Gavin,
I read your post and some of the responses. So far there has been most
excellent advice, namely, get some binos, check out Orion, talk to SJAA,
etc.
SJAA sponsors an in town viewing event every month at Hogue park. This is a
very good place to go and look through some scopes and ask some questions.
It's worth your time. I'm serious... it could save you money, time, and
frustration. Check out the events page on www.observers.org to find relevant
links.
In terms of a telescope purchase (if you must make it before the holidays)
and if you must keep it under $200, take a look at the short tube 80 scope
at Orion as another option. Many of us have these. And they are a lot of
fun. It is a refractor and will be good for looking at the moon, workable
with Jupiter and Saturn, and you can see some of the big deep space objects
with it. I wouldn't consider the 4 o4 4.5 inch mounted reflectors that
anybody sells. I haven't seen a good one in years. The mechanical features
of these scopes are of very poor quality.
Michelle Stone
Custom Telescopes by Plettstone
http://www.plettstone.com/telescopes
> -----Original Message-----
> From: sf-bay-tac-bounces@No-Spam [mailto:sf-bay-tac-bounces@No-Spam]On
> Behalf Of Gavin
> Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2003 11:21 AM
> To: sf-bay-tac@No-Spam
> Subject: [TAC] Galileo telescope.
>
>
> Hi All,
>
> So I am a newbie getting into astromony, i've read the FAQ on start-up
> telescopes and all that. Unfortunately im on a very limited budget. I was
> wondering what you all think about the Galileo 1000mmmx118mm reflector
> telescope. HSN has a good deal on it to make it affordable via payments.
> $200 for that telescope, would it be a decent starter telescope? Payments
> are just $50 a month, which makes it affordable to me. =D
>
> -Gavin
>