14 yr old interested in the stars

[lidlicker]

My friend's daughter is coming up to 14 and has asked her parents for a telescope for her birthday. She is very interested in the stars and planets.
Can anyone recommend a book I could buy for her to help in her interest of the stars
Many thanks.

[merciasounds]

http://www.amazon.co....ef=pd_sl_2n17hhg843_b

good lot to wade through there!!

http://www.amazon.co....087017/ref=pd_sim_b_8

But this one above by Patrick Moore was a sure-fire hit with my nephew at Christmas

[lidlicker]

Thank you so much - I have ordered the Patrick Moore book you recommended plus another from the huge list.

[Jonathan-Joe]

Se may also appreciate a subscription to "Sky at Night" magazine http://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/ . Gives monthly guide to observing the skies with advice about purchase and use of equipment.

[LeMarchand]

Not a book, but if she has a computer "Stellarium" is a brilliant bit of free software: http://www.stellarium.org/ . It can be set up to open up on the view from your window (not easily, mind you!). There are also a number of phone applications that use your GPS co-ordinates and camera to provide an "augmented reality" view of the sky - you hold your phone up and it overlays information.

[dundurn]

The Patrick Moore book you've ordered I'm sure will be a good start for anybody's interest. From memory Sir Patrick is a consistent in his advice against buying small telescopes - they are rarely value for money and up to a certain price you are almost certainly better off buying decent binoculars. Promises of high magnification are let down by the inability to keep the image steady. Youngsters are much better off learning their way around the sky at the macro level and joining a club where they can get access to larger equipment.