Telescopes - need advice

[SourSweets]

I'm planning on getting my husband a telescope for his birthday, which co-incides with us moving out of the city to where the stars look brighter. I know nothing about telescopes though.

I don't have much money at all, but vibe found this one for £50:

Telescope

Could someone look at the product details and tell me if they're good or not? I'm worried that any telescope for so cheap will be shit.

Thank you!

All I know about telescopes and astronomy is what I see on BBC Sky At Night!

It isn't only the telescope that is important, the tripod needs to be rigid so the telescope doesn't move at all.

But Celestron is a reputable brand (USA) and they do a very wide range of equipment.

Obviously, £50 is very inexpensive, but as a 'starter' telescope I guess it is OK. If he gets really 'into' it he can always upgrade in the future. But looking on Sky at Night site they review telescopes for £500 to £2K and more.

I didn't know before, but there is a Sky At Night magazine, so a subscription to that would be good as well!

Here Celestron web site: www.celestron.com/astronomy/telescopes.html

They often say start with excellent binoculars rather than cheap telescope, as for the money you get much better optics. I think unless you get a goto computerised mount for the telescope it can be hard to find what you are looking for, and they are more money. I wish i'd saved for one of those or got binoculars than my cheaper telescope.

We went along the binocs route for DS on the basis that a telescope would probably have languished in the box after its first couple of outings, and at least the binocs could be used elsewhere. The ones we got were recommended for sky watching as well, these Olympus 10x50 DPS1
They are good for seeing the craters on the moon etc, but rubbish for anything else I'm afraid, the stars and planets are just bright, slightly larger than with the naked eye. But we take them to concerts etc and they are stunning, really good quality.

Have you bought anything yet?

I see someone suggests binoculars, but ideally you will still need a tripod or some sort of stand, as they will be difficult to hold steady.