How can I get a good great telescope at a budget price?

Telescopes are less expensive nowadays than they have ever been, thanks to Chinese manufacturers. But they are all precision instruments, so tend to be more expensive than most beginners realize. The best deals can often be found by joining your local astronomy club, as members often sell telescopes which are surplus to their needs at good prices. This is much safer than buying from eBay, Craigslist, etc., because club members have their reputations to think about.

Here are a few web pages with good information on beginner's telescopes:

http://www.gaherty.ca/tme/TME0702_Buying_a_Telesco...

http://www.scopereviews.com/begin.html

http://observers.org/beginner/j.r.f.beginner.html

For more advanced information, read Phil Harrington's Star Ware, 4th edition (Wiley).

You'll get the greatest value for your money with a Newtonian reflector on a Dobsonian mount, such as these:

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Dobsonian-Tele...

http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/swtinc/product....

Buy from a store which specializes in telescopes and astronomy, either locally or online; don't buy from department stores, discount stores or eBay as mostly what they sell is junk. Find your local astronomy club and try out different telescopes at one of their star parties:

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/organizat...

I strongly recommend that beginners steer clear of astrophotography until they have learned their way around the sky. Astrophotography is by far the most expensive and difficult area of amateur astronomy.

Many people who buy telescopes have no idea how to find interesting things to observe. A good introduction to finding things is NightWatch by Terence Dickinson (Firefly). A more advanced book is Star Watch by Phil Harrington (Wiley).

You should buy Binoculars before buying a telescope. Great brands usually come from Celestron, Orion and so on. A typical 15 x 70 would be fine. (15 Magnification)(70 mm Apeture)

"If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself"