The Skyquest scopes are excellent. If you are a beginner and have reasonably clear skies, my recommendation is that you spend your money on a telescope with more aperture and better optics instead of a computer finder. Those things frequently malfunction, and you will not learn the night sky by using them. They have good value for applications where there is a lot of light pollution or for astrophotography. They are also useful for folks who already know the sky and have limited time. but the nature of the hobby requires a certain investment in time, and you may as well use it to learn the sky, so that when someone asks you how to find M104, you don't have to ask the computer.
Any of the Skyquest scopes would be able to show you Jupiter in pretty nice detail, along with four of the moons revolving around the giant planet. An 8 inch aperture or better should reveal good detail of the storm bands across the surface of the planet. An 8 inch should also provide access to hundreds of deep space objects, including galaxies, clusters, and nebulae. A 10 inch would be even better, although it is a little tougher to lug around.
You can buy more aperture and optics, or you can buy a computer finder. Or if you have no constraints you can buy both. I would recommend the aperture. I would recommend that you learn the sky. That's really half the fun.
If you haven't done so already, you should consider attending a local astronomy club observing session. They can show you what your options are, and what to expect at the eyepiece (note: this may be different than you think - many of these objects are pretty dim). |