For the newcomer to this hobby, a good pair of 8x50 binoculars is the ideal means to learn your way around the sky. Binoculars give a wide field of view so that it's easy to locate the brighter planets, star clusters, galaxies, and nebulas. If you're now thinking about getting a telescope, we've put together the following guidelines to help you get something that you can actually use. Anything substantially less than that is an inferior instrument that will prove very frustrating to use. In fact, some of the cheaper telescopes use plastic lenses, instead of optical glass.
Good telescopes are precise pieces of scientific equipment.
Forget about magnification - For astronomical work, the maximum usable magnification is 50 power per inch of aperture. The mounting is as important as the telescope itself - If the mount is unstable, you won't be able to keep objects in the field of view. The more metal, the better - Check out the telescope to see how many parts are made of metal. One example is the apparatus used for focusing. Metal parts are more durable and operate more smoothly than plastic parts.