Posts by 

Deborah Byrd

Yellowstone supervolcano would cover North America in ash

It's highly unlikely a supervolcano will erupt at Yellowstone National Park. But, says a new study, if one did, volcanic ash would cover North America.

Milky Way over Utah, and a moonlit blue hour

A crescent moon - just set below high, hardened sand dunes in Goblin Valley State Park in Utah - creates a kind of "blue hour" glow in the sky.

Moon, Jupiter, Venus over Hong Kong

It was a glorious weekend for planet-watching. The moon waned and appeared lower in the east before dawn each day, sweeping past Venus and Jupiter.

Strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake rocks San Francisco Bay area

Strong earthquake struck San Francisco Bay area early on August 24, 2014. Power outages, moderate damage across region, closed highways, serious injuries, no deaths.

New Voyager map reveals Neptune’s strange moon Triton

New map from a 1989 spacecraft flyby gives us a glimpse of an unseen world.

August 19 aurora from space and Earth

One of the first auroras of the 2014 autumn season appeared last night at northerly latitudes. Astronaut Reid Wiseman caught it from space. Photographer Göran Strand caught it from Sweden.

Curiosity rover is having wheel problems

Mission planners didn't anticipate that Curiosity would be driving over an area on Mars that has sharp, pyramid-shaped rocks embedded in hard ground.

Strange case of M82 X-1: A rare midsize black hole

A black hole candidate known as M82 X-1 appears to have a mass of about 400 suns, making it one of only half a dozen suspected midsize black holes.

Great Venus and Jupiter conjunction of 2014

Venus and Jupiter are the brightest planets! Look east before dawn ... closest planet-planet conjunction of 2014 August 18. Dazzling near moon August 22 and 23.

First dust grains from beyond our solar system

A collector dropped to Earth by the Stardust spacecraft may have contained the first known contemporary dust grains from outside our solar system.