"I wasn't happy with my visible light photos, but Earth's shadow showed great in IR. The rest was just working out the photo conditions by trial and error."
Peering deeper into the Orion Nebula than ever before, astronomers have found a plethora of low-mass objects, some isolated "planets" and some brown dwarfs.
The object labeled RR245 is traveling toward its closest approach to our sun. It'll reach this (very distant) closest point - 3 billion miles, or 5 billion km - around 2096.
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.