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. 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.

Easter is behind us and we’re kicking off April. The nights are allegedly growing warmer and you can take off at least some of your layers while stargazing, but there are a couple of trade-offs.

For one thing, while the nights are getting warmer they are also getting shorter. It’s not dark enough for decent stargazing until after 8:30 p.m. That makes it tough on an amateur astronomer, especially those like me that report for duty at 4:30 a.m., but where there’s a will there’s a way.

Another trade-off for the warmer stargazing is the fact the best and brightest stars and constellations of the year, in my opinion, are starting to head for the celestial exits.

The mighty constellation Orion the Hunter and his gang of bright constellations are a little farther to the west every night at the start of dark. The Earth, in its perpetual orbit around the sun, is gradually turning away from the great stars of winter. By mid-to-late May they will be pretty much gone from our evening skies, not to be seen in the evening again until this fall.

Don’t get me wrong. Even though the very best of the Butler night sky is checking out in the west, there are still many treasures in the rest of the heavens.

In the high southeastern sky look for a backward question mark that outlines the heart, chest and head of Leo the Lion. The semi-bright star Regulus, Leo’s heart, is at the bottom of the question mark. To the lower left of the question mark is a small but distinct triangle that makes up the lion’s rear and tail.

Right off Leo’s hindquarters is the bright planet Jupiter, the brightest starlike object in the sky. Even with a small telescope you can see up to four of Jupiter’s brightest moons and maybe some of its cloud bands made up of ammonia and methane.

The largest planet in our solar system is around 425 million miles away. I’ll have a lot more on Jupiter and its moons the next couple of weeks in Starwatch.

Very low in the southeast sky is the small constellation Corvus the Crow. Look for a lopsided diamond hovering just above the horizon. It looks nothing like a crow, but it’s still one of my favorite little constellations.

The Big Dipper is as high as it gets in the sky right now, and it’s upside down. The old lore about the upside down Big Dipper is that it means we get more rain because the dipper is unloading on us.

It’s easy to see how that rumor got started in the days of old because, at least in the upper Midwest, we get most of our rainfall in the late spring and early summer.

Use the “pointer stars” on the pot section of the Big Dipper opposite the handle to find Polaris, the North Star. Polaris is about three fist-widths at arm’s length down from the pointer stars.

The North Star is the last star in the handle of the much dimmer Little Dipper.

Polaris is also a very important star in our sky. Because it shines directly above the Earth’s North Pole, all of the stars in our sky appear to revolve around the stationary North Star once every 24 hours as the Earth rotates on its axis.

Over in the eastern sky there’s a sideways kite on the rise. It’s the constellation Bootes, which according to the Greeks is supposed to be a farmer.

Seeing Bootes as a farmer takes one heck of a sense of imagination. I prefer the easy way out on this one.

Look for the sideways kite with the bright orange tinged star Arcturus at the tail of the kite. Arcturus is easy to find. Not only is it the brightest star in that part of the sky, but you also can extend the arc made by the Big Dipper’s handle to find it. Just arc to Arcturus!

Celestial hugging

On Friday, in the very early evening western sky toward the end of evening twilight, the new crescent moon will be hunched up next to the bright planet Mercury.

On Saturday, the moon will be a little farther to the upper left of Mercury.

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and professional broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul and is author of the book, “Stars, a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations” published by Adventure Publications and available at bookstores and at www.adventurepublications.net.