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Astronomy Products for Children
A good Telescope will open up a whole new world
of discovery for your child (and need not cost
the earth!)
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Astronomy is a fascinating hobby and opens up a whole new
world of discovery for the more inquisitive child (and also
great for parents who want to recapture some of their childhood
excitement!). Knowledge gained during childhood through
astronomy - about the moon, planets, solar systm and star
constellations tends to remain with people throughout their
lives. The most important tool of the astronomer is the
Telescope (although sometimes a good pair binoculars
may be used).There are two main categories of telescope:
RefRACtors and RefLECtors. Refractors, use two or
more lenses to collect and focus the light from an object
to the eye of the observer (or a digital camera sensor),
and can trace their design back to the telescopes of Galileo’s
era. Reflectors, developed by Isaac Newton in the
17th century, use mirrors to focus the light. As magnifications
increase, impurities in the glass of lenses can cause distortion
(commonly a “rainbow-like” halo around objects) requiring
expensive and difficult treatments and coatings to correct.
Reflectors telescopes avoid this problem, and are generally
cheaper to manufacture for a given sized aperture (the main
lens or mirror used to catch the incoming light). As a result,
most high-performance optical telescopes, including the
Hubble Space Telescope, are reflector designs.
more
Learning Toys , see also:
Telescopes
for younger children , high-Performance
Telescopes |
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Astrolux
(140X)
Best Buy under £100,
reflector telescope
only:
£ 79.95 |
Mercury
707
Our Mercury 707 telescope is a powerful refractor telescope
with a maximum magnification of 140x
only: £ 89.95
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Startravel
80
Compact tabletop design, ideal where space is limited
only: £ 109.95
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Heritage
76 Telescope
Specially designed by Skywatcher to celebrate the International
Year of Astronomy (IYA)
only: £ 67.50
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Spotting
Telescope
A great little tabletop telescope that is more than just
a toy
only: £ 39.95
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Infinity
Telescope
The world's best telescope
for younger children!
only: £ 39.95
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Home
Panetarium
For anyone who is starting to take an interest in astronomy
Suits 6+ yrs:
£ 29.95 |
Solar
System Mobile
Light and motorised movement, with Remote Control!
Suits 6+ yrs:
£ 24.95 |
Moon
In My Room
Light with Phases incl.
Guide + R/Control!
Suits 6+ yrs:
£ 32.95 |
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| See also:
our main
Telescope page |
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Our full range includes even more powerful
telescopes, including those that point automatically
to objects in the night sky, making them ideal for
family use! |
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Earth
& Constellation Globe
Earth by day, Space by
night - 2 Globes in ONE!
Suits 6+ yrs:
£ 37.95 |
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Choosing
a Telescope: The most important thing to look for in
a telescope is the quality of the lenses and mirrors. Generally
speaking, the larger the diameter of the LIGHT COLLECTOR
(on a refractor telescope, this is the diameter of the objective
lens, on a reflector telescope, this is the diameter of
the main mirror), the more light can be collected, and hence
the greater the quality of the magnified image. Usually,
the more you pay, the higher the quality of the magnified
image. This is not always the case though among the telescopes
we regularly review. We have chosen our range of children's
telescopes in such a way that they represent a very good
trade-off between quality and price. These telescopes are
powerful enough to enable amateur astronomists - especially
children and curious adults - to discover a wealth of hidden
secrets in the night sky, without their parents having to
pay the earth!
Origins of Telescopes: Lenses were invented independently
in Europe and China, sometime around 1250. As far as anyone
knows, it took 350 years for someone to combine lenses to
make a telescope. Two Dutch spectacle makers, Hans Lipperhey
and Jacob Metius, may independently have been the first
people to create telescopes by fixing two lenses in a frame
or tube to see long distances. The first telescopes were
used as battlefield tools, but the Italian astronomer Galileo
was the first person to use a telescope to look at the stars.
With this advantage he was the first person to see the craters
on the moon, the moons of Jupiter and Saturn’s rings.
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Feedback
- Just would like to say thanks for the excellent service and quick delivery of my son’s telescope. He was absolutely delighted with it on his birthday. Thanks again - Sheena M, Scotland
MAGNUM POWER TELESCOPE 675X
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