Posts by 

Deborah Byrd

Video: So long, Comet ISON

This video shows Comet ISON's complete perihelion passage on November 28, 2013. NASA scientists now confirm the comet is longer a comet.

Geminid meteor and Nova Centauri

A shooting star and a "new" star, or nova. The shooting star is space dust. And the nova is an explosion on an old star. Check out this photo by Colin Legg of Australia.

The weird object near Saturn’s A ring

A member of the Cassini spacecraft's imaging team spied a mysterious object at edge of Saturn's A ring and named it Peggy.

How to see Comet Lovejoy in December 2013

Around mid-December, Comet Lovejoy is near the famous Keystone asterism in the constellation Hercules. Photos and charts here.

Murmuration, Venus, in day’s last light

A flock of starlings is known as a “chattering,” “clattering,” “cloud,” “congregation,” or “murmuration.”

Arctic caught a break in 2013, as long-term warming continues

"The relatively cool year [in 2013] does little to offset the long-term trend of the last 30 years: the Arctic is warming rapidly, becoming greener and experiencing a variety of changes." - David M. Kennedy

Antarctic ozone hole is not yet in recovery

Twenty years after Montreal Protocol limited emissions of ozone-destroying chemicals, the Antarctic ozone hole has stabilized but has not begun to recover.

Juno captured starship-like view of Earth and moon

The closest we've come yet to being on the bridge of the starship Enterprise, but this time it's Earth on the view screen. Thanks, Juno spacecraft!

Proposed step to help society prepare for a solar storm disaster

"We would like space weather users, operators of systems, and policy makers adopt this event immediately and do war game scenarios with it." - Daniel Baker

Photo: New details in nearby starburst galaxy M82

Streamers of material are seen fleeing the disk of the galaxy, while concentrations of dense molecular gas surround pockets of intense star formation.