Hey guys, I am new to astronomy and I’m in the market for my first telescope. My price range is around $300-$350, give or take (depending on extra lenses etc). I’ve been doing a TON of research on the subject, and I’ve narrowed it down to two choices, based on type. Either an Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope or an Orion AstroView 90 Equatorial Refractor Telescope. I’m most likely going to be using this for viewing deep space objects, galaxies, nebulas (along with planets) etc. Which one seems to be the better pick for me? If you have any input, suggestions or know of any other telescopes that may suit me better, please, do tell. =] All comments are appreciated. Thanks SOOO much for your time =]

 
~~~Pete 

When it comes to observing deep-sky objects (the preferred term), the larger the aperture (i.e., the diameter of the primary mirror or objective lens), the better.  A large aperture provides greater light grasp, as well as resolution, which is the ability to distinguish fine detail.

Here are some reviews of the Orion XT8:

http://www.bpccs.com/lcas/Articles/xt8.htm

http://www.scopereviews.com/page1j.html#4

http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=1043

http://www.eastvalleyastronomy.org/reviews/skyquestxt8.html 

Zhumell is another brand that is worthy of consideration. 

http://www.zhumell.com/specialty/zhumell-telescopes-dobsonian.html

Expensive apochromatic refractors provide the most pleasing images of any telescope design.  Far less costly achromats work well enough on most celestial objects but can be prone to chromatic aberration or false color on bright ones, depending upon the relationship of aperture to focal ratio.  The Orion refractor, since it has only a 90mm objective and a "slow" focal ratio of f/10, should perform reasonably well. 

Here are a few sites that you may want to consult.

http://starizona.com/acb/basics/equipmentbasics.aspx

http://www.synapticsystems.com/sky/scopes/telbasic.html

http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=ss&id=9

http://skyandtelescope.com/howto/scopes/article_241_1.asp

http://www.skynewsmagazine.com/pages/telescope_tips.html

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

http://www.company7.com/library/begin.html

Dave Mitsky