It started erupting explosively and unexpectedly in late 2016. This view is from January 3, from NASA's Terra satellite. As of yesterday, the eruptions were declining, but may start again!
The Hubble Space Telescope is gazing along the future trajectories of the 2 Voyager spacecraft - launched in 1977 - now heading into uncharted interstellar space.
A powerful telescope orbiting Mars gives us a new view of Earth and its moon, showing continent-size detail on Earth and the relative size of the moon.
A new ultra-deep X-ray image from Chandra X-ray Observatory has given astronomers their best look yet at the growth of black holes over billions of years, starting soon after the Big Bang.
If and when 2 stars in this binary system merge - as predicted - they'll increase in brightness 10 thousandfold, temporarily becoming a bright star in Earth's sky.
Notice the colors of Orion's stars in this photo that's slightly out-of-focus. Chirag Upreti wrote: "This is a 'bokeh effect,' and turns out it works really well on celestial bodies!"
Don't miss these gorgeous images from ESO's VISTA infrared survey telescope of the Orion Molecular Cloud complex, a place in space where new stars are forming.
Deborah Byrd (asteroid 3505 Byrd) helps edit EarthSky.org and is a frequent host of EarthSky videos. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named in her honor in 1990, a Public Service Award from the National Science Board in 2003, and the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society in 2020. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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