Polar stratospheric clouds - also called nacreous clouds or mother-of-pearl clouds - have been putting on a show this week. Check out these beautiful images.
After weeks of earthquakes, an Iceland volcano began erupting powerfully on December 18, 2023. It was a bigger eruption than volcanologists had predicted!
A study suggests our sun is about the lowest mass star that - when it dies - produces a visible, though faint, planetary nebula. What happens when our sun dies.
The star Al Risha in the constellation Pisces isn't bright. But it's at the tip of the graceful V in the constellation Pisces and it's very noticeable.
NASA astronauts accidentally lost a tool bag during a spacewalk on November 2. Now, observers on the ground have caught the tool bag on video. See it here.
Iceland declared a state of emergency on November 10, 2023, near Fagradalsfjall volcano, dormant for 800 years until 2021. Now it looks poised to erupt again.
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.