|
Hi James,
There are quite a few catalogs of nice objects for small telescopes, the challenge is to draw and/or describe the various targets. The reason these lists don't change is simple - the vast majority of celestial objects don't change.
Then there are challenges like Messier Marathons, the aim being to observe as many objects as possible from the Messier catalog in one night.
Nortons Star Atlas has a list of the best targets on each map, so month by month you should get to know these.
The best is probably Hartung’s Astronomical Objects for Southern Telescopes.
The things that do change are another matter:
- after Jupiter/Saturn/Mars, try finding Neptune or Uranus.
- see how many moons of Jupiter/Saturn you can locate, as distinct from stars (hint: they move, from day to day, but stars don't).
- minor planets (asteroids) - quite a few can be spotted in small scopes, look for detailed ephemeris data online.
- visual comets - for these you'll need to do some research online to obtain predicted positions.
|