Hi, I am extremely new to astronomy and was wondering if there was something similar out there to the monthly observing challenge that is listed on the resources on this website (the last challenge on this website is 2005). I think its a great idea for a newbie to try to get their head around finding objects within a community that is willing to provide assistance. If anyone can point a newbie in the right direction it would be appreciated. Thanks, JamesC.
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.
Once you tire of these things, more things you can try your hand at, depending on your scope (these assume you have access to a newtonian around 25cm - 30cm aperture, and observing from a dark site):
Obtain a copy of Sky Atlas 2000, either printed or digital, and figure out which sheets correspond to the meridian. Now start hunting down the galaxies shown, most on Sky Atlas are easily within reach of a 25-30cm scope. There are many well worth looking for, e.g. the Virgo cluster, the Leo triplet or Stephans Quintet. One aspect of the printed maps is that you can tick them off with a pencil as you find them. There are some mistakes in Sky Atlas too, though it will be quite while before you find these.
Keep tabs on bright supernova discoveries, and try to find these visually. The chances of an amateur discovering one now are slim thanks to robotic 'scopes, but interesting nonetheless.
