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| Choosing a Telescope |  | Recommendation 5: Skip the GOTO systems Telescopes that come with GOTO can automatically go right to the desired targets just by tapping buttons. Cool
right? While many stargazers love GOTO, for children starting out, it isn’t necessarily
a good thing.
Here's why...
⤫ GOTO, if it is of decent quality, typically adds hundreds of dollars to the cost.
⤫ GOTO adds a level of complexity that must be mastered. This can take much time.
⤫ GOTO becomes something of a crutch because, by using it, one doesn't have to learn the night sky.
⤫ GOTO, with some models, must always be used. They don't let you move the telescope by hand. Ugh.
So we recommend that you choose a telescope without GOTO for a child's first telescope.
But we do acknowledge that GOTO may be hard to resist. So, if
you do want GOTO we then suggest you spend enough to get good quality and includes clutches that allow manual
movement also.
As an alternative, some telescopes offer PUSHTO -- these have hand controllers or use smartphones but have no
motors. So, after you choose your target, the hand controller or phone directs you in pointing the telescope to the
target.
PUSHTO is much less
expensive than GOTO, simpler and we can recommend it for older children.
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