Astronomy

My “Star”

My “Star”

View the May 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Meteor. Photo © Dreamstime.com. It was late in the day when I remembered. Weeks before, I had checked our November Nature Friend. The Geminid meteor shower...

The Enlightenment of Light

The Enlightenment of Light

View the May 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Double slit experiment—see article below. We often tend to think of our vision as reaching out to observe things. However, in reality, views flow the other...

In Our Skies, May 2023: Eta Aquarids

In Our Skies, May 2023: Eta Aquarids

View the May 2023 Nature Friend Magazine The Eta Aquarid meteor shower will peak on the night of May 5–6. Unfortunately, that’s also the night of Full Moon, so any faint meteors will be washed out...

Coma Berenices

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

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°...

The False Dawn

The False Dawn

View the March 2023 Nature Friend Magazine False dawn. Photo CC-SA 4-0. We consider air to be invisible, but, in reality, it is filled with molecules of air and vapor that fog our vision. When we...

Canis Major

Canis Major

View the March 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide Canis Major, the Great Dog, lies in the southern sky just southeast of Orion. Like Orion, many of the stars that make up Canis Major are bright. The...

In Our Skies, March 2023: Hybrid Solar Eclipse

In Our Skies, March 2023: Hybrid Solar Eclipse

View the March 2023 Nature Friend Magazine One of the closest planetary conjunctions of the year will occur on the first evening of March. On this evening, the two brightest planets, Jupiter and...

Stargazing Chills

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....

Taurus

Taurus

View the February 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide The Pleiades. Photo © Shaphan Shank. Taurus, the Bull, is a distinctive constellation that lies just northwest of Orion, high in the evening sky in...

Backyard Stargazing

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...