4 hrs for a once in a lifetime opportunity with your child isn't very far at all.

[removed]

[removed]

Musk has done fuck all for the development of both the tesla and spaceXs rockets besides being a piggybank.

[removed]

Does it stop though? We don’t really know that for certain.

Yes, we should ignore what China is doing because someone over here has a bad idea that hasn't even been implemented yet?

Banned from Twitter?

Check your local library to see if they have telescopes available to check out. I know it sounds odd but some do have things like this. Mine even has small kitchen appliances available.

I went comet watching with a group from observatory for free. Check if you have one nearby and if they offer something similar.

You’re in Oklahoma? If you’re on Twitter you could try reaching out to @OkieSpaceQueen. She does portable planetarium shows. AFAIK no telescopes, but she might know where you could find one or a star party or something.

[deleted]

Where you live? I am in NYC. Might have a present for you.

Not bad. That's 18x magnification.

Yes Starship is exciting and very promising. Elon musk is a Bastard though.

Look for a small reflector; 4"-6". With a Dobsonian mount. (Up/down and sideways.) They grab enough light to see neat things, but are easy to carry and set up. Most will come with a 20mm -22mm eyepiece. That's a great wide angle, low magnification choice. Maybe you'll want a 10mm-12mm or something to get closer looks of the moon, but I prefer the lower power ones for nebulae and clusters.
I think Sky and Telescope had a 4-1/2" beginner scope that was nice. Look at Telescopes.com and see what they have. Try a local astronomy club. They love to share and someone might even have one to sell.
And a good finder scope. I like the TelRad but the Rigel is nice. (You can ignore this if you can make the one that comes with the scope work.)
Then find a decent book for small telescopes. I like "Turn Left at Orion", but there are others. These will help you actually find nebula, star clusters, etc. rather than just trying to find stuff.
Go to astronomy web sites and see what they say. Figure a few hundred dollars at least for the whole thing.
You can store them in the garage or shed. Keep it covered so dust and mice don't get in it and it'll last for years.

Orion Starblast II 4.5 with the 25mm eye piece too much? We just got my son one for Christmas. Haven’t had a chance to try yet on the comet due to rain.

They should focus on cleaning up junk and clearing the way for future endeavors.

If no group in your area maybe a post on Nextdoor app to see if any neighbors would share telescope views?

make sure you use metal components to secure your binoculars to a tripod if you're using one. plastic flexes too much and created blur.

Do not go with high magnification, go with a larger aperture (the second of the two numbers). A 10x50 is a reasonable compromise for beginners with limited budgets, if you can find an 8x60 or 10x60 it would be even better. Do not get higher magnification than 10 if you do not have a stand to hold the binoculars or have learned and gained experience sky gazing with them.

When holding binoculars, keep your elbows close to the body. It might be better to sit in a lawn chair or something you can comfortably recline in so you can hold them steady for a longer period of time.

By the 2nd of February I’ve heard you will be able to it with the naked eye.

10x and over is very hard to hold by hand. Get a tripod, or at least a monopod, to go with it. Stabilized binoculars are very nice, but hugely expensive. There are cheap Chinese scope + tripod combos with provision for phone mount close to your price range.

This is a recipe for disaster wrapped in a bad idea wrapped in a bad ideology. But jeez the Chinese sure sound real spooky don’t they?

It's good to get enjoyment out of others enjoying themselves.

Often we find ourselves more privileged than others. In those instances it is our moral obligation to share the benefits of our privilege .

Wanting because you want to out-do someone or something is very different than wanting something so you can make others happy