I'm an astronomy beginner. Are there any mountaintop observatories that I can

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Brun the Leader

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buy for a buck? Not that I'm cheap or anything. I just want the best buy for my money.
 
Sure. Lots of them. Instruments are quite inexpensive. But the land they're setting on will cost you several tens of millions ?

Doug
 
No. But good telescopes have never been available for such reasonable prices as they are today. You can get a really good 6" reflector for only $250:
http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=dobsonians/~pcategory=telescopes/~product_id=08942

Here are a few web pages with good information on beginner's telescopes:
http://www.gaherty.ca/tme/TME0702_Buying_a_Telescope.pdf
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/control/category/~category_id=dobsonians/~pcategory=telescopes/~VIEW_INDEX=0/~VIEW_SIZE=1000000
http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/swtinc/product.php?class1=1&class2=106

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/organizations
 
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