We found Saturn!

Hi,

Thanks for the tips on locating Saturn.

It took a couple of tries, but I finally found it low in the horizon
directly east of our house which faces east.

It was pretty magnificent looking, even in this cheap telescope we are
using at the moment!

Before I located Saturn I fixed on a yellowish/redish looking star
that I thought was a planet. This star was north of Orions belt. It
was really bright looking and I thought it looked like a planet in the
scope, but according to a sky chart I looked at there was no planet in
that location last night.

Anyone have a guess what that object may have been?

This scope I got our son for Christmas is really hard to use. Worse
than my Sears telescope I had as a boy. It is also not able to aim
well at obects high in the sky. It seems to only recline to about a
60 degree angle. I had to lower the legs on one side just to get it
to point higher in the sky.

Would appreciate any suggestions for something halfway decent that can
aim high into the sky and is easy to use? Last time I posted on this
topic I was pretty close to trying to find a used orange Celestron C8,
but they are hard to find in good condition. Would appreciate any
suggestions for a decent scope I can buy new for under $500. Just
want something that is stable and easy to use and navigate the sky
with.

Thanks in advance,
Steve