With the return of standard time in the Northern Hemisphere, evenings arrive much sooner than they did just a few weeks ago — and that makes it a snap to get in some quick stargazing before dinnertime.

Over in the west, Venus lingers above the horizon as twilight deepens. The visibility of this "evening star" will just get better and better toward year's end.

In the southwest, Jupiter is slowly sliding (along with the stars of Sagittarius) toward the western horizon. Byt the end of November, Jupiter and Venus will be just 2° apart — a stunning pairing in the evening. sky.

Higher up, look for the Summer Triangle, which should remain visible well into December. And in the north you'll find the "W" of Cassiopeia to the upper right of Polaris, the North Star.

Get all these details and more by downloading November's audio sky tour. It's a 4-megabyte MP3 file that runs 4m 32s.