To people versed in the telescopic trade--

My price range is between $800-$1000. What would you recommend?

I currently have a six inch orion telescope with two eyepieces. Do you believe that it might be better to just get some better eyepieces? I had heard that most of the power was in the eyepiece, but I'm hardly an amateur on the subject. Thanks for your help!

Uuuh, being a complete amateur on telescopes (borrowed a 7 inch from a friend for two years), I can only advise you to invest in a very good stand. The one I borrowed had a very crappy stand and I spent more time trying to stabilize it than looking through the (equally crappy ;)) scope itself.

Bye!

Crisp

http://www.oriontel.com/jump.jsp?itemType=GATEWAY&itemID=4
there you go...

Get something on an equatorial mount and get something big (8in or above) also you can get the electronic gear for auto aiming and finding.

Pollux V, where do you do most of your viewing? That is one of the most important questions to ask yourself when considering what
type of telescope to get. You said you were experienced, so you
probably have already considered this. If you view mostly from a
light polluted area, think of a small, high quality refractor. They are
quick and easy to set up and give excellent views of the planets
and the moon. Some people like to learn to identify and learn the
features of the moon. Smaller lenses are less effected by stray light
and unstable atmospheric conditions. TeleVue makes a great little scope that can go to high powers. If you have dark skys and are
sure lugging a large scope in and out for viewing won't get to be
"more trouble than its worth", go for the largest size you can take to
your viewing location. If deep sky objects are your interest, a large
scope is much better, but you will need dark skys for them to be
of benefit. Go To scopes are great for locating the most number
of objects, but you don't learn the night sky as well using them.
I have owned both smaller and larger scopes, and for me the
smaller scopes got the most use. A large scope is great when
you first get it, but can grow old quickly. Or maybe I'm just lazy!
A high quality refractor will last for many years and is easy to
store and use. It's just a matter of what your viewing interests
are. AstroMart is a great place to find used equipment and they
have forums discussing both equipment and viewing. A link:
http://www.astromart.com/categories.asp

If you think you may become interested in astrophotography in
the future, a telescope with the eyepiece at the bottom end is
much easier to use. I guess you know that those deep sky objects
are colorless unless you photograph them. Saturn, Jupiter, Mars
and some star clusters are in beautiful color though. The small
refractors are also great for star clusters and splitting double
stars. If you are planning to keep the 6 inch you have now, you
could use it for deep sky and a refractor or maksutov-casslegrain (sp) for everything else.