Barb, I second Bob's advice below. You really won't know what you want or IF you want a telescope until you see what various telescope designs can do. Attending a star party or two is a great way to accomplish this. I've recommended this approach to several of my friends. The ones who took the advice made a much more informed purchase. Also, I had a couple of friends that attended a star party and found that the hobby wasn't really what they had thought it would be. Better to "test drive" the equipment first before making a major purchase. One more point. I think you will find that amatuer astronomers will be more than happy (excited?) to help a novice and will give you all the advice you need. Frank Honer ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Christ" <bchrist@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2005 3:11 PM Subject: [AZ-Observing] Re: amateur telescope > Barb, if you have not done so, I would suggest attending a star party (or > better - parties) and look through as many smaller scopes as you can and > "pick the brains" of the owners. You will gain a sense of the views that > scopes of smaller aperture, representing different > manufacturers/models/price bands, can deliver. > > The excitement to plunge-in and buy *now* can be costly if you buy a scope > today and find out it cannot deliver when your thirst to "see more" > surfaces > in 6 months. We've all been through this. Without gaining experience, > buying a scope for "today and tomorrow" is really difficult. You will be > able to narrow the field of scope type/size by identifying what piques > your > viewing interest. Planets only? Deep Sky Objects (DSOs)? Not all scopes > do all things. > > Contrary to my normal behavior when engaging in a new interest, I bought > an > inexpensive used ETX60AT and used it for a year until I figured-out what > my > "real" telescope would be. The approach turned out to be a real sound > strategy for me and I'm ecstatic with my second scope. > > Used telescopes pop up every day - I'd suggest you give yourself time to > really "scope-out" what will serve you best. > > Bob > > Ps. Don't fret about the ease/difficulty of using a GoTo scope - > operation > is relatively straight forward across brands. -- See message header for info on list archives or unsubscribing, and please send personal replies to the author, not the list.