I'm currently majoring in Astronomy (a freshmen). Would a retracting telescope be more suitable than a reflecting or vise versa?
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Unless its a very special situation, I would _always_ recommend a reflector over a refractor, because you can get a much larger aperture for the money with a reflector, and aperture is what a beginner needs most.
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a dobsonian telescope will give you the biggest mirror for the least amount of money. start there.