Hello IISers! I'm new to the board and new to stargazing and I desperately need help!
I am looking at buying my first telescope. I have lurked around IIS for a few weeks now gathering information, but seriously, I am as confused as I ever was!
Most people here appear to be fan of the 'dob', but after researching I think I might be better starting off with a refractor. I have seen IIS members talk about "6 inch and 8 inch" as desired entry level scopes. I know this is going to sound really dumb, but exactly what are you referring to? When I read specifications of various telescopes, I can't identify what I should be looking at in relation to the "6 inch rule"!
For example:
http://www.ozscopes.com.au/celestron...telescope.html
This is one of the scopes that I had my eye on, but where is the 6 inches in the specifications???
I want to look at planets, moons, stars and nebulaes (although from what I've read, I may need a high quality (expensive) telescope for seeing nebulaes?)
I apologise for my ignorance!