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.

We have one more week of daylight-saving time to go for 2016, and any stargazer who has to wake up early for work like I do couldn’t be happier.

As of next Sunday it will be dark enough for stargazing by 7 p.m. Stellar driven sleep deprivation will be greatly reduced. The trade off, of course, is that you have to put on the heavier coat and a hat to handle that cooler November air.

It’s worth it, though, as your eyes will take in some great celestial sights and the skies are a lot more transparent with much less moisture in the air.

Even though it’s still autumn, some of the early bright constellations of winter are already on the rise on the great celestial stage.

First off, you can’t help but see a beautiful little star cluster shining brightly in the low eastern sky, resembling a tiny dipper.

It’s not the Little Dipper. That’s in the high northern sky. What you’re witnessing is the Pleiades star cluster, the best naked-eye star cluster in the night sky. Astronomically the Pleiades are a group of young stars almost 2,400 trillion miles away that were born together about 100 million years ago.

The Pleiades also has a connection with the spookiness of Halloween. Back in the day, or should I say night, this little cluster was greatly feared by many ancient societies as remote from each other as Egypt, Ceylon, Mexico and Britain.

It was believed that a catastrophe or even the end of the world was eventually going to occur when the Pleiades reached their highest point in the late night sky about this time of year.

All-night ceremonies took place, complete with sacrifices, to ward off their demise. Sometimes this didn’t work. Even back then, fear-mongering was popular with a lot of folks.

As you’re trick-or-treating or partying Monday night, keep an eye out for the Pleiades, but don’t be afraid of them.

Another thing to keep an eye out for early this week are three planets in the very low south-southwest sky very early in the evening.

The planets Venus and Saturn are in a very close celestial hug, less than three degrees apart, but you can only see them if you have a good view of the southwest horizon.

Toward the end of evening twilight, they’ll be barely above the horizon. Venus will be the much brighter of the two with Saturn to the upper right of Venus.

Forget about checking them out with your telescope. They’ll both show up really fuzzy because of the blurring effects of our atmosphere that’s extreme along the horizon.

You won’t see them on the November Star Map I have for you because the map is set for 8 p.m. and by then Venus and Saturn will have already slipped below the horizon. This coming Wednesday and Thursday the new crescent moon will be passing above the planets and it should be quite a show.

Mars is the third planet visible in the early evening this month. It’s a little higher in the southwest sky as darkness sets in, but like Saturn and Mars it won’t be much of a telescope target because it will also be fuzzed up by Earth’s atmosphere. The first quarter moon will have a close junction with the red planet next weekend.

Speaking of the moon, on Nov. 14 it’ll be a full moon with an attitude.

I’m not a big fan of the term “super moon,” because its roots come from astrology rather than the science of astronomy. I have to tell you, though, that this month we really will have a super moon because the full moon on Nov. 14 will be the closest full moon physically since 1976. Be prepared to be moon struck big-time. I’ll have more next week in Starwatch.

In the south-southeastern Butler sky is the one of the prime autumn constellations, Pegasus the Winged Horse, with Andromeda the Princess tagging along. Turn around and face north and you’ll see old friends like the Big Dipper, barely above the horizon, with the Little Dipper hanging by its handle higher in the northern sky. Cassiopeia the Queen, the constellation that looks like a giant sideways W, is proudly showing off her stuff in the high northeast sky. The W outlines the throne of the Queen, and Cassiopeia is tied up in that throne. She really ticked off Hera, the queen of the gods, by proclaiming that she was even more beautiful than Hera’s godly self. So Hera tossed Cassiopeia up into the sky, eternally bound to her throne for all to see.

In the western sky there are still some summer constellations to be seen. Among the brighter ones are Cygnus the Swan, Lyra the Harp, and Aquila the Eagle. We won’t see them for too much longer because as our Earth orbits the sun, these stars of summer will gradually set earlier and earlier in the evening.

If you’re far enough away from city lights in the dark countryside you can still see the Milky Way band, the thickest part of our home galaxy. The milky ribbon of light made up of the combined light of billions of stars will roughly stretch north to south across the western half of the sky. Make sure you look for it this week because next week the moon will be approaching its full stage and the heavens will be just too lit up.

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