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Posts by
Deborah Byrd
Deneb: How astronomers know how far away it is
The star Deneb - part of the Summer Triangle - is one of the most distant stars you can see with your eye alone. Why don't we know its distance precisely?
May 26, 2022
Video: Starlink satellite train passes over
A sky photographer captured the a train of Starlink satellites on May 16, 2022, two days after Spacex launched them on May 14, 2022.
May 20, 2022
Tonga volcano blasted winds to the edge of space
Just after the Tonga volcano erupted, hurricane winds and wild electric currents formed high above Earth, at the edge of space.
May 18, 2022
Arcturus, brightest star of the north
Arcturus is the brightest star north of the celestial equator. Near the handle of the Big Dipper, it's easy to find in spring in the Northern Hemisphere.
May 18, 2022
Lunar eclipse: 4 tips for watchers
A total lunar eclipse - a supermoon eclipse - is coming up on the night of May 15-16, 2022. Here are some tips for watching it.
May 15, 2022
Baily’s beads seen during a solar eclipse
May 15, 1836: Francis Baily, an English astronomer, saw light shining through lunar ridges during an eclipse of the sun. These are now known as Baily's beads.
May 15, 2022
Dust and high winds rip Midwest and Great Plains
Dust and high winds battered the U.S. Midwest and Great Plains during the day on Thursday. Yes, it was a derecho.
May 13, 2022
A total lunar eclipse looks red. Why?
The moon can look red during a total lunar eclipse because of sunlight that's filtered and refracted by Earth's atmosphere.
May 11, 2022
Darn! Comet C/2021 O3 PanSTARRS has disintegrated
Astronomers hoped comet C/2021 O3 (PanSTARRS) would get bright after its April 2022 sweep near the sun. Instead, it disintegrated.
May 5, 2022
1st American in space, 61 years ago
Alan Shepard became the 1st American in space on May 5, 1961. His suborbital flight took place just 3 weeks after the Soviet Union's Yuri Gagarin orbited Earth.
May 5, 2022
