View the December 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide Andromeda Galaxy, M31. Photo © Shaphan Shank. Andromeda is one of those ideal constellations that is easy to find, and that contains a wide variety...
Exploring Our Skies
Lacerta
View the November 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide Lacerta, the Lizard, is a small and little-known constellation that lies along the band of the Milky Way right between the constellations Cygnus and...
Aquarius
View the October 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide Helix Nebula, NGC 7293. Photo © Allexxandar/Dreamstime.com. Aquarius is a sprawling constellation that stretches across nearly 40° of the southern sky...
Aquila
View the August 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide Aquila, the Eagle, is a mid-sized constellation that lies right along the summer Milky Way just south of the zenith on September evenings in the...
2023 Annular Solar Eclipse Viewing
View the August 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide When?Saturday, October 14, 2023. Annularity reaches Oregon’s Pacific coast at about 9:13 a.m. PDT, and moves southeast, exiting into the Gulf of Mexico...
Hercules
View the July 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide M13. Photo © Reinhold Wittich/Dreamstime.com. Hercules, the Strongman, is a large constellation that lies straight east of Bootes, the constellation we...
Bootes
View the June 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide M3. Photo © Reinhold Wittich/Dreamstime.com. Bootes lies nearly straight overhead on June evenings in the Northern Hemisphere. This constellation is...
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°...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Aquarius
Helix Nebula, NGC 7293. Photo © Dreamstime.com. Aquarius is a sprawling constellation that stretches across nearly 40° of the southern sky on autumn evenings. This constellation lies south of the...
