What are some interesting things to do with a Telescope when star watching?

This question is for people that already have a telescope and have star gazing as a hobby. I have just recently bought a telescope and I was wondering, other than simply star at the night sky, from your experience what are some interesting things to do?



ThanksWhat are some interesting things to do with a Telescope when star watching?I have used a telescope for 50 years and have never "stared at the night sky".



Does this mean you have seen ALL the planets (including Pluto) I haven't.



Have you seen ALL the Messier objects? All the Caldwell objects? and ALL the NGC objects?



If not you should try, that will keep you busy for a bit.



Then you could try using different filters to make difficult objects more visible.



Then get a camera ( a webcam will do) and try astrogrphy through the telescopeWhat are some interesting things to do with a Telescope when star watching?
Simply staring at the night sky gets old really fast. I spend many hours every month looking at specific things in the night (and day) sky:



1) Variable stars. Because of astrophysical processes going on within them, many stars vary in brightness. Their brightness can be estimated by comparing them to fixed stars, and their light curves recorded, which can tell us more about the processes going on.



2) The planet Jupiter. I time the transit of atmospheric features across the central meridian of the planet. Such observations allow us to study Jupiter's atmosphere, specifically the wind speeds at high altitudes.



3) "Cosmic birdwatching." For fun I observe double stars and deep sky objects. There are many lists of such objects which show an astonishing variety of forms. I have observed all 110 deep sky objects catalogued by Charles Messier in the 18th century, all 110 objects selected by Alan Dyer from the New General Catalog, 400 objects catalogued by William Herschel, and 100 double stars on an Astronomical League list.



4) Near Earth asteroids. I've located and tracked several near Earth asteroids.



5) Comets. I've observed any comets, occasional visitors to the inner solar system.



6) Transits of Mercury and Venus. Sometimes Mercury and Venus pass in front of the Sun. I've observed several transits of Mercury and one of Venus.



7) Eclipses. I've travelled to various places to observe solar eclipses. I've seen two total solar eclipses, in 1963 in Quebec and 2006 in Libya., many partial solar eclipses, and many lunar eclipses.



8. Planets. I observe the other planets regularly, making sketches and taking photographs.



9. Sun. I observe the Sun in white and hydrogen alpha light.



10. The Moon. I observe it regularly with high magnifications.



11. Aurora.



12. Meteors.



13. Satellites.



14. Saturn's moons. I've seen half a dozen -- how many can you see?



The list goes on and on...What are some interesting things to do with a Telescope when star watching?Alan's answer is great. Try knocking off the "easy" lists first.. the planets, the Messiers and so on.



In addition, a lot of people (myself included), rather like finding and "splitting" double/multiple star systems, which can be anywhere from dirt simple to extremely challenging, depending on how close the paired stars are together. The link below is a good place to start with that.



Another thing I enjoy doing personally is picking a single constellation and trying to hit as many objects as I can in that one constellation for that night's viewing session-- interesting stars, deep space objects (clusters, galaxies, etec), any planet that's in it currently (if it's on the epileptic). Of course, I also live somewhere where I don't have the greatest line of sights due to the trees, so that helps me plan my viewing sessions around what I have access to.What are some interesting things to do with a Telescope when star watching?
I used to use mine to spy on the girl next door if the weather was no good for actual star gazing. She was used to seeing me out in the garden late at night so didn't think much of it and used to leave her curtains open sometimes. Happy days.What are some interesting things to do with a Telescope when star watching?Is it a refractor or a mirror telescope. The mirror needs adjustment to get it right to see Uranus. This is a good time to look for Uranus as it is near Jupiter and easy to find. Jupiter is interesting to watch with its moons etc.What are some interesting things to do with a Telescope when star watching?
Jupiter is very visible at the moment. You can see its moons and the bands that go around it.What are some interesting things to do with a Telescope when star watching?
Point it at Albireo sometime.
Well you could always stare through your neighbours windows and hope to catch a bit of flesh xD