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.

Wintertime is a wonderful time for stargazing in Butler. 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, this month you will also see the planet Jupiter high and bright as evening commences.

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’s the time to get serious with the night sky. If you wait until spring you might be more comfortable, but by then we’ll be losing the fabulous winter constellations in the western sky.

The air will also have a little more humidity, somewhat blurring the heavens, especially if there is any kind of urban lighting.

The biggest problem with star watching in the spring and summer, though, is you have to stay up late. Once we hit mid-March with daylight-saving time starting, it’s not dark enough until after 9 p.m.

However, this time of year, you’re good to go for stargazing as early as 6 to 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.

The planet Jupiter is still holding court in the high eastern sky during the evening. It’s the brightest starlike object anywhere in the sky.

Through even a small telescope, you can see up to four of Jupiter’s largest moons that resemble tiny little stars on either side of the disk of the planet. On the planet itself you should be able to see at least some of the cloud bands that stripe the largest planet of our solar system.

Right now, Jupiter is among what I call Orion’s gang of great winter constellations in the southeast sky that reach their highest point by around 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 can 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 sky appears to revolve around it every 24 hours.

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

Early morning encounter

If you’re an early riser this Sunday morning, look for the last quarter half moon in the low southern sky. Just above it will be a moderately bright star that actually be the planet Saturn.

With a small telescope you should be able to resolve the ring system of Saturn and maybe a few of its surrounding moons that resemble tiny little stars.