G'day to everyone!!

[C501]

Hey everyone i am new to this great web site,i discovered it while comet McNaught was around and everyones photos were simply fantastic you all should be pround of your efforts i also took a few myself which did'nt turn out to bad. I'm looking to purchase a telescope soon and i thought a few of you guys might be able to steer me in hopefully the right direction...
Cheers and Thanks,C501.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

G'day C501. Welcome.

That's a big question you ask.

What type of viewing do you want to do? Lunar/Planetary? Deep Sky? What kind of budget? Is transportability an issue? Will you want to dabble in Astrophotography? Do you want to track the Stars? Do you want GoTo? etc etc.

You will have to answer these questions first so we can guide you in the right direction, as every Telescope has a different use

[erick (Eric)]

Welcome C501 - feel free to ask for an explanation of the questions first!

[Ric]

Hi C501, I'll bet you have some lovely dark skies up there at Junee.

Cheers

[iceman (Mike)]

Hi C501 and to IceInSpace!

The amount of activity in the last few days on IceInSpace is very reminiscant of mid-January, when Comet McNaught excitement was at its peak.

Thanks for signing up and saying g'day. As Ken said, give us a few hints on your budget and what you want to do with a telesope, and we can point you in the right direction. Maybe save that for a thread in the Equipment Discussions forum, and we can save this one for introductions

Feel free to post some of your Comet McNaught shots!

[dwyman]

Welcome from the US of A.

[C501]

Hello and thanks for the welcome everyone,i am looking to spend up to one thousand dollars on a telescope as that is about my buget as my wife and myself are expecting our first child,i wan't a telescope for mainly viewing planets however some deep space viewing would also be good,also a telescope that picks up any comets etc. that maybe around at any given time, Cheers and Thanks, C501.

[astro_nutt]

Hi C501..how about a scope that would be easy to set up and view through..(especially between feeds and nappy changes!!)..may I suggest a 8 inch dobsonian refector..not too big or small..they transport well and give great views of planets and deep sky stuff..plus you can purchase a good one for around $500 to $600.. which will leaves you some change for a couple of necessary items such as a collimation tool...planisphere..star atlas..and maybe couple of extra eyepieces..a barlow eyepiece..a can of airbrush...some isoproypl alcohol and a "lenspen" to keep your eyepieces clean...take a trip to an astro club in your area and sample some views..Cheers!!