by Shaphan Shank | Nov 1, 2023 | 2023, 11 November, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, In Our Skies, Meteors, Moon, Planets
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 to be at opposition. This is because, from our perspective on Earth,...
by Izzy Hass | May 1, 2023 | 2023, 05 May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Meteors
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 was tonight.I had never seen a “shooting star,” and I didn’t really...
by Jonathan Lloyd | Dec 1, 2022 | 2022, 12 December, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Constellations, Meteors
View the December 2022 Nature Friend Magazine “Papa! May Joshua, Michaela, and I sleep outside on Tuesday night to watch the Geminid meteor shower?” I questioned eagerly, looking up from the November issue of Nature Friend where I had just learned of the exceptional...
by Eugene Martin | Dec 1, 2022 | 2022, 12 December, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Constellations, Meteors
View the December 2022 Nature Friend Magazine My brother and I stepped excitedly out of the darkened house into the exhilarating night air. The sky showed no sign of dawn, but in the west an impending cloud threatened to destroy our chance to see the swiftly flying...
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...
by Shaphan Shank | Nov 1, 2022 | 2022, 11 November, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Eclipses, In Our Skies, Meteors, Moon, Planets
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 western and central North America. The eclipse will also be mostly...
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...
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...
by Andrea Z. Kilmer, 13 | Feb 1, 2022 | 2022, 02 February, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Contest, Meteors
Photo © Dreamstime.com. We poked our curious heads out the front door, breathing in the early morning air. It was a cool morning in December, thirty-five degrees. Shivering, we slipped into our sleeping bags and gazed up at the wide expanse of starry heavens. The moon...
by Shaphan Shank | Nov 23, 2021 | 2021, 11 November, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Comets, Eclipses, In Our Skies, Meteors
The last major meteor showers of 2021 will all be affected by moonlight. The Orionid meteor shower in October peaked on the night of Full Moon, and the Leonid meteor shower this month will fare little better. The Leonid shower will peak around November 17, with a...
