13 Celestial Bodies That One Can See With the Naked Eye

Amateur stargazers do not need a telescope or even binoculars to see some of the brightest celestial bodies from here on Earth. All you need is a sky free of clouds and to know where to look.

One of the handiest apps to help home astronomers identify points of light in the night sky is Sky Map, developed by Google engineers for Android phones. Just open the app and point your phone’s camera toward the sky. On your phone screen, a graphic representation of the sky appears with each celestial body clearly identified.

If you live in or close to a major city, some of the following stars, planets, moons, and galaxies might be difficult to see due to city lights masking their presence. For everyone else, ponder that the light from some of the most distant celestial bodies traveled thousands or sometimes millions of years to reach your curious peepers.

Sun

The Sun, our closest star, is the most prominent celestial body but also the only one that you should never look at directly or risk damaging your eyes. About 1.3 million Earths could fit inside the Sun. The light from the Sun that illuminates everything around you takes eight minutes to travel through space to Earth.

The most exciting time to look at the Sun — while wearing special glasses, of course — is during an eclipse, which is when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun.

Moon

The Earth’s only moon, imaginatively named the Moon, is our nearest celestial neighbor. The gravitational pull of the Moon creates the changing tides on our planet. The different phases of the Moon are easily visible from Earth as long as there is no dense cloud cover.

In July 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon. NASA’s planned Artemis 2 mission will send a crew back to the Moon for the first time since 1972.

Venus

Venus is the second planet from the Sun and sometimes considered Earth’s “twin” because the two planets are similar in size. With its thick, toxic atmosphere, Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system with temperatures as high as 801 degrees Fahrenheit.

Although it’s often called the Morning Star or Evening Star because it’s most visible near dawn and dusk, Venus is a planet and does not produce its own light — it only reflects the light of the Sun just like all the other celestial bodies in our solar system.

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and is easily recognizable from Earth due to Mars’ signature reddish color, the result of iron (III) oxide in the planet’s soil. NASA has sent numerous unmanned rover missions to Mars over the years, some of which are still on the surface searching for signs of water and organic life.

The best time to view Mars from the United States is to look low in the morning sky. Beginning in August, Mars starts to climb higher in the sky and will appear brighter.

Jupiter

Jupiter is a gas giant and the largest planet in our solar system. It is known for its Giant Red Spot — a violent storm that has raged for hundreds of years.

Although you can’t see Jupiter’s Giant Red Spot without a telescope, the planet appears as a bright point of light when viewed from Earth. If you’re early to rise, the best time to see Jupiter is right before dawn.

Saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and second-biggest planet after Jupiter. Like Jupiter, Saturn is also a gas giant but has more prominent rings that are visible with a telescope. However, due to Saturn’s axial tilt, its rings won’t be visible from Earth beginning in March 2025 for several months. Saturn also has dozens of moons — more than any other planet in the solar system.

When viewed from Earth with the naked eye, Saturn appears as a yellowish-white “star” that does not twinkle. In North America, the best time to see Saturn is by looking to the southeast near the horizon after sunset.

Mercury

Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system and the one closest to the Sun. Named after the swiftest of the Roman gods, Mercury zips around the Sun in 88 days — faster than any other planet.

Viewed from Earth, Mercury appears as a bright “star” with a yellowish color. It is best seen near the horizon — look west about an hour after sunset, or east about an hour before sunrise.

Sirius

Sirius’ name is derived from the Greek word that means “scorching” or “glowing,” which makes sense because it is the brightest star in the night sky. Another name for Sirius is Dog Star because it is part of the constellation Canis Major.

Sirius is only 8.6 light-years from Earth, which sounds far but is actually close by cosmic standards. The easiest way to find Sirius is to look for the three stars that comprise Orion’s Belt — the lowest of the stars points downward toward Sirius.

Betelgeuse

In addition to being the name of Michael Keaton’s bio-exorcist character in Beetlejuice, Betelgeuse is also the name of a red supergiant star in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest stars in the night sky even though it is 700 light-years away, meaning the light you see from it took 700 years to reach Earth.

Within the next 100,000 years or so, Betelgeuse will go supernova, which will be quite a light show if humans still exist. For now, you can see Betelgeuse by finding Orion’s Belt and looking above and to the left of the top star. Betelgeuse appears as a bright reddish dot.

Canopus

Canopus is the second-brightest star in the night sky, second only to Sirius. The former is one of 58 bright stars used for navigation.

To see Canopus from the United States, you have to live at a latitude south of San Jose, California or Richmond, Virginia. Anyone living north of about 37 degrees latitude will have to travel south to catch a glimpse of the second-brightest star visible from Earth.

Alpha Centauri

Alpha Centauri is a triple-star system located just over four light-years from Earth, making the system the closest stars to our solar system. Collectively, the star system is the fourth-brightest star in the night sky.

A southern star system, Alpha Centauri isn’t visible to those who live above 29 degrees north latitude, which means even those living in the Florida Keys would have to look low on the horizon to get a glimpse of the triple-star system.

Images from the Hubble Space Telescope confirm the presence of exoplanets orbiting the stars of Alpha Centauri. These alien worlds are not visible by the naked eye or even with a home telescope.

Andromeda Galaxy

The Andromeda Galaxy is the closest galaxy to our Milky Way. Located 2.48 million light years from Earth, Andromeda is on a collision course with the Milky Way and the two will merge into a much larger galaxy in about 4 billion years.

For now, the Andromeda Galaxy is the only galaxy besides the rest of the Milky Way that one can see from Earth without the aid of a telescope. Andromeda may only appear as a milky blur of light in the night sky, but light from that glowing smudge traveled through space for 2.48 million years to reach your eyes, so at least pretend to be impressed.

Rigel

Rigel is the brightest star of the constellation Orion the Hunter. A blue supergiant comprised of at least four stars, Rigel appears as a single bluish-white pinpoint of light when viewed from Earth without a telescope.

To find Rigel, look for Orion’s Belt and move south and to the right and find the brightest blue-white star visible. Rigel is best visible from North America during winter evenings.