View the July 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide There are few things more beautiful than a breathtaking landscape or nightscape—especially one that includes the Lord’s incredible Milky Way! A panorama...
Galaxies
Coma Berenices
View the May 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide M64 On May evenings, our planet is turned so that we are looking out the side of the Milky Way instead of looking edgewise through its arms. This...
Leo
View the April 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide Leo Triplet. Clockwise from left: NGC 3628, M65, M66. Photo © Shaphan Shank. Leo, the Lion, is high in the evening sky during April. Leo lies about 40°...
Stargazing Chills
View the February 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Bubble Nebula and open star cluster M52. Photo © Shaphan Shank. Oh, no, I thought as I stepped out the door. Supper was over and darkness was falling....
Backyard Stargazing
View the January Nature Friend Magazine Andromeda Galaxy. Photo © Shaphan Shank. “Good night, Dad and Mom,” I said as I strode to the door, clad in a winter coat, hat, and boots.“Good night,” they...
Mailbox, January 2023: Astronomy Question
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Triangulum and Aries
View the January Nature Friend Study Guide Triangulum and Aries are a pair of small constellations that lie south of Andromeda, between the Great Square of Pegasus and the Pleiades. Triangulum, the...
Favorite Focus, December 2022
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Cetus
View the December Nature Friend Study Guide NGC 253. Photo © CC by 3.0. The southern sky is nearly devoid of bright stars on evenings in late autumn and early winter. Cetus, the Whale, is a...
Let’s Take a Hike: Cartwheel Galaxy
View the November 2022 Nature Friend Magazine Cartwheel Galaxy. Photo by James Webb Space Telescope and the NIRCam instrument.
A Webb of Discovery
View the November 2022 Nature Friend Magazine Outer space features. Photo © James Webb Space Telescope and the NIRCam instrument. Engineers have built telescopes that can see far across the...
End of the Trail, November 2022: Space Photos
View the November 2022 Nature Friend Magazine
Pegasus
View the November 2022 Nature Friend Study Guide M15. Photo © Hubble and NASA. Pegasus is one of the most familiar autumn constellations. The most prominent part of the constellation is a large...
Stargazing Adventure
Beehive Cluster, M44. Photo © CC-SA-4.0. It was a cold, clear 32° F (0° C) Sunday night as my dad and I left our cozy house, bundled in warm winter clothes. Shivering, we walked out to our...