[mjohnson]

Don't get swept up in magnification.

For 200, you can't get that good a refractor.

Maybe a 6" Dobsonian and an eyepiece?

Most of the things to see in the night sky, planets excepting, are quite large. The Andromeda galaxy is nearly the size of the full moon. Same with the Orion nebula. What you need is area, not magnification (not length, but girth).

Downside of a dob? No tracking with the sky's motion. No setting circles. You have to navigate by the nearby stars ("star hopping") and actually learn rather than dialing in coordinates.

As long as you're not in an urban setting, 6" will get you almost all of the M-objects and quite a few other interesting things. A guy in my astro club in SW Michigan got over 1000 deep sky objects with 6", though he was a bit of a foamer (at the mouth).

Binoculars are an option. You wouldn't believe what you can see with a decent pair of 7x50s, a dark sky and a tripod.

A grasp of reality is a must. You'll _never_ see pictures like in a textbook or magazine from any telescope. Amateur astronomers learn to appreciate vague glimmers seen in their averted vision (I saw it really great until I tried to look at it!).

Keeping in mind its limitations, I really enjoyed such stuff as a teenager. Since I hade time on the scope that night, I didn't have to waste all that money on my Prom.

Heh heh....