10 things to see in the night sky with no telescope

Everything here needs only eyes, a grown-up and a clear night. Ordered from easiest to hardest.

How it's ordered: Easiest first: what shows from a town before what needs a dark sky.

The Moon. Up on most nights for at least part of the evening; its shape changes every night.
Venus. The brightest point in the sky when it's up, only in the west after sunset or the east before sunrise.
Jupiter. Very bright and steady; binoculars show up to four of its moons as tiny dots in a line.
Saturn. Bright, calm and cream-coloured. The rings need a telescope, but the planet doesn't.
Mars. Orange-red, brighter in some years than others. It brightens through the winter of 2026 to 2027.
The Big Dipper. Seven stars in a ladle, in the north all year from most of the US.
Orion's belt. Three stars in a row, the easiest shape of the winter sky.
A shooting star. Any night has a few; a shower's peak night has many.
The Pleiades. A tiny, misty cluster of stars, like a very small dipper, high in the east on autumn and winter evenings.
The Milky Way. A faint band of light across the sky, made of more stars than anyone can count. It needs a truly dark place away from towns.

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“Lists are fun, but the best thing in the sky is the one you find yourself.”