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I'm in the same condition. But I have discovered something which you may not have run across...it is a gathering of real astronomy enthusiasts which is geared toward sharing their toys with the unenlightened like you and I. Its called a Star Party. Most amateur astronomy clubs hold them at least once a year in a dark area. All the gear gets set up for 2 to three days and you can camp out there or just stay up one night and everybody lets you look through their telescopes! At the Table Mountain Star party that I started going to religiously about 4 years ago there are typically 200 or more REALLY BIG telescopes of various designs...You have to use a stepladder to get up to the eyepiece.

You can visit the link below to get a feel for the size of the event, but what you'll never deduce from looking at daylight photos is how thrilling it is to just walk around in total darkness with a red filtered flashlight and talk about the universe, with informed, happy, strangers...and then you get to the eyepiece and its really amazing...You don't get the color that these digital photos provide, but the structures are all there...A 32" reflector telescope that wouldn't fit in the back of a Pickup truck gives a great view of the Triffid, and you also get the feel for the motion of the earth...You have to constantly track this huge piece of machinery to counter the rotation of your platform(Terra Firma)...Its indescribable...go do it! Click Here for Table Mountain Star Party