Posts by 

Deborah Byrd

Visible planets and night sky March 2023

March visible Planets. Venus is the "evening star." See Jupiter before it's gone, it meets up with Mercury on Monday, March 27. Mars is high in the evening sky.

What are lightning sprites? How to photograph them

Lightning sprites - aka red sprites - are electrical discharges that happen above thunderstorms. Learn how to see and photograph them here.

March equinox 2023: All you need to know

The 2023 March equinox falls March 20 at 21:24 UTC. What is an equinox? How do we experience it on Earth? All you need to know, here.

Asteroid 2023 EY to sweep closer than moon tonight

On March 17, 2023, near-Earth asteroid 2023 EY will sweep closely past Earth, coming within about 62% of the moon's distance. You can watch it live here!

New NASA moon suit makes its debut

Working with the Houston-based company Axiom Space, NASA unveiled a prototype of the new NASA moon suit on March 15, 2023.

The Beehive cluster: A swarm of 1,000 stars

The Beehive cluster is an open star cluster that lies near the center of the constellation Cancer the Crab. It goes by many names, including Praesepe and M44.

What is a sun pillar, or light pillar? They’re beautiful!

A sun pillar, or light pillar, is a shaft of light from the sun or other bright light source, caused by ice crystals under the right atmospheric conditions.

Tau Boötis’ pole flip was 15 years ago

On March 13, 2008, astronomers published the first study showing Tau Boötis experienced a pole flip. That's something we had previously only seen on the sun.

Daylight saving time: 10 tips to make it easier

Do you think daylight saving time is a good idea? Whether you like it or not, here are some handy tips on how to cope with the time change in spring.

Sunrays on Mars, captured by Curiosity

NASA's Curiosity rover has captured our 1st clear image of crepuscular rays or sunrays on Mars. The rover also caught cloud iridescence on Mars.