Hi, my name is Vyacheslav, my short name is Slava, I'm mainly a visual observer, amateur astronomer for more than 10 years, and I live at the southern suburbs of Ukraine's capital city Kyiv, ~50°N. The light pollution is medium here, mostly from the capital on the north, but increasing from year to year,
Bortle 5 now, it was 4 half a decade ago.
It allows me to observe all the bright deepsky objects and my favorite double stars with 4" ED refractor
f/9, and 8"
SCT.
As a member of Kyiv astronomy club Astropolis, I also observe in club 16" dobsonian at
Bortle 2...3 skies.
There I took my spring
Messier and autumn
Messier plus marathons, including
Messier marathons by memory (without maps and hints). The Southern sky of Namibia gave me another great impression in visual observing, a life changing experience.
Some attempts in astrophotography, I've had 5-7 years ago, convince me that visual impression might bring a kind of better personal experience, from that time I prefer visual observations. Some astronomy amateurs have a specific definite goal, e.g., Herschel-400 list, while others observe just the same objects every season, it's up to you, anyway, enjoy the beauty of the night skies above you. Stay safe and clear skies to all!
Visual observing of deepsky objects, double stars, etc.
Kyiv astronomy club Astropolis