Deadline for submissions in the NameExoWorlds contest is June 15, 2015. Fifteen stars and 32 planets (47 objects total) in 20 solar systems available for naming.
Of the eastern and central U.S. states studied so far, Oklahoma is by far the worst-hit in recent years. Texas, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico and Ohio all have had more earthquakes in the past year.
A new NASA collaboration will use a systems science approach - looking at the big picture, cutting across different scientific disciplines - to seek alien life.
Why are astronomers excited about the first directly obtained visible light spectrum - or rainbow array of visible colors - bounced from the surface of an exoplanet?
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.