So, every year around this time, I push y’all on one gift you should think about, if you have the curiosity for it, or your kids or relatives do:
that first telescope.

If your son, daughter, niece, nephew, spouse, partner or parent have had a fascination with the stars or space, it makes for a perfect gift, regardless where you live.

First, a few myths to bust.

Telescopes are NOT expensive. An 8” dobsonian costs less than an Xbox, a great 90mm refractor, half that.

Telescopes are NOT complicated, unless you’re looking for a more complex mount.

And you do NOT need to leave the city to enjoy one.

A 90mm refractor, from a rooftop in Manhattan, the Loop, or Hollywood, will reveal the rings of Saturn, Jupiter’s belts and moon, the Pleiades, bright comets, lunar features, and dozens of deep sky objects with patience.

A larger first scope, like the popular lightbucket that is the 8” dobsonian, will reveal hundreds of objects from the brightest city skies.

Of course, the wow factor explodes when you trek out to the wilderness, and believe me: there is a dark sky spot- dark enough to enjoy the Milky Way- within a 90-minute drive from ANY point in the United States.

These journeys to our nation’s wild places make for perfect camping and hiking trips, and further encourage the curiosity of young minds. We enjoy Route 66, including fossil hunting near our dark sky spot of choice (Amboy/Cadiz)

But back to that first telescope.
What should you look for as a total novice?
1- ease of mount. Alt/Az is your best friend here if you want something you can point and look out of the box. They’re also cheaper than equatorial designs- but don’t expect advanced photography w/ them

2- optics, optics, optics. Most so-called department store scopes or the really really cheap “children’s scopes” use plastic. If you value your child’s/spouses/partner’s brain, don’t buy them garbage.

Garbage plastic scopes do nothing to encourage their curiosity. They’re great for a 4 year old who likes to break things. They’re a dream-killer for anyone else.

3- sturdiness of the mount. You can find this out by reading reviews, but this will make or break the scope’s abilities to see objects requiring higher mag

With these things considered, also consider who is using it. A 9 year old may have difficulty lugging around a dobsonian unless it becomes a family scope. But a 90mm refractor may be up their alley.

The best telescope you can buy for that special budding astronomer is the one that will be used.

The scope that opens the universe and establishes that indescribable connection of neurons to the very matter that (with time), birthed them.

And once that scope is in their hands, remind them about the MOST important part of owning a telescope. What makes it truly special.

“The importance of a telescope is not how big it is, it's not how well made it is, it's how many people less fortunate than you got to look through it.”

-John Dobson, a virtually penniless monk who invented the relatively easy-to-construct Newtonian that now bears his name

The sky belongs to all of us. The study of the stars made civilization possible: fundamental to our understanding of time, planning, agriculture, our earliest myths and religions. And, why not be so obsessed with it?.

We are the universe brought to consciousness.
We are the way for the universe to know itself, the culmination of fifteen billion years of nuclear fusion, evolution and transformation.
Astronomy is an awe-inspiring experience, and the cosmos is waiting for you.

What a wonderful, life-altering gift a telescope can be. I certainly hope you consider it.

Beginner Recommendations:
Younger kids
Orion’s tabletop GoScope 80mm (for advanced little ones) $150
Vixen Space Eye 70 $140

Older kids/adults
Meade infinity 102mm AZ refractor $200
8” Dobsonian (Orion XT8, Skywatcher 8, etc) $350-$399

Guide book must-have:
Turn Left at Orion

Updating the list for 2020:
Astronomers Without Borders has a fantastic reflector for $199 and its proceeds go to a great cause https://shop.astronomerswithoutborders.org/products/awb-onesky-reflector-telescope