This is a basic guide to help you chose the right telescope for you. This is not an exhaustive list, but a collection of things I've learned over time.
WHAT TYPE OF TELESCOPE:
This is a summary of the 4 main types of telescope and their + and - points. It's mostly practicality advice and I have tried to keep my opinion out of it.
Newtonian Reflector:
+ Large aperture (more light in) is relatively cheap
+ No lenses so no colour fringe issues
+ Large range of sizes
+ Very little dew build up as there's no lens in the front of the tube
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- Large aperture scopes are long too and can be cumbersome
- Bigger scopes are quite heavy due to the large lower mirror
- Needs a decent mount as length needs balance
- Eyepiece on side can be awkward to get to as it's at the front.
- Can catch on tripod at near-vertical orientations due to length
- For optimal performance the mirrors need collimating (aligning). This is straightforward but isn't usually required on other scopes
