Posts by 

Deborah Byrd

Summer Triangle on winter evenings

How long into Northern Hemisphere winter will you be able to see the Summer Triangle?

Halo and sundogs over Montana

Ski resorts are the best places to see fine halo displays, like this one. Why so beautiful and why so sparkly? Details here.

Astronomers spy a red giant’s bubbling surface

For the 1st time, astronomers have seen giant bubbles roiling up to the surface of a star beyond our solar system. Each great bubble is so huge it would extend from our sun to Venus.

Big Dipper over Murrieta, California

The Big Dipper is low in the sky in the evening hours at this time of year. But you can see it after midnight. Janet Aviles caught it earlier this week, ascending in the northeast.

Double green flash

Green flashes are best seen over ocean horizons like this one, and, this time, the California wildfires did something helpful.

No big planets at Alpha Centauri, but maybe small ones

"Because Alpha Centauri is so close, it's our first stop outside our solar system. There are almost certain to be small, rocky planets around Alpha Centauri A and B."

Geminid meteor, rising moon and tarantula

Spiders like stars, too.

Astronomers spot primordial galaxies swimming in dark matter

Astronomers thought the 1st galaxies would be small. Now they've spotted 2 giant galaxies from when the universe was only 5% of its current age.

IAU approves 86 more star names

"These professional astronomers are claiming the exclusive right to give 'approved' names to the stars. But the stars - and the sky - belong to all of us."

Sirius in many colors

When you see the sky's brightest star - Sirius - low in the sky, you're seeing it shine through an extra thickness of Earth's atmosphere. At such times, its colorful flashing might surprise you.