What kind of gear? How do you know where to look? What kind of things can you look for? Is it possible for amateur astronomers to find things that the pros haven’t already found?Interested in all input from all experience levels, budgets, particular interests, etc. Thanks!
It might help to start by ranking your interests within the hobby, even if they still sound a bit basic. From "I want to recognize the north star" to "I want to take a really huge, detailed photo of the moon" to "I want to explore astronomy software and learn the hobby from the inside out by reading help files."
If you get a good list going, you can rank the list items by interest level, which is another way of weighting your entrance into the hobby by making sure your most-available energy is used to break into it, and that's generally a good idea for momentum as a beginner.
If you keep it generally subjectively-focused like that, it's also really easy to make new discoveries, because you're finding and learning about the yet-unknown...to you.
For gear, I find that I personally like to make sure I weight all my gear choices on the side of photography, because I really enjoy that aspect. It may be different for you.
Software-wise I like Stellarium for my hobby use. It even has a script that will take you on a tour of interesting items you can see through binoculars.
Finally since we're on a tech site: You can learn a lot about space just by reviewing status screens and tech specs. Keep an eye on what NASA's doing, what missions are being run, and what kind of resources it takes.
Read, take a class at community college, and/or invest in a nice pair of large binoculars and tripod. They are more convenient than a telescope, cheaper when starting out. Join a local astro club, where you'll get to try out the "big guns" from other enthusiasts who can also give advice.
The AAVSO and Project Panoptes are two citizen science astronomy projects that are welcoming to all levels of experience. I think like with all hobbies you can spend a lot or a little, although for good astronomy equipment you either have to have machining/engineering skills or deep pockets for the best stuff. You can't really cheat the laws of physics when it comes to lenses, cameras, and mounts. What interests me is the science behind the data processing of photometry. That and the engineering behind building a remote observatory without spending a fortune. You definitely can find things that the pros can't because you will be able to get way more telescope time than a pro does. Things like verifying exoplanet candidates, or observing variable stars and eclipsing binaries and recording the light curves. All stuff that amateurs can contribute to.
What kind of gear? I'd defer researching gear until you have some idea what celestial bodies, motions, and phenomena are in the sky. Which lets you figure what kind of objects you may be more interested in and what gear they require.
What kind of things can you look for? Most classes of objects large telescopes can show, but you'll see them very differently and sometimes struggle to locate or identify them. That's why it's better to learn a bit of astronomy before thinking about gear.
Is it possible for amateur astronomers to find things that the pros haven’t already found? Absolutely, but it takes considerable experience with astronomy and observing techniques.
My advice: just start anywhere (e.g. from books if you're a text person). Nothing will make sense in the beginning but, eventually, things will start to fall into place.
There are loads of in-person astronomy clubs, for example there are three large-ish ones near me(Cambridge, UK). Many of them offer open nights to introduce newcomers, and they tend to be quite welcoming¹. The open nights are a great way to get a taste for equipment too, as you can play with all the toys the regulars take along.
I don't attend my local club, but the mailing list they run is an absolute treasure. Being local they'll often be on top of news for local starwatch nights, offer advice about dark sky locations, have used equipment for sale, etc.
Other than that I agree with pamoroso, just dive in and have fun.
¹ With the caveat that some of the people can be kind of quirky, and some can simply be snobby equipment collectors.
I started by following the advice given in the book "Seeing in the dark" by Timothy Ferris. The advice was simple: on a dark night, look at the sky using binoculars.
Amateurs been first to find comets for centuries, often spot supernovae early, and can constantly monitor for similarly unusual events while most pros are focussed on their specialities. I'll second the motion to start with good binocs, which will help you to learn the sky faster and give you time to decide what kind - and best quality (be careful) - of gear will best serve your developing passions!
It might help to start by ranking your interests within the hobby, even if they still sound a bit basic. From "I want to recognize the north star" to "I want to take a really huge, detailed photo of the moon" to "I want to explore astronomy software and learn the hobby from the inside out by reading help files."
If you get a good list going, you can rank the list items by interest level, which is another way of weighting your entrance into the hobby by making sure your most-available energy is used to break into it, and that's generally a good idea for momentum as a beginner.
If you keep it generally subjectively-focused like that, it's also really easy to make new discoveries, because you're finding and learning about the yet-unknown...to you.
For gear, I find that I personally like to make sure I weight all my gear choices on the side of photography, because I really enjoy that aspect. It may be different for you.
Software-wise I like Stellarium for my hobby use. It even has a script that will take you on a tour of interesting items you can see through binoculars.
Here's another good starting resource:
https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/
Finally since we're on a tech site: You can learn a lot about space just by reviewing status screens and tech specs. Keep an eye on what NASA's doing, what missions are being run, and what kind of resources it takes.
https://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn
Good luck & enjoy the hobby.