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Aquila

Aquila

by Shaphan Shank | Sep 1, 2023 | 2023, 09 September, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Constellations, Exploring Our Skies, Nebulas, Star Clusters, Study Guide

View the August 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide Aquila, the Eagle, is a mid-sized constellation that lies right along the summer Milky Way. Aquila is always fairly easy to find, but locating it is especially easy this year because Jupiter and Saturn are currently about...
In Our Skies, July 2023: Perseid Meteor Shower

In Our Skies, July 2023: Perseid Meteor Shower

by Shaphan Shank | Jul 1, 2023 | 2023, 07 July, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, In Our Skies, Meteors, Moon, Planets

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 because it is the second-strongest shower of the year, with a zenith...
Creating a Milky Way Panorama

Creating a Milky Way Panorama

by Steven Smith | Jul 1, 2023 | 2023, 07 July, Astronomy, Galaxies, Study Guide, The Photo Focus

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 enhances everything we love about landscapes, because panoramas show...
The Enlightenment of Light

The Enlightenment of Light

by Morris Yoder | May 1, 2023 | 2023, 05 May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, The Heavens Declare God's Glory

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 direction—to us, at the speed of light. Light is essentially...
In Our Skies, May 2023: Eta Aquarids

In Our Skies, May 2023: Eta Aquarids

by Shaphan Shank | May 1, 2023 | 2023, 05 May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, In Our Skies, Meteors, Planets

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 by moonlight. On a year without moonlight interference, the Eta Aquarid...
Coma Berenices

Coma Berenices

by Shaphan Shank | May 1, 2023 | 2023, 05 May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Constellations, Double Stars, Exploring Our Skies, Galaxies, Star Clusters, Study Guide

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 orientation means that there are few star clusters and nebulae in the evening...
The False Dawn

The False Dawn

by Morris Yoder | Mar 1, 2023 | 2023, 03 March, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, The Heavens Declare God's Glory

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 were in Alaska, we were able to see Mt. Denali from the Kashwitna River...
Canis Major

Canis Major

by Shaphan Shank | Mar 1, 2023 | 2023, 03 March, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Constellations, Double Stars, Exploring Our Skies, Nebulas, Star Clusters, Study Guide

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 constellation’s brightest star, Sirius, is the brightest star in our...
In Our Skies, March 2023: Hybrid Solar Eclipse

In Our Skies, March 2023: Hybrid Solar Eclipse

by Shaphan Shank | Feb 27, 2023 | 2023, 03 March, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Conjunctions, Eclipses, In Our Skies, Meteors, 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 Venus, will approach to about 0.5° from each other. The brilliant pair...
Taurus

Taurus

by Shaphan Shank | Feb 1, 2023 | 2023, 02 February, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Constellations, Exploring Our Skies, Nebulas, Star Clusters, Study Guide

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 late winter. A V-shaped group of stars forms the bull’s head, and two...
Backyard Stargazing

Backyard Stargazing

by Marcus Peachey | Jan 1, 2023 | 2023, 01 January, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Constellations, Galaxies, Nebulas, Planets, Star Clusters, Telescopes & Accessories

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 replied—Mom with a sigh, glad she wasn’t so consumed with a desire to...
The Rosette Nebula

The Rosette Nebula

by Morris Yoder | Jan 1, 2023 | 2023, 01 January, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Nebulas, Star Clusters, The Heavens Declare God's Glory

View the January Nature Friend Magazine Rosette Nebula. Photo © Morris Yoder. For most observers in the United States at this time of the year, the Rosette Nebula rises in the east at sunset and crosses high in the southern sky, then sets in the west at sunrise. It’s...
Cetus

Cetus

by Shaphan Shank | Dec 1, 2022 | 2022, 12 December, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Constellations, Double Stars, Exploring Our Skies, Galaxies, Nebulas, Study Guide

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 relatively large constellation that lies in the middle of this star-poor...
Covers, November 2022

Covers, November 2022

by Kevin Shank | Nov 1, 2022 | 2022, 11 November, Astronomy, Covers, Nebulas

View the November 2022 Nature Friend Magazine Tarantula Nebula. Photo by James Webb Space Telescope and the NIRCam instrument.
Let’s Take a Hike: Cartwheel Galaxy

Let’s Take a Hike: Cartwheel Galaxy

by Kevin Shank | Nov 1, 2022 | 2022, 11 November, Astronomy, Galaxies, Let's Take a Hike

View the November 2022 Nature Friend Magazine Cartwheel Galaxy. Photo by James Webb Space Telescope and the NIRCam instrument.
457 Falling Stars

457 Falling Stars

by Anna Boggs, Rural Retreat, VA | Nov 1, 2022 | 2022, 11 November, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Meteors

View the November 2022 Nature Friend Magazine Geminid meteor shower. Photo © Dreamstime.com. The December night was clear and bitterly cold. The freezing winter air burned my lungs as I stepped outside shortly after 10:00 p.m. Expectantly, I turned my face to the sky...
A Webb of Discovery

