New telescope as birthday present to a 10 yo boy

[Ripley]

Hi gentlemen.
What would you recommend, as per the title says?

No previous experience, very curious.
Do you have some suggestions for a decent entry-level telescope but non so entry to be too limiting.

Thanks.

 

[Blake]

Sky and Telescope had a good article recently on such a purchase:

hobby-killers-what-telescopes-not-to-buy

Quick take (from the article):
"
Since you get more bang for your buck with mirrors, I recommend that your first scope be a reflector. The Orion 4.5 StarBlast Astro Reflector Telescope is a good place to start. It’s easy to carry, easy to set up, and easy to use. The Astronomical League and many individual astronomy clubs give these to libraries to loan out to patrons, and the scopes provide great views and survive a lot of use."

 

[Kyle]

What's your budget? If it's ~$50, I'd suggest something like the Celestron FirstScope: Easy to use, decent aperture. Eyepieces are junk, so I'd invest another $25 into something like a 25mm Orion Sirius Plossl. If it's >$100, something like the 4.5 Starblast that Blake recommended would be good. If it's >$300, a big, dumb, easy to use 8" Dobsonian was what I did.

 

[Ripley]

What's your budget?...

More around 100€, maybe a bit more.
A friend of mine asked me for her kid.

 

[GLS]

Don't buy this one:

EVscope: BUSTED - YouTube

:lol:

 

[4throck]

Indeed a 4.5 telescope allows you to view something on Jupiter and Saturn, but the mount will make it hard to keep them centered. If you have access to a dark sky then you can see some of the brightest nebula, 3 or 4 galaxies, etc. Just don't expect Hubble pictures. You will see faint fuzzy object, like a cloud.

But the main problem will be a place to setup the telescope.
Observing from windows doesn't work.
You need a clear view of as much of the sky as possible, in a place with some security and room to move about..

 

[BenSisko]

I’m a Meade owner but I might suggest an entry level go-to scope. While they short circuit the forced learning of the night skies, they quickly show you the celestial wonders! For a bit over your price range Celestron offers some smartphone enabled scopes. Here’s the link:
https://www.celestron.com/collections/top-telescopes-under-500
I agree with 4th Rock & Kyle on eyepieces and viewing area. Entry level scopes also suffer from flimsy tripods and mounts. Both make observing more difficult. Finally, Sky & Telescope is a great periodical for the amateur astronomer
https://www.skyandtelescope.com/
and the book Turn Left at Orion is a great introductory text
https://www.amazon.com/Turn-Left-Orion-Hundreds-Telescope/dp/0521153972

 

[4throck]

I don't disagree with the go-to approach but for a telescope that doesn't give great views, discovering things is the most rewarding experience.

I remember the emotion I felt the first time I found the Eagle Nebula with a 2.4'' scope
The view was bad, but finding it, on my own, was very rewarding.