[proud American in Canada]

Fascinating.

I really want to get my husband a telescope for Christmas.

Any thoughts on the best, within financial reason?

Thanks, Julie

[minnesota_bound]

#5 Do a search on what the planets look like in a 6” and 8” and 10” telescope. The bigger the mirror or lens the better as they collect more light. Reflectors are far less expensive. I would love to have a Maksutov Reflector or Schmidt Cassegrain plus dark skies for the stars. The planets you should be able to photograph anywhere.
The moon, mars, jupiter, and saturn are the ones to photograph with a telescope. The stars you can use a full frame camera (big sensor) and take pictures of the stars in 20 or 30 seconds.

A 11” telescope images of the planets
https://www.astropix.com/html/i_astrop/Planetary_Imaging.html

The best telescopes for astrophotography and stargazing in 2020
https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/buying-guides/best-telescopes-for-astrophotography

Planetary Imaging with Your DSLR Camera
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-resources/planetary-imaging-with-your-dslr-camera/

How to Photograph the Milky Way
https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/tips-and-techniques/how-to-photograph-the-milky-way.html

Photographing the Night Sky
https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/tips-and-techniques/photographing-the-night-sky.html

[Red Badger]

I have a old fashioned manual telescope I got from Goodwill for $20. It does ok for my needs. But if you want to give him a good modern one:

Here’s an inexpensive one for beginners:

https://www.amazon.com/TELMU-Refracting-Adjustable-17-7In-35-4In-Telescopes/dp/B07GYXYWQF/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=telescope&qid=1605013821&sr=8-3

[Red Badger]

This is the one I have which is circa 1969 model. Totally manual, no motor, no computer, etc.................