I'm just about to start.

idealy, could someone recomend a telescope. Within not to extream price range?

Before you decide on a telescope, why not consider a good pair of binoculars. These will allow you to see almost as much as the telescope you are considering purchasing and will be much cheaper. Also you will always have the binoculars. If you plumb for a small starter scope, you will no doubt wish to trade up to something bigger with time. If you are keen on a scope, check out the british astronomy magazines such as "astronomy now" and BBC's "Sky at Night"..These will give you ideas of prices for starter telescopes, also have a look under the links section on these boards and you will find liks to website selling scopes. All the best with your search,

the description didn't mention the aperture or mirror size. You guys say this is the most import stuff. In which case I feel that may be I was about to be ripped off, plus I though it was very cheap too cheap even. I'll have a look on the other posts, get more information on telescopes. I'm just getting my 1st one, it's weird i'm 22 and been in to space and physics for a long time and have never bothered getting my self one. Stupid really I lived 7 miles outside of Enniskillen for a long time.

Thanks for all your information it will help me, of that I have no doubts. However, I'm a real amature :roll:

Also, the pictures that I have seen here. Is the special equipment I need to capture and image? I mean I can just place the lens of my camera to the telescope :lol:

I got a small scope my self, ETX 70. I can barly see andromeda. This scope got a ok lens, but the eyepieces thats comes with it isnt that good. Using it to take pictures of nebulas and galaxes will work, the problem is that the motor that tracks the sky will have errors, so the stars wont be round if you expose the image for 1-2minutes or more. The images posted here is usaly more then 1-2 min. So for astrophotography you need a good mount/motor.

When taking pictures of galaxes or nabulas most ppl use a dslr were you can remove the lens. So with adapters you then connect it to the scope, using the scope as one lens.

Planets/moon:
You can place the camera over the eyepiece, but it wont be as good as pictures here taken with webcams with lots of frames stacked togheter for best detail.

Also you would like different kind of scope, for plants higher magnification (with of cource goooood optics) for nebulas and galaxes you would like a fast scope, thats is one with wider view and gathers more light.

How much would you spend on equpiment?

As above, I also would definitely recommend a good quality pair of binoculars and a deck chair. It will make it much easier to get into the hobby.

As above, I also would definitely recommend a good quality pair of binoculars and a deck chair. It will make it much easier to get into the hobby.

But "standard" binoculars wont have that much magnification to let you see like jupiter. And you wont get the wow thingy that most get when they see it In my binoculars its just a bright dot. But in the etx70 scope and could see it pretty good.

True. However, there are two advantages to using binoculars first before a scope:

1) Getting used to magnification: if one owns a scope before becoming reasonably familiar with the night sky, one might have very few interesting targets to aim at. Binoculars would allow one to sweep large areas of the night sky, especially the Milky Way without requiring an indepth knowledge of the night sky to enjoy it.

2) For the most part, and I am aware of a few exceptions via Lidl, a reasonably-priced pair of binos can be picked up for the same price as a rubbish telescope. Most people starting out are not willing to spend vast sums of money on the hobby without knowing how much they will enjoy it. Therefoe, it's better to buy quality binos than a rubbish telescope. If one finds that astronomy is not for them, at least one has a good pair of binos, which can be used for sighseeing, horse racing, sailing, etc...ie the investment isn't wasted.

What really reinforces this view is due to something that happened recently. I was looking at the Moon with a mother and daughter. The young child had a really cheap telecope which probably came from Santa. They both asked me to help them with it. I swear, I could not even point it properly at the Moon, no matter how hard I tried. If I were to set the telescope on a mountain of jelly, it would have been easier. It was just a disaster. However, I didn't have the heart to tell them they had bought a piece of rubbish. A pair of binos woulod have been far more useful and enjoyable.
This is what can happen when one buys really cheap gear.

Clear skies,