The midwinter night sky presents a treasure trove of targets well suited for viewing with binoculars. One of the most easily found is the Pleiades open star cluster. Nearly overhead at nightfall, it is a group of several hundred sibling stars that formed from the same mother nebula. Their common origin makes the star cluster's nickname "The Seven Sisters" especially appropriate. At about 400 light years from us, the starlight we see today began its journey when Galileo first started using a telescope to explore the heavens in 1609.

Shift your focus to the northwestern sky and catch a view of our celestial neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy. In a pair of binoculars, the galaxy appears as an oval patch of light with a bright core. To one side, the core's brightness diminishes gradually toward the edge of the galactic disc. On the other side, there is a more abrupt drop in brightness. This feature is created by dark nebulae that overlay the galactic disc and block light from the stars within.

If your skies are dark and clear enough, you might be able to detect one of the Andromeda Galaxy's satellites, the small, elliptical galaxy designated M32. It will appear as a very small, fuzzy patch of light directly south of the main galaxy's core. While observing the Andromeda Galaxy, consider that because of its great distance, the light that we see from it is more 2.5 million years old.

Another wonderful binocular target is the Orion Nebula located within the constellation Orion. First, look for Orion's unmistakable hourglass shape in the south. Next, find the diagonal chain of stars forming the belt of Orion. Then look below the belt and a bit east for a stacked line of stars known as the sword of Orion. Pan around the sword with the binoculars. The stars at the center of the sword are nested in a luminous glow. That is the nebula — a real powerhouse of star formation. One hundred million years ago, the area around the Pleiades would have looked similar, but the clouds of molecular hydrogen gas and dust that formed those stars has long since dissipated, leaving behind the cluster we know today.

Grab your binoculars and planisphere (those star wheels indexed with dates and times) and check these objects out. If you don't have a planisphere and need a chart to guide you to these binocular targets, drop me an e-mail and I will get it to you.

Friday evening at 7:30 p.m., come join me at Hyde Memorial State Park for a "Find Your Lucky Stars — Sweetheart Star Party." The event is hosted by New Mexico State Parks, the Night Sky Program of the New Mexico Heritage Preservation Alliance and the Capital City Astronomy Club. The star party is free and open to everyone. This activity is weather dependent and will be canceled if conditions are not favorable. Call 505-983-7175 for more information.

Peter Lipscomb is director of the Night Sky Program for the New Mexico Heritage Preservation Alliance. Contact him at plipscomb@nmheritage.org.