by Kevin Shank | May 1, 2023 | 2023, 05 May Story Contest, Astronomy, Mailbox, Planets
View the May 2023 Nature Friend Magazine
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...
by Marcus Peachey | Feb 1, 2023 | 2023, 02 February, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Galaxies, Nebulas, Planets
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. An hour or two earlier it had been snowing quite hard, but now the sky...
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...
by Shaphan Shank | Jan 1, 2023 | 2023, 01 January, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Comets, Conjunctions, In Our Skies, Meteors
View the January Nature Friend Magazine Comet Neowise 2020. Photo © Cheryl Shank. If you look over a list of the year’s best meteor showers, the Quadrantid meteor shower will likely catch your attention. First, the Quadrantid shower sits at the top of virtually every...
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...
by Shaphan Shank | Jul 1, 2022 | 2022, 07 July, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Conjunctions, In Our Skies, Meteors, Moon, 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. Venus and Jupiter are brighter than any star in the night sky, and Mars...
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...
by Shaphan Shank | Mar 3, 2022 | Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Conjunctions, Eclipses, Planets
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 woodcocks. The stars also indicate, more reliably than the weather, that...
by Bethany Langham | Jan 11, 2022 | 2022, 01 January, Astronomy, Planets, Puzzle, Word Search
by Kevin Shank | Jun 17, 2021 | 2021, 07, July, Astronomy, Conjunctions, In Our Skies, Meteors, Planets
Throughout July, Venus and Mars will be visible low in the west just after sunset. The planets will start and end the month a little distance from each other, but on the evening of July 12, they will pass about 0.5° from each other. On the same night, the Moon will be...
by Shaphan Shank | Mar 30, 2021 | 2021, 03, March, Astronomy, Conjunctions, In Our Skies, Meteors
As long as the sky is clear, there’s rarely a bad time to be out under the stars. A telescope or even a binocular can reveal scores of galaxies, nebulas, and star clusters, if you know just where to look*. This year is as good as any other year for observing these...
by Morris Yoder | Mar 30, 2021 | 2021, 03, March, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Conjunctions, Planets, The Heavens Declare God's Glory
Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. Photo © Morris Yoder. Jupiter and Saturn appear to pass each other in the sky about once every twenty years. When this happens, astronomers call it a great conjunction. In the early 1600s, Johannes Kepler was noticing one of these...
