I am an amateur astronomer (heavy emphasis on the amateur). My wife and I went shopping the other day at a local “variety” store (it’s more of a pawn or consignment shop). Anyway, while meandering through the junk piles, we spotted a Meade ETX-70AT with a $50 price tag.
This scope is somewhat more portable than either of my 4.5″ reflectors. Now, if I could just find a night with clear skies AND time to observe. While waiting for that I ran across three excellent books that should be on any amateur (emphasis on the amateur) astronomer’s shelf.
The first is “The Stars” by H. A. Rhey (creator of Curious George), and the second is “Turn Left at Orion” by Guy Consolmagno and Dan M. Davis. More about those later.