Where does one go to buy a telescope?
That depends on what type of telescope you are interested it. Many department and catalog stores carry small inexpensive refractors that are of acceptable quality as a small first telescope. Optically these telescopes are OK, but don’t expect to use the very magnifications with any success. Stick to the lower magnification, say under 75X. As soon as you get the telescope home, throw the solar filter out! These cheap little filters have been known to crack or melt thus exposing the observer to the very real possibility of being blinded by the sun. For a larger, higher quality instrument you have two choices. There are some telescope dealers locally and in the Ann Arbor-Detroit area. Most are actually photography stores that also carry telescopes. You can find them in the Yellow Pages under “Telescopes.” They usually carry only a few telescopes, and because of the low volume of sales their prices are often (though not always) higher than mail order retailers. Never the less if you value
