Quote:
Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz
I've never done any amateur astronomy, but the subject does interest me.
Phil Plait once gave what I think is probably the best advice I've ever seen to this exact question. Basically he said instead of buying a telescope right away, instead you should buy a good pair of binoculars. The main reason for this is that it's usually cheaper, you can still find a lot of cool things, it's easier to get started, and in the event you realize you don't like standing outside in the cold at night, you'll still have something you can use for some other purpose.
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I agree with B_B_S; get a decent set of binos to start off with as the binos will make it easier for you to navigate the night sky. For binos, 10x50 is plenty and I recommend the Celestron Cavalry. Celestron has "dedicated" binos for astronomy, but the Cavalry line are better in my opinion. Pentax are really good, too. Amazon often has them on sale. Even with 10x50, you might want a tripod (Celestron offers a tripod adapter).