Just thought I'd pass this on as a life long lover of the night skies.
For those noo-b's interested in Astronomy...
DO NOT buy a telescope!!!Visual astronomy has little do do with magnification. It is all about the size of the lenses (or mirrors). So buy the best pair of large diameter binoculars you can afford.
Besides, a good pair can double as a hunting aid to. I use a pair of (Orion 16x80 binos purchased 25 years ago) for pre season scouting. Using both eyes makes those 16 power binos equal to or better than a 30X spotting scope.
I have looked through an 82 inch scope at Jupiter which was the 6th largest Optical Telescope in the world at the time In 2001, I had the remarkable opportunity to see Uranus with the Wm. Keck (Still the world's largest optical instrument) in Hawaii... My niece was running that scope back then. She now flies on the NASA SOFIA mission running those instruments on board a specially fitted 747.
Both of these experiences taught me that the view was not all that much better that a $2000.00 telescope. Trust me. A good pair of binos cannot be beat.
For anywhere between 100 to 400 bucks a decent pair of binos from these guys will show more (and not wind up on Craig's list or a garage sale) than any telescope costing Thousands.
http://www.telescope.com/Binoculars/Astronomy-Binoculars/pc/5/72.uts#Besides, any serious astronomer will have a good pair of binos in his arsenal. So you might as well get them now because they are kinda like having a rifle with out a scope, ie. a necessary accessory to compliment the main tool to it's full potential.