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I used to just go outside and start looking with no clear objective. Yep, the easier ones, Moon, Jupiter, Saturn and Orion were all go to then I used to look aimlessly in hope to find something different. To be quite honest, I found that I wasn't outside very long and whilst I was still enjoying it, I could have been enjoying the sky even more.
I now use Sky Safari when I am inside at home and go to the "search" function and then look at "tonight's best". I then write all the bold ones in a note book and take that outside with me. It gives the Alt and Az figures. I was starting to write them down too but soon realised that they are forever changing as the night went on. A trap for young players that one.
I generally only write down the ones that are in my reach in the backyard or wherever I am going as per the altitude but sometimes I will note down some obscure ones in hope that I can find something different. You never know.
I take my phone or ipad outside with me (ensure the red light display is on) and use that for the co-ordinates as I am searching.
As I find the object, I have a bit of a look at it and stay on it for a few moments, changing eyepieces to try and get a better (or worse) view and see what else is around it. I then tick it off on my notebook and write down the time I saw it. I also note any features or interesting facts about it that I saw.
After I am finished, I head back in and search for the things I saw, use Google images and take a snapshot of the image and note down the light year or other bits that I can relate to later on. Plus if anyone asks, I can show them.
I have only done this a few times and it seems to work ok for me and is allowing me to learn the names of the objects plus get a rough idea on where they are in the sky for when I am looking with the naked eye.
Slowly but surely this allowing me to enjoy viewing much more.
Regards
Scott
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