Posts by 

Deborah Byrd

Cassiopeia and Perseus on October evenings

Cassiopeia and Perseus are neighbors in the fall sky. Use Cassiopeia's distinctive W or M shape to locate the dimmer Perseus on autumn and winter evenings.

Comet A3 was the brightest comet in 27 years!

Comet A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS was the brightest comet in 27 years, since Hale-Bopp. Did you see it? More on the comet plus images here.

60% chance for La Niña in late 2024. Mild or cold winter?

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a La Niña Watch for the northern autumn of 2024. If it happens, conditions will likely persist to early 2025.

Celestial ocean: The watery constellations in the autumn sky

In Northern Hemisphere autumn (Southern Hemisphere spring), you can see some constellations representing a "celestial ocean in the sky" to early stargazers.

Alpheratz belongs to Andromeda, but is part of the Great Square

Alpheratz appears to our eyes as a single star but it is actually a close binary star system. Many stargazers use it to locate the Andromeda galaxy.

Hera mission: Keeping Earth safe from an asteroid collision

The Hera mission successfully launched on October 7, 2024. Hera will explore Dimorphos, which DART hit as a test of planetary defense in 2022.

Flashing star in autumn? Here are 3 candidates

Some October night, check out 3 of the flashiest stars in the night sky ... at least at this time of year. And here's why you see these as a flashing star.

Cassiopeia the Queen is overhead on autumn evenings

Spot the constellation Cassiopeia the Queen somewhere in the northern sky during much of the year, and throughout much of the night. It's high overhead now.

September full moon is a Super Harvest Moon September 17-18

The September full moon - the Super Harvest Moon - happens overnight on September 17-18, 2024. There's a partial lunar eclipse, too.

Voyager 2: Our 1st and last visit to Neptune

On today's date, August 25, 1989, Voyager 2 flew over the north pole of Neptune, making its closest approach to a planet in its outer solar system Grand Tour.

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