Here's a Target Checklist for Mid January 2026
| Sat | Sun | ||
| Before dark | |||
| learn to point the scope | |||
| [ ] | [ ] | use the finder to find a hilltop | |
| [ ] | [ ] | look at jupiter through scope | it's likely to be the first thing visible (look east as it gets dark) |
| maybes/earlies (sets behind the mountains early) | |||
| [ ] | [ ] | Saturn | May be visible to naked eye -definitely a more difficult target then jupiter |
| [ ] | [ ] | Andromeda Galaxy | naked eye visible in the dark but sets behind mountains early |
| [ ] | [ ] | Cassiopeia | one of the Requirement 4c galaxies (sets early) |
| Easy Targets | |||
| [ ] | [ ] | Jupiter | Jupiter changes over the night |
| [ ] | [ ] | Orion Constellation | easy! And in it: the Orion Nebula |
| [ ] | [ ] | Orion Nebula | great target - even visible from downtown |
| [ ] | [ ] | Big Dipper | one of the Requirement 4c galaxies, rises later |
| [ ] | [ ] | Sweep the Milky Way | East of Betelgeuse and Sirius |
| What are the brightest stars? | |||
| More difficult targets | |||
| [ ] | [ ] | Uranus | it's a greenish ball in a starfield of white pinpoints |
| [ ] | [ ] | M81 and M82 | good galaxies (even visible from downtown (barely)) |
| [ ] | [ ] | Eskimo Nebula | a bit south ol Jupiter - A Planetary Nebula (looks like Uranus) - a star blowing off it's atmosphere |
| [ ] | [ ] | M35 | Open Start Cluster |
| [ ] | [ ] | M41 | Star Cluster south of Sirius |