A little patience and a telescope or strong set of binoculars are all that you need this time of year to see three of the nicest jewels of the heavens, all nearly overhead around 8:30 p.m.

Now that it gets darker a lot sooner in the evening, it's easier to get out there and stargaze before the sandman starts working on your eyelids.

There are a lot of celestial treasures among the constellations in the late summer sky. Star clusters, nebulae, double stars and even whole other galaxies are out there. Most are hidden to the naked eye, but you can find them with a little patience and a telescope.

Three of the nicest jewels of the heavens are nearly overhead around 8:30 p.m. The easiest to see is the star Albireo in the constellation Cygnus, otherwise known as the Northern Cross.

The best way to find it is to face south and look directly overhead. The brightest star you will see is Vega. Make a fist and extend your arm out. About two fists to the left of Vega is the Northern Cross. The bright star at the base of the cross is Albireo.

To the naked eye, Albireo looks like any other star in the sky. But with a telescope, or even a strong pair of binoculars, you can see that Albireo is a double star. One star has a golden hue and the other is distinctly blue.

Albireo is classified as a binary star system. The two gravitationally bound stars are separated by more than 400 billion miles and orbit each other once every hundred thousand years. Albireo is almost 400 light years away from us here on Earth. Remember, one light year equals 6 trillion miles.

If you want more of a challenge in your celestial treasures, try to find M-27, the astronomical name for the Dumbbell Nebula.

The nebula gets its name from what it looks like - a giant dumbbell weight.

Once again, make a fist and extend your arm. About half of a fist to the lower left of Albireo is where the Dumbbell Nebula is located. If you have a good pair of binoculars or a telescope, and the light pollution in your area isn't too bad, you should see the dumbbell shape.

What you're looking at is called a planetary nebula, a dying star shedding off the last of its hydrogen gas as it collapses into a white dwarf star, about the size of Earth. Our own sun is headed for this fate in about 5 billion to 6 billion years.

The last celestial treasure to search for is also the most elusive: M-57, the Ring Nebula. It's another planetary nebula, but instead of a dumbbell, it looks like - you guessed it - a ring. It has a slightly bluish tint and looks like a smoke ring.

The Ring Nebula lays in the constellation Lyra the Harp. Scan between the two stars at the bottom of the constellation.

At first, the Ring Nebula will look like a faint grayish star, but if your telescope is powerful enough, you may be able to see the ring.

Finding the Ring Nebula does require a lot of patience to locate, but it's definitely worth the effort.

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and professional broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio on Minneapolis and author of the new book, "Pennsylvania Starwatch," available at bookstores and at his Web sitewww.lynchandthestars.com