Which type of telescope is best?
Yeh, so there isn't a straighforward answer because different telescopes are good at different things. A really good start is to watch the video below and then decide whether you want to get into serious observing, or perhaps you just need something inexpensive to start with or maybe you're interested in getting into astrophotography, or maybe you want a scope that is good at everything or maybe if money is no object and you want something that can take great pics of space that is awesome and fully automated. If you live in the city might I suggest a portable rig which you can take to a dark site or maybe you want to just buy what I think is the best value telescope on the market today!
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Buying telescopes doesn't always have to be expensive. 90% of the telescopes I own have been bought second hand. You can find great second hand telescopes here in the UK and here in the US. However buying second hand can be a bit of a lottery whereas if you buy from a reputable dealer and you don't like what you've bought you can always return the item. I am affiliated with FLO in the Uk and OPT and High Point Scientific in the US. Both offer a price match guarantees and are happy to return the items within a 30 day window. Its also worth reminding your better half that you should be able to sell your scope for around 70% of what you bought it for - so don't throw away the packaging!
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