A Webb of Discovery

by Morris Yoder | Nov 1, 2022 | 2022, 11 November, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Galaxies, Nebulas, Telescopes & Accessories, The Heavens Declare God's Glory

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 universe. Each time a bigger and better telescope was built, astronomers were...
End of the Trail, November 2022: Space Photos

End of the Trail, November 2022: Space Photos

by Kevin Shank | Nov 1, 2022 | 2022, 11 November, Astronomy, End of the Trail, Galaxies, Nebulas, Planets

View the November 2022 Nature Friend Magazine
Stargazing Adventure

Stargazing Adventure

by Fonda S. Eby | Oct 1, 2022 | 2022, 10 October Bonus Readers' Issue, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Constellations, Galaxies, Nebulas, Star Clusters

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 stargazing spot behind the shop where we would be away from lights. Immediately...
Aquarius

Aquarius

by Shaphan Shank | Oct 1, 2022 | 2022, 10 October Bonus Readers' Issue, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Constellations, Exploring Our Skies, Nebulas, Star Clusters, Study Guide

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 Great Square of Pegasus and north of the bright star Fomalhaut (the only...
Mailbox, September 2022: Astronomy Question

Mailbox, September 2022: Astronomy Question

by Kevin Shank | Sep 1, 2022 | 2022, 09 September, Astronomy, Galaxies, Mailbox, Nebulas

Black Hole Photography

Black Hole Photography

by Morris Yoder | Sep 1, 2022 | 2022, 09 September, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Black Holes, The Heavens Declare God's Glory

M87 is a huge galaxy over 50 million light years away with approximately one trillion stars, but these facts are not the most interesting part about the galaxy. A photo taken through the 10” telescope in our observatory shows a jet surging out of the core of the...
In Our Skies, September 2023: Planet Oppositions

In Our Skies, September 2023: Planet Oppositions

by Shaphan Shank | Sep 1, 2022 | 2022, 09 September, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Eclipses, In Our Skies, Meteors, Moon, Planets, Sun

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 sunrise. Earth is closer to Neptune at opposition than at other times...
Lyra

Lyra

by Shaphan Shank | Aug 1, 2022 | 2022, 08 August, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Constellations, Double Stars, Exploring Our Skies, Nebulas, Study Guide

Ring Nebula. Photo © NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScl/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration. Lyra, the Harp, is a small constellation that lies almost straight overhead on August evenings in the mid-northern latitudes. Lyra is outlined by just five stars. Four of...
Cool Night, Cozy Blankets, Hot Cocoa, &…

Cool Night, Cozy Blankets, Hot Cocoa, &…

by Kelsey, 8, and Blake, 6, Stoutjesdyk | May 1, 2022 | 2022, 05 May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Contest, Galaxies, Meteors, Story Contest

Once upon a cool August evening, our family happened to be camping in a dark, open area near Jasper, Alberta, Canada, where we had an amazing view of the sky.One evening, something caught our dad’s eye. He looked up to see a shooting star streak through the sky....
The Horsehead Nebula

The Horsehead Nebula

by Morris Yoder | May 1, 2022 | 2022, 05 May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Nebulas, The Heavens Declare God's Glory

Horsehead Nebula. Photo © Morris Yoder. If you’ve ever found the constellation Orion, there’s a good chance you looked right through this complex cloud of dust and gas without realizing it. The brightest star that you see in this photo is named Alnitak, and it’s the...

In Our Skies, May 2022: Lunar Eclipse

by Shaphan Shank | May 1, 2022 | 2022, 05 May Story Contest, Astronomy, Eclipses, In Our Skies, Meteors

Meteor activity is divided quite unevenly between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, with the Northern Hemisphere getting a better view of nearly every meteor shower of the year. The Eta Aquarid shower is the lone exception. This shower favors the south side of...
Canes Venatici

Canes Venatici

by Shaphan Shank | May 1, 2022 | 2022, 05 May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Constellations, Double Stars, Exploring Our Skies, Galaxies, Star Clusters, Study Guide

Canes Venatici is a small constellation, consisting of only two stars. However, it is quite easy to find due to its location just south of the Big Dipper. Like many of the surrounding constellations, Canes Venatici holds quite a few galaxies.M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy,...
Nature Night

Nature Night

by Joseph Mazelin, 12 | Mar 1, 2022 | 2022, 03 March, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Contest, Meteors

Weasel. Photo © Dreamstime.com. “Don’t stay out longer than eight o’clock,” Mom reminded us as we headed out the door.This was the night of the Geminid meteor shower, and my brother and I were going out to watch it. Once outside, we found Dad gazing up...
Meteor Beauty

Meteor Beauty

by John Lapp,11 | Mar 1, 2022 | 2022, 03 March, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Contest, Meteors

“Did you hear of the Geminid meteor shower tonight?” I asked my family at the supper table.“Yes,” came the answer.“Well, I want to go watch it tomorrow morning. Does anybody want to go with me?”A little silence, then…“I don’t know. I’d like to catch up on...
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