Binoculars

[Champion of Capua]

I imagine the advantage of your location means you can get a lot of mileage out of a relatively simple scope. I used to run one of these: NexStar 8SE Computerized Telescope | Celestron - https://www.celestron.com/products/nexstar-8se-computerized-telescope?srsltid=AfmBOoqggEwW8XeGhyhd2hLLZzdEo50lAHIXm9PXyeGpSfJZ7FmmhoN9

Whilst the high magnfication was useful for picking out binary stars, globular clusters, planets, etc. the increasing levels of light pollution in my location meant that eventually there were pretty low limits to what I could see despite the raw specs of the scope.

The bonus of having computerisation is that it helps you find things...but if I was doing it over again I would probably go with a simple Newtonian reflector or Dobsonian style. The reason for that is simple: set up time.

When you start out, you need the computer to help you find stuff. Once you start to learn your way around the sky (which you can do with a pair of bins) you often don't need help for the type of targets you will be viewing with a backyard scope. But if the scope has a motorised tripod, you are tied to using it. At that point it just slows things down. I found the time and effort required to set up the scope and get the mount calibrated every session was increasingly not worthwhile given deteriorating sky conditions at my location. Plus there is nothing more frustrating than taking everything out into the yard, setting it all up, waiting an hour for the scope to cool down...and then having the clouds roll in!

It seems like almost all "beginner" models these days are using apps with motorised mounts, but a simple "table top" Dobsonian will allow you to get straight to viewing without spending too much time faffing about. That's what I would go with if I had my time again - and if I ever move to a location with better viewing conditions I probably will! Something like the Sky-Watcher 100p table-top Dob - this would be in your budget:

View attachment 1962395

You could also go up a level to the 130p Flex-tube and that should be just about in budget too. Bigger scope = more light gathering = see fainter objects with more clarity. But obviously there is a trade off in terms of storage / set-up, etc. and I suspect you already having the kind of viewing conditions that I could only dream of.

But don't under-estimate the bins! Even with your 8x42 there is plenty of interesting stuff to see if you know where to look, and it will pay big dividends when you get the scope up and running. I was going to get myself a pair of 12x50 Nikons, but as I said before the increase in light pollution here over the past few years has meant that I just don't go out viewing much because the limiting magnitude has dropped off a cliff thanks to all the new housing going up - I can no longer see a lot of the interesing binocular targets I could 5-10 years ago.

Thank you for a that info, I am definitely not going to go computerized at this point, maybe if the wife really falls in love with it. I’m thinking something like you said that is easy to set up. Right now we use the app “Sky Guide” to quickly find something available.
As for the binoculars, the wife just signed up to be a volunteer whale watcher/counter for one of the foundations here in Maui. Hopefully the new 8x42’s will be good enough to get her going, but if not I’m sure the other volunteers will have some good recommendations as well.
Thank you again for the suggestions