We might scoff at the idea of a $100 telescope, but the amount of fun a frugal amateur can squeeze from this telescope is actually pretty cool. Take for example the Meade Extreme Universe 60mm, or any line of Meade Model 285. Mechanical driver? That's you. GO TO functionality? That's you. Dip into your savings to buy it? Nope, not at all.
I use one of the Model 285s that my wife gave me for Christmas seven years ago. She bought it for around $50 (on sale from $100). It came with a couple eyepieces, which I'll refer to with these decided un-technical names: normal, wide, and pinpoint views. And then there's the 5 X 24 viewfinder (sighting scope) on the side which proves quite handy when hunting celestial creatures.
So, let's get to the point: how does it perform? Not bad, with a few minor aggravations. First, the aggravations. The telescope can be a bit wobbly at times. If you bump it, or if there's a decent breeze, the object you are viewing will wobble. Bump it hard enough, the object will completely track out of view. And that's honestly about it. You could say that Saturn in the scope looks nothing like it does on the box, or Jupiter is a white dot, not red at all. But come on, are you really that surprised that the packaging lied to you?
Now the good stuff. Okay, so Jupiter in this telescope looks nothing like the iconic Voyager images. But if you look, you can see a few cloud bands. And depending on how the planet is rotated, you might even be able to see the Great Red Eye (though it will probably be gray). Reader Beware: I have yet to see the GRE, so I'm guessing in this possibility.
Moving on through the solar system to Saturn. Ah, now there's something amazing. You will have no trouble seeing its rings. Even though you know Saturn's there and it has rings, seeing them for yourself is quite impressive. Now look a bit more carefully. You see the few small dots around the glowing yellow orb? Those probably aren't background stars. You got it...those are a few of Saturn's moons. No go back and look at Jupiter again. Yep, more moons.
Speaking of moons, cheap, good quality telescopes are great instruments for viewing our own celestial companion. You can peek in on it any time it's out, but here are two common pieces of advice. First, get a moon filter. These are usually around 15 bucks. Screw it into the eyepiece and have a look. This accessory helps dim light and brings out stronger contrasts for your viewing pleasure. Seriously, if you haven't looked at the moon using one of these, you're missing out on some stunning features.
The second point of advice: look at the moon in its crescent states: waxing or waning, it doesn't matter. Whereas a full moon has light shining directly on it from a nadir, the off-angle source of light during these times creates shadows across the moon's surface to really pop out it's topography. In short, these shadows let you see better detail of craters and mountains.
And let's now leave our solar system and look at a couple deep sky objects. While it would be cool to look at whirling pinwheel galaxies and count stars in clusters, keep in mind that this is not usually possible with smaller telescopes (or some bigger ones, for that matter). That's not a reason for you not to get interested in affordable backyard astronomy. I'm just trying to prevent a huge let down. The good news is you can see quite a few Messier objects with remarkable detail. Two come to mind, both of them classics: The Orion Nebula, and the Pleiades. And here's something interesting to try. Remember the moon filter? The dark one that brought out features on the moon? These filters come in a variety of colors which may help pop out the color in celestial bodies.
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