Posts by 

Deborah Byrd

Visible planets and night sky for October

The moon will hang near the orange star Aldebaran and red star Betelgeuse. Visible planets and night sky, here! See them before midnight until dawn.

Ways to watch a solar eclipse safely on October 14

Some tips for observing the sun safely during the October 14 solar eclipse, plus videos and links, here. You can observe sunspots safely as well.

Aurora season: Why more auroras at equinoxes?

An aurora season occurs in October and March each year, due to the way the magnetic fields of the sun and the Earth work in conjunction with sun-Earth geometry.

A Dyson sphere harvests the energy of stars

A Dyson sphere is a megastructure that could theoretically harvest all the energy of a star and supply an advanced alien civilization.

September full moon 2023 is a super Harvest Moon

The September full moon - the Harvest Moon supermoon - happens overnight on September 28-29, 2023. This full moon lies between Jupiter and Saturn.

What makes the Harvest Moon special?

The Northern Hemisphere's Harvest Moon falls overnight September 28-29, 2023, or almost 6 days after the September equinox. It's also a supermoon!

Great Square of Pegasus gallops into the autumn sky

The Great Square of Pegasus consists of 4 stars of nearly equal brightness in a large square pattern. It's a great jumping-off point for star-hopping.

Caddisfly larvae are tiny rock masons. One built this case

A longtime contributor to EarthSky Community Photos, Sheryl R. Garrison, captured this cool image of a rock casing built by a caddisfly. Read Sheryl's story here.

Fomalhaut is the loneliest star in the southern sky

Fomalhaut is known as the “lonely one” or the "solitary one" because it shines brightly in a patch of sky with no other bright stars. In 2023, Saturn is nearby.

Pablo Neruda, a poet who embraced cosmic beauty

Pablo Neruda was a famous Chilean poet who wrote: "Every day you play with the light of the universe." Neruda died on this date, September 23, in 1973.