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Jay,
Welcome to Ice In Space.
I am also a very raw newbie. I will try and offer some of the advice that I have been offered.
Go to a star party or an open to the public viewing night. These nights allow newbies to try various equipment but, more importantly, to talk to other users that have started somewhere.
Spend lots of time on here, search the threads, read and then read some more, ask questions. The people here are a great source of user based information.
The 4SE, I bought one of these (our first scope) late last year. It is a nice bit of gear but I have already realised how limited it is. The GOTO is easy to use, providing you do a reasonable alignment. Remember that you may want extra eyepieces and filters as well, so factor that in to the purchase.
I am already upgrading to a 8" Newtonian. I now realise that the "best bang for buck" is a reasonable sized Newtonian. Unfortunately I am not in an area where I can visit a start party or open night, I have learnt this the hard way. Check out the classifieds on here, some great bargains to be had if you are patient.
As for astrophotography, that is also where I want to head. Maybe think about today's purchase with that in mind. At the moment I do not want to start that game too soon, there is a lot to learn before that.
I hope that this helps.
Cheers,
Andrew.
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