Best Times to Observe
This list posted by Steve Coe on Cloudy Nights in 2011, is very useful if you’re on a quest to observe a target located in a given constellation. Note, that in winter, especially when standard time is observe and it gets dark around 5 PM, you can easily observe “earlier” months by starting before 9 PM. Any time of year, you can also observe later months by staying up late, roughly an hour per month, until astronomical dawn.
CONSTELLATIONS WELL-PLACED AT 9:00 P.M. MID-MONTH
January–Auriga, Caleum, Camelopardalis, Columba, Lepus, Orion, Taurus
February–Canis Major, Canis Minor, Gemini, Monoceros, Puppis
March–Cancer, Carina, Lynx, Pyxis, Vela
April–Crater, Hydra, Leo Minor, Leo, Ursa Major, Sextans
May–Canes Venatici, Centaurus, Coma Berenices, Corvus, Hydra, Virgo
June–Bootes, Corona Borealis, Draco, Libra, Serpens Caput, Ursa Minor
July–Draco, Hercules, Norma, Ophiuchus, Scorpius, Serpens Cauda
August–Aquila, Lyra, Sagitta, Scutum, Sagittarius, Vulpecula, Corona Australis
September–Capricornus, Cepheus, Cygnus, Delphinus, Eqquleus
October–Aquarius, Lacerta, Pegasus, Pisces Austrinus,
November–Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Cetus, Phoenix, Pisces, Sculptor
December–Aries, Eridanus, Fornax, Perseus, Triangulum