Posts by 

Deborah Byrd

How to watch tonight’s eclipse online

On the wrong part of Earth for tonight's eclipse? Clouded out? Here are links to online viewing.

Rosetta’s comet has daily water-ice cycle

"We found a mechanism that replenishes the surface of the comet with fresh ice at every rotation. This keeps the comet 'alive'," said a researcher.

Milky Way’s black hole is more active!

The black hole at the Milky Way's heart recently blasted out 10 times its normal rate of X-ray flares. Is it due to the close passage of a mysterious, dusty object?

Supersonic stars reveal Milky Way’s heart

Harvard astronomers want to examine the radio waves from supersonic stars at the Milky Way's core, to learn more about this hidden region of space.

This date in science: India and Mars

Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) is India's first interplanetary mission. It began orbiting Mars a year ago today. Mission goals - and spectacular images - here.

Human pentagon with Milky Way

A winning combo - humans, a pentagon and a dark night of stars - at one of India's best sites for astronomy.

Watch an exoplanet orbit its star

A series of images has been made into a video, showing Beta Pictoris b moving through 18 months of its 22-year orbit around its star. Very cool!

Brief, beautiful circumzenithal arc

Circumzenithal arcs are sometimes referred to as "upside-down rainbows" or "a smile in the sky."

Fact and fiction of Martian dust storms

Andy Weir’s book The Martian - soon to be released as a movie - begins with a huge dust storm that strands a fictional astronaut on Mars. Could it happen?

New tree of life for 2.3 million species

An initial draft, a collaborative effort from scientists at 11 institutions, of a new, comprehensive evolutionary tree of life. Plus ...