Hey, so I don't think I mentioned it, and in case you didn't notice, I've got a new link in the sidebar to the astronomy site I've been putting together. The Belt of Venus
There's a comet cruising across the late evening sky that's a really nice binocular target. If you can find the constellation Orion, it shouldn't be too hard to find the right spot in the sky for Comet Machholz. Sky and Telescope has a pretty good nightly map showing the comet's position in the sky. Try putting some binoculars on it if you like that sort of thing. If you're in the middle of heavy urban light pollution, or the moon is shining high in the sky when you go to look, it may take some patience. Otherwise, wait around for the first week in January, when it will be at its brightest, and pretty close to the Pleiades. Here is a photo I snagged of it a couple weeks ago.
Here's a widefield shot of the Pleiades (upper left) and the Hyades (lower center) star clusters.
Here's a moonlit shot of the US Naval Observatory I grabbed that same night. It got 11th place out of 143 entries at dpchallenge.com.
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