Beginner telescope suggestions?

I've recently decided I want to get a telescope to do some star gazing with my little brother who's starting to become more and more fascinated with astrology.
I've looked at Orion's, Celestron, and Mead's, refractors but I'm having a tough time deciding. I want to be able to see decent detail of the moon and at least be able to spot some of the closer planets and identify them.
Im looking to spend about $150.
Anyone knowledgeable in this area have any suggestions?

a reply to: Banquo

I'm a bit of a "do it yourself" kind of guy and would recommend that you look into making your own Dobsonian reflector, not just for the money saving, but also for the education in optics and the achievement you feel from it.

There are some good resources on the web. Here's an Instructable on a 12.5 inch Dobsonian (although they bought their mirror. Grinding and 'figuring' your own, though, is a worthwhile education in itself!).

I'd also recommend visiting a shop that specializes in Astronomy. Just hanging around can give you an idea of what is available and pricing. You can also pick up details of meets and social events.

Just be sure to remember Astronomy & Astrometry is science, Astrology is woo woo. Confusing the words amongst Astronomers is bound to cause pained winces.

Read this guys page.

www.scopereviews.com...


Lots of good info.

Don't buy a cheap one. You'll get frustrated and you won't be able to see much. I made that mistake. Buy once, cry once.

Thanks for all the replys! Making my own sounds interesting, I'll have to look into that!