Hi and thanks for the advice. The reason why I chose the SCT design over the Newtonion design is because of the size and portability. The SCT telescope is much shorter than a Newtonion scope with comparable aperture. Another reason is convenience of use of the more advanced models from Meade and Celestron. I think like this way. I replace my PC once every 2.5 years. I upgrade it once in every 7-12 months or so. In short, I spend alot of money on my computer to keep it up to date. On the other hand, the telescope is not like a computer. If I choose a right one that will grow with me, more than likely I will not replace it; instead, I will add things to it as my needs grow. So it is important that I should choose the best one that will keep me happy, especially that I am new to this astronomy field. I read alot about people who bought junk telescopes from department stores and ended up staying away from the wonderful field of astronomy. As a testament to this, my first telescope was a 30X Tasco. To tell you the truth, I used it more to look at girls on the beach than to look at the sky. That telescope was a piece of junk, but it only costed me $20(this is alot for a 13 years old kid). When I was small, I was always interested in astronomy. I never had enough money to buy real telescopes. Now that I have the capacity to buy a real one, I think it would be best for me to choose a telescope that will best fit my needs(and I need all kinds of things :-)), both now and in the future(and this is important). From my research, people tend to stay with their telescopes much longer than I would stay with my computer or my audiophile music system. My telescope would stay with me a long time if not forever; so I think that the big investment is worth it. About the cost of these telescopes, I found out that some dealers are willing to sell their equipments below the manufacturers' MAP prices(I think you know what I mean) to compete. I spent several hours yesterday searching through the web and found that the best deal for a Celestron Celestar 8 delux was $1550, as compare to the $1799 MAP price. That's a significant saving. All I need to research now is to find a good, honest dealer out there. About buying used equipments, I am too chicken to risk buying from an unknown individual so I will leave that option out. The thing is that the saving is not that much to justify such a risk. Anyway, I think I am obsessed with this thing. I wish I could of gotten into this field much earlier. But I think I will enjoy this. Thanks and have a good day.

• Re: I am completely new to astronomy. Please help - Sam_Mati/">Sam Mati - June 25, 1999 - 01:56 UTC