dobsonian. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[MikeLikesChannel]

Stability matters most with kiddos. My 5 and 7 year olds have an issue *touching* the scope while observing, and a Go-To keeps that object firmly in view. If mom or dad can learn how to align it properly.

Cheaper option is a tabletop Dob.

[BCHLking]

Hello! I’m 13 and have the Celestron StarSense 130dx! Does it pass?

[johnrobison]

The Omni 102 can be a real bargain when Costco puts it on sale for $160 USD. That said, at least my sample, and apparently several others have had problems with the slow motion control in altitude. I’ve tried many times to adjust the tension just so on mine and, well, unless the scope is perfectly balanced the slow motion won’t work. The dovetail supplied with the scope must be replaced with an 8 inch to have enough travel to balance the scope. And obtain a 1.5mm allen key to adjust out any slop in the focusing. Access is the two holes on top of the focusing mount.
I would rate the included AZ mount as barely adequate (if that) for this scope. It’s better suited to a ST80 or other small, rich field refractor, also works with my Orion 90mm mak and the silly cheap 70mm mak from Spectrum Optical.
Ok, rant over.
John, you are providing a great service to the stargazing community with your videos. Thank you and keep up the fine work.

[VisionCommunications]

This is a great introduction for astronomy for young people. Thanks for putting it together!

[Ninjachimken]

I wish I saw your video before buying the Starsense Explore 114LT :(

[Crunchnaut]

The scope I'm planning to get as my first one is the Startravel 102