There are lots of ways to organize a night of stargazing, but one of the most practical is called "first to worst." That is, try for the brightest stars before going after dimmer, harder-to-find objects. It builds your confidence and really helps you get in sync with your sky.
To make it easy, we've organized these quick tables of the brightest stars by season. Click C to center the star in the sky.
These stars are visible year-round in the Northern Hemisphere.
| Alcor | C | Megrez | C |
| Alderamin | C | Merak | C |
| Alioth | C | Mizar | C |
| Alkaid | C | Phecda | C |
| Caph | C | Polaris | C |
| Dubhe | C | Schedar | C |
| Eltanin | C | Thuban | C |
| Kochab | C |
These stars are visible between March and June—spring in the Northern Hemisphere, autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.
| Algeiba | C | Izar | C |
| Alphard | C | Menkent | C |
| Arcturus | C | Regulus | C |
| Cor Caroli | C | Rigel Kentaurus | C |
| Denebola | C | Spica | C |
| Gienah | C | Vindemiatrix | C |
| Hadar | C |
These stars are visible between June and September—summer in the Northern Hemisphere, winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
| Albireo | C | Rasalhague | C |
| Alphecca | C | Sabik | C |
| Alshain | C | Sadr | C |
| Altair | C | Sargas | C |
| Antares | C | Shaula | C |
| Deneb | C | Tarazed | C |
| Dschubba | C | Unukalhai | C |
| Kaus Australis | C | Vega | C |
| Nunki | C | Zubenelgenubi | C |
| Rasalgethi | C |
These stars are visible between September and December—autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, spring in the Southern Hemisphere.
| Algenib | C | Hamal | C |
| Algol | C | Markab | C |
| Almach | C | Menkar | C |
| Alpheratz | C | Mira | C |
| Ankaa | C | Mirach | C |
| Deneb Kaitos | C | Mirfak | C |
| Enif | C | Sadal Melik | C |
| Fomalhaut | C | Scheat | C |
These stars are visible between December and March—winter in the Northern Hemisphere, summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
| Acamar | C | Castor | C |
| Achernar | C | Elnath | C |
| Adhara | C | Menkalinan | C |
| Alcyone | C | Miaplacidus | C |
| Aldebaran | C | Mintaka | C |
| Alhena | C | Mirzam | C |
| Alnilam | C | Naos or Suhail Hadar | C |
| Alnitak | C | Nihal | C |
| Aludra | C | Pollux | C |
| Arneb | C | Procyon | C |
| Avior | C | Rigel | C |
| Bellatrix | C | Saiph | C |
| Betelgeuse | C | Sirius | C |
| Canopus | C | Suhail al Muhlif | C |
| Capella | C | Wezen | C |
These stars are visible year-round in the Southern Hemisphere.
| Acrux | C | Mimosa | C |
| Atria | C | Peacock | C |
| Gacrux | C |