The key to navigating the autumn sky is identifying the constellation of Cassiopeia, the Queen of the night sky. Her pattern of five bright stars now outlines the shape of an M. Cassiopeia can be located high in the northern sky directly opposite the North Star from the Big Dipper. During the fall, the dipper rides low above the northern horizon after sunset. Cassiopeia will rotate in a counterclockwise direction during the upcoming weeks, placing her directly overhead in November.

Seated to the left of Cassiopeia is Cepheus, the King of the night sky. Cepheus now looks like an upside down small house with a small square connected to a triangle. To the left of the queen is Perseus, the legendary hero who rescued Andromeda from the jaws of a sea monster. Located midway between the less bright end of the queen and the peak of the hero is the well-known Perseus double cluster of stars, a superb pair of stellar jewels visible with binoculars.

That's Fascinating, where Mark Roth spotlights the odd and the interesting in everyday life, is featured exclusively in the Opinion section on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.