Fall's evening skies feature one of mythology's happiest tales, a tale of sacrifice and love.

In a nutshell: Cassiopeia, the queen of Ethiopia, and her husband, King Cepheus, agreed to sacrifice their beautiful daughter, Andromeda, to save the nation from Cetus, a sea monster. At the last minute, Perseus, heading home atop his trusty winged steed, Pegasus, after slaying the demon Medusa, rescued Andromeda by holding up the head of Medusa for Cetus to see. Cetus was turned to stone and sank to the bottom of the sea. Perseus married Andromeda, and they lived - you guessed it - happily ever after.

Have a look tonight high in the east and you will find "the Great Square" of Pegasus followed by Andromeda and Perseus. To the north are the royals, Cassiopeia and Cepheus. Cetus remains at the bottom of the sea beneath (south of) Pisces, "the fish."

Andromeda has retained her beauty in the form of the galaxy that bears her name. Similar in size and structure to our home galaxy, the Milky Way, it is a glorious sight in good binoculars or a wide-field telescope. The Andromeda Galaxy is the best but not the only deep-space object worth a look in the constellation. The multiple star Almach (Gamma Andromedae) is of particular interest. At magnitude 2, it's easy to locate but requires a telescope to separate the colorful primary pair.

Our hero Perseus still holds the head of Medusa in the form of the eclipsing binary Algol, "the demon star." As the two stars circle one another, the combination varies in magnitude from 2.1 to 3.4 over a period of about three days. This variability, obvious to ancient observers, was enough to cause concern and add an appropriate level of fear to the legend of Medusa. Still, I haven't heard of anyone who glanced at Algol turning to stone.

Perseus is also home to a wonderful double cluster. It's a favorite for viewers with binoculars.

Though Mars is the Roman god of war, you need not be afraid as the Red Planet and Earth move closer in their respective orbits. Each night the two narrow the gap slightly, and Mars grows in apparent size and magnitude and rises earlier.

Mars spends the fall in Gemini, notably brighter than the twin stars, Castor and Pollux. By the end of October, Mars will shine at magnitude minus 0.6 and will be worth a look through a telescope. The best viewing time will be shortly before morning twilight when the planet is near the meridian.

Saturn (magnitude 0.8) and Venus (brilliant at magnitude minus 4.4) will be up in the east (in Leo) in the early morning too. Though Venus far outshines nearby Saturn, the two will make a fine combination with 1st-magnitude star Regulus. The crescent moon joins the group on Oct. 7.

About a month later, you might be able to catch a glimpse of Mercury near the eastern horizon about 45 minutes before sunrise. On Nov. 5, the crescent moon will snuggle up next to Venus with Mercury below and to the left of the pair.

Jupiter is heading toward a conjunction with the sun on Dec. 23 and soon will be lost in evening twilight. Although the year's best viewing opportunities are past, you can still catch it near the western horizon shortly after sunset.

The Orionid Meteor Shower peaks on the morning of Oct. 21. The moon will set a little after 1 a.m. leaving a dark sky for the "shooting stars." Typical Orionids produce 12-15 meteors per hour around peak time.

Interested in a road trip? The Enchanted Skies Star Party in Socorro, N.M. is Oct. 10-13 (socorro-nm.com/starparty/index.html). It's worth the drive.

Daylight Saving Time finally ends on Nov. 4: dark skies an hour earlier. Hooray!

Lewis McCool writes from his home near Dolores, Colo., where he can take advantage of clear nights and dark skies.