To use this map, cut it out and attach it to a stiff backing. Hold it over your head and line up the compass points on the map to the compass points on the horizon where you're observing from. East and West on this map are not backward. This is not a misprint. I guarantee that when you hold this map over your head, east and west will be in their proper positions. Also use a small flashlight and attach a red piece of cloth or red construction paper over the lens of the flashlight. You won't lose your night vision when you look at this map in red light.

Winter is a wonderful time for stargazing. It's the Super Bowl of stargazing as far as I'm concerned!

Not only is the air clear and not only do we see the brightest stars and constellations of the year, but this month, you also see Mars all night long.

So many times I hear, "I'm going to wait until warmer weather to stargaze," or, "I'll get that holiday telescope out in April."

This is a big mistake. You're losing a golden opportunity to get to know the universe above you. Oh I know it's cold, but now is the time to get serious with the night sky.

If you wait until spring, sure you'll be more comfortable, but by then, we'll be losing the fabulous winter constellations in the western sky. The air also will have a little more humidity, somewhat blurring the heavens, especially if there is any kind of urban lighting.

The biggest problem, though, with star watching in the spring and summer is you have to stay up late.

Once we hit mid-March with daylight-saving time starting earlier now, it's not dark enough until after 9 p.m.

This time of year, however, you're good to go for stargazing in Butler as early as 6 or 6:30 p.m. After you get bundled up against the rigors of old man winter's chill, get ready for the really bright lights of the dazzling winter skies.

Mars is still holding court in the eastern sky during the evening.

It's the brightest starlike object you can see in eastern heavens, and it has a distinctive reddish hue even with the naked eye. Honestly, through a telescope

Mars is going to be less than impressive, even with a larger scope. Mars is as close as it's been to Earth in a couple years, but it's still more than 60 million miles away and only about half the size of the Earth.

Maybe if conditions are just right, you might see a little smudge of the north pole ice cap, but don't bet the farm.

Meanwhile, the constellation Orion and his bright gang of constellations surrounding the great hunter reach their highest point in the southern sky by about 9 p.m.

The constellations surrounding Orion are Gemini the Twins; Canis Major and Minor, the big and little dogs, respectively; Auriga, the sheep-schlepping retired chariot driver; and Taurus the Bull, with the bright Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Little Sisters.

In the northern skies, look for the Big Dipper, standing up on its handle, and the giant upside down "W" that outlines the throne of the constellation Cassiopeia.

You see those constellations and a few others every night in the north as they make a tight circle around Polaris, the stationary North Star. Polaris is halfway from the northern horizon to the overhead zenith, and every celestial object in the entire sky revolves around it every 24 hours.

Circumpolar constellations like the Big Bear and Cassiopeia are close enough to Polaris to allow them to always be above the horizon.

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