Astronomers have "weighed" only the nearest supermassive black holes. Now, with a gravity lens and Einstein ring, they've weighed one 12 billion light-years away.
Brightest planets Venus and Jupiter are up before dawn now. Mars is there, too. Mercury will soon join. During October ... wow! They're going to put on a show.
Sunday's supermoon, combined with an 18.6-year lunar cycle, caused high tides on both sides of the Atlantic this week. There were many flood warnings and alerts in effect in the UK on Tuesday night. In eastern North America, Tropical Storm Joaquin might combine with high tides to cause flooding.
Indonesia's annual land-clearing fires sent smoke into other parts of Southeast Asia last week. In Singapore, schools closed Friday as air pollution hit a high.
India has reached for the stars with a successful launch of its first astronomy satellite. ASTROSAT carries India's version of the Hubble Space Telescope.
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.