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A great telescope for young explorers, if you are searching for a low-cost general-purpose telescope to do some basic astronomy and check out the craters of the Moon and see the planets for yourself or with a child, then the StarChild 50 might be the telescope for you!

Not a toy telescope!

The StarChild is a real telescope, with all-glass lenses in the main telescope and both the supplied interchangeable eyepieces, and is not a toy.

Simple to use and set up This powerful little telescope will please children of all ages - it's easy to set up and use and needs the minimum of parental supervision. (Incidentally, it's over twice the size of Galileo's first telescope and will show vastly more than he ever saw).

The StarChild is primarily an astronomy scope but it's supplied with a gadget called an erecting lens that will let it be used for long-range terrestrial viewing as well.

Free astronomy book To help things along we've included a great book - the Guide to the Night Sky An explorer's guide to astronomy by Sir Patrick Moore. This informative book is published by Philips and is a fully-illustrated guide giving you a wealth of information about what can be seen and where to look to see some of the more accessible sights in the night sky. Includes star maps.

Patrick Moore's excellent starter guide will inspire and inform explorers of all ages. Written in a format designed to engage children and young adults, its clear text makes no assumptions and is ideal for young explorers aged 8 to 14 - but even adults will find much to marvel at in this comprehensive overview of the visible universe. The Guide to the Night Sky is the ideal guide book to accompany the use of a small telescope.

For more information about the included guide book click on offer banner above or Books & Software on the main menu at left.

The StarChild is supplied with two eyepieces (18x and 60x), 1.5x erecting lens, and a 90-degree star diagonal and fitted carry and storage case.

This classic 50mm (2") refractor benefits from an up-to-date makeover and features a useful table-top tripod with pan & tilt head for easy target finding.

Ideal for young explorers, the StarChild 50 is a great little instrument to discover the wonders of nature from your back-garden.

If you are looking for a small inexpensive telescope so that a child can see for themselves the craters and mountains of the Moon and glimpse the rings of Saturn and see distant terrestrial targets up to 60x larger - the StarChild will fit the bill nicely.

The StarChild is the ideal scope for a younger child and delivers sharp bright views with the minimum of fuss!

What can you expect to see in your back-garden sky?

This telescope will show you some of the most amazing sights right from your back garden! The Moon is an awesome spectacle any month of the year - its desolate and ancient surface showing thousands of impact craters and some of the most spectacular mountain ranges in the solar system! (and this from YOUR back-garden - and for under 40 quid! Ryanair, eat your heart out!) The phases of the planet Venus, going rapidly from almost a full disc to a thin crescent, can easily be seen and tracked over the weeks of its seasonal changes.

Under favorable conditions Mars will show an orange coloured disk. The giant planet Jupiter, just a bright star to the unaided eye, will, at 60x magnification, show the observer an image of Jupiter“s globe in the eyepiece the same size the full Moon appears to the unaided eye! Jupiter's four major moons can be tracked through the evening and can be seen popping in and out of view in front of or behind the planet.

The famous rings that encompass the giant planet Saturn can, at opposition, just be seen as can Saturn“s enigmatic attendant moon, Titan. Beautiful asterisms (groups of stars) like the Pleiades and globular clusters (swarms of stars in a clump) like the famous M13 can be easily viewed on any dark night when these targets are above the horizon. And, a little closer to home, you can watch anything interesting happening at the end of the street!