[soccerstuie]

Hello everyone

My wife and myself have always discussed getting into Astronomy, but have never made the time to learn.

Well, my 3.5 y/o daughter has started talking space, planets, etc, so we figured we should take this opportunity to learn and maybe teach her something along the way.

I've just been browsing articles and blogs trying to gauge what the general consensus for beginners is, I'm hoping to get something that can see the planets in some detail and be able to check out galaxies too. It seems that Dobsonian telescopes seem to offer the best bang per buck, so my mind is kind of made up there, but feel free to offer any advice. What I would like to know is, how long can I expect to use a Dob for if I get swept up in this very interesting hobby, (do these offer enthusiasts the capabilities they need)?

I want to spend $500 max, and don't know if I should get the telescope with the biggest aperture or should I be looking for quality within this price range (seems like anything around this mark is going to be similar).

Also, as a beginner should I be looking at a 'goto' model or should I get regular scope. My feeling is I should really get a feel for this and do it manually.

Sorry if this is a little disjointed.

Thanks again.