Posts by 

Deborah Byrd

Want to go stargazing?

Where to go stargazing in Georgia, plus a word about a new feature - Best Places to Stargaze, for people around the world - just launched at EarthSky.

A new type of ichthyosaur

Don't call it a swimming dinosaur, scientists say. The newly discovered ichthyosaur looks much like a dolphin or shark and swam Earth's seas for millions of years.

Mars and star cluster NGC 5897

You need a telescope to see this globular star cluster. But red Mars is easy, still very bright in our sky, up nearly all night.

A new dark spot on Neptune

Voyager 2 in 1989 - and Hubble Space Telescope in 1994 - saw similar features. But this dark spot, or vortex, is the first seen on Neptune in the 21st century.

Iridescent cloud over Kentucky

Iridescent clouds appear in the same direction as the sun. Rainbow-like colors appear irregularly over the clouds in the form of colored edges, spots and bands.

Can we grow food on Mars?

Apparently we can, and you can view details in this video from a talk given at Mars One's recent private event in Amsterdam.

Video sweep across Mars’ Marathon Valley

A panoramic view from the Mars rover Opportunity. Wow! This video will take you to another world ...

Ophiuchus and Serpent on June evenings

Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer is one constellation that looks to me like what it's supposed to be: a big guy holding a snake.

Largest planet yet orbiting 2 suns

Imagine seeing 2 suns in your sky. Like the fictional planet Tatooine in Star Wars, some planets do orbit 2 stars. Kepler-164 is the largest yet discovered.

One robot spacecraft spies another

See the Mars rover Curiosity, nestled on Mars' surface? The sharp-eyed HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter caught the view from space.