[nsfx (Sin)]

Originally Posted by wavelandscott

Your budget is sufficient to get a reasonable scope and eyepieces. As outlined in the article, there are many possible combinations that could fit the bill for you.

I would strongly urge you to join a local Astronomy Club and attend a viewing night or two before you spend your hard earned money. Many clubs even offer scope rentals so that you can see for yourself what type of scope you want.

Depending on your intentions (visual or astrophotography) there are several different options and paths that you could go down to "scratch your particular itch"...while not fatal, mistakes can be costly so do your homework first.

If you are not able to join a club at least make the effort to visit a astronomy store/shop in your area. There is a BINTEL shop in/near Melbourne and tht would be a good place to get advice and again see some gear first hand.

Good Luck and Enjoy! Clear Dark Skies to you...

Originally Posted by Waxing_Gibbous

At your price range for AP (assuming you already have the 5D) a (second-hand) HEQ5 + 6-8" Newt would be the go.
Astrophotography requires effort and investment that usually surpasses your budget.

Saturn's rings are evident in almost any scope, though, the bigger the better obviously (more aperture=better views generally) for detail.

For visual, if I were you I would start off with a decent Alt-Az mount and an 8" newt.
This rig is more convenient than a Dobsonian, though it lacks the 'go-to' option of the Skywatcher & Orion series.

For a c.1k rig, for AP, I would favour a 5-6" SCT and GEM.
SCTs are easy to use and the views-for-the-money are very good indeed.

Originally Posted by Vegeta

You've come to the right place 1000AUD will get you a pretty good scope, but as mentioned before, what do you plan on viewing for visual and do you plan on photograhy?

Thanks so much for suggestions. Visual will be most important to me but it will be a bonus if i can capture some images as well ! Will my budget allow for me to see the colors of the nebulas? Sorry guys, been doing my research as to where to buy the telescopes from as well. Do you guys have any suggestions? Is it better to buy it from the US and get it in with mail forwarding companies?