Posts by 

Deborah Byrd

A binocular comet

Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova on December 22, 2016.

Earthquakes in Nevada this morning

The U.S. state of Nevada experienced several moderately strong earthquakes and multiple aftershocks, beginning just after midnight local time Wednesday morning.

Witnessing the birth of today’s stars

Dust shrouds the era of distant galaxies, in which most of today's stars were born 10 billion years ago. Astronomers used radio telescopes to pierce the dust.

Arc and 2 sundogs over Illinois

Halos like this one around the sun or moon are caused by ice crystal high in Earth's sky. Notice the upside-down rainbow-like arc above. It's called a circumzenithal arc.

Snow in the Sahara Desert

Snow in a place where summertime temperatures are high - though wintertime temps can drop to freezing - and where precipitation from the skies is rare.

Super fast spin for supergiant Betelgeuse

This famous red star is spinning some 150 times faster than expected. Astronomers think it swallowed a companion star just 100,000 years ago.

Bailey the unknown reindeer

Like dogs? Celebrate Christmas? Don't miss this classic video Christmas greeting from Bailey the unknown reindeer.

Solstice sun rolling down the hill

An 8-frame animation of the sun setting behind Tijuca Peak in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 10 hours after the Southern Hemisphere's summer solstice.

Setting sun apparition

"A couple of bright blobs of orange light appeared for one minute ... in almost the exact position where the sun usually sets for the few days around our summer solstice."

Cold Neptunes an exoplanet sweet spot?

As astronomers explore distance solar systems, what can they expect to find? A new study suggests likely Neptune-mass worlds in solar systems' icy outer realms.