You don’t need a telescope to see a lot of wonderful things in the night sky. For example five of the planets are often readily visible with the naked eye. There are lots of amazing things you can see and this guide will help you find them.
To maximize what you can see in the night sky there are a few things you should do as preparation. Of course the first thing you need is a clear and cloudless night. And this includes the moon. You should try to do your observing on a night with no moon; or at the least the smallest sliver of moon possible. Its brightness will wash out many of the dimmest and most dramatic objects in the sky. Second you should consider your comfort. Make sure you dress appropriately for the weather and bring extra layers of clothing if you are observing during cold months. The temperature late in the evening can be substantially lower than it is during the day and because observing the sky means not moving around much you will be even colder. Bring along any items to help your comfort like a lawn chair or a reclining lawn chair so you can look up without craning your neck.
Find yourself a spot to observe from that is as dark as possible. This means get away from street lights, city lights, house lights, or any other type of light source. Ideally you should drive away from any city that is nearby. If this is not possible then try to find the darkest spot you can. Man-made Light sources have an effect on the night sky by washing out the dimmer objects and they have an effect on your eyes by causing your pupils to close. This will decrease your ability to see the dimmer objects.
Beginning your observing is the most critical time for one big reason and this is why a lot of people don’t realize how rich the night sky really is. It takes your eyes up to a half an hour to fully adjust to the darkness outside. If you go outside and immediately begin looking for object in the sky you may be disappointed but this is because your eyes haven’t adjusted yet! Give it some time and let your eyes fully adjust and you will be amazed at how many more things you see in just a half hour time.