View the December 2023 Nature Friend Magazine M78. Photo © Dogwood Ridge. Anxiously I scanned the sky as I stepped outside the door. Supper was over, and I was headed to the barn to do some chores....
Planets
In Our Skies, November 2023: Meteor Showers
View the November 2023 Nature Friend Magazine As Earth orbits the Sun, it passes between the Sun and the outer planets. Each time Earth passes between the Sun and another planet, that planet is said...
In Our Skies, July 2023: Perseid Meteor Shower
View the July 2023 Nature Friend Magazine The Perseid meteor shower is the most popular meteor shower of the year. This is partly because it always peaks during the warm nights of summer, and partly...
Mailbox, May 2023: Venus & Jupiter Conjunction
View the May 2023 Nature Friend Magazine
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...
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...
Solar System Photography
View the November 2022 Nature Friend Study Guide
In Our Skies, November 2023: Meteor Showers
View the November 2022 Nature Friend Magazine The second total lunar eclipse of 2022 will take place on the night of November 7–8. The eclipse will be most visible from eastern Asia, Oceania, and...
End of the Trail, November 2022: Space Photos
View the November 2022 Nature Friend Magazine
In Our Skies, September 2023: Planet Oppositions
About once a year, Earth passes between the Sun and Neptune. This event is called an opposition because Neptune is on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun, rising around sunset and setting around...
In Our Skies, July 2022: Planets
Moon. Photo © Shaphan Shank. This month, nearly all the bright planets are strung across the early morning sky. Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are all easy to find, thanks to their brilliance....
In Our Skies, March 2022: Planetary Conjunctions
Where I live in Virginia, March brings the signs of a new season. The days are slowly warming, and the evenings, which were quiet all winter, are now enlivened by the calls of spring peepers and...
Planets and Moons of Our Solar System
In Our Skies, September 2021, Viewing Neptune
Just after sunset the night of September 14, the planet Mercury will be visible in the western sky just above the horizon. While it is only 26.8° from the Sun and, therefore, close to the horizon,...
