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Old 25-10-2010, 09:20 PM
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acropolite (Phil)
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Launceston Tasmania
Posts: 9,019
Kat, if you can, catch up with some local Astronomers in your area and look through their scopes before jumping in.

IMO the two scopes you have listed are too small. 8 Inches or 20mm is regarded as a good compromise between light gathering power and portability. A 200mm scope will have 5 times the light gathering power of the 90mm scope. Both Meade and Celestron make good Goto scopes in 200mm sizes and they are often available second hand at good prices.

Brian's suggestions of a goto dob is also a good one, dob's aren't unattractive in the dark.

I wouldn't aim at any less than 200mm if you want to see anything much in the way of deep sky objects.

If you want something for daytime use buy some good quality binoculars, they will be useful for widefield use at night and are an excellent way to start exploring the night sky.
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