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Posts by
Deborah Byrd
New meteor shower might coincide with 2012 Geminids!
Debris left behind by Comet Wirtanen might produce 30 meteors per hour, added to 100 meteors per hour from the Geminids. That would be an awesome meteor show!
December 11, 2012
Close pass and possible asteroid eclipse tonight of 2012 XE54
Astronomers discovered the asteroid yesterday. It might enter Earth's shadow in the next few hours and pass slightly more than half the moon's distance a few hours after that.
December 10, 2012
No global dust storm for Mars this year?
On November 10, a major dust storm broke out in Mars' southern hemisphere. By early December 2012, the storm was dying down.
December 10, 2012
Video: Moon phases for all of 2013
The video was created with data from from the Clementine moon mission of 1990s, plus measurements from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, orbiting now.
December 8, 2012
Strong 7.3-magnitude earthquake and small tsunami strike northeastern Japan
Same region as powerful 9.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked Japan in March, 2011. No reports of injuries or damages. No risk of a widespread tsunami.
December 7, 2012
View from space: Earth at night with no clouds
This new cloud-free view of Earth at night comes from data acquired by the Suomi NPP satellite, which is in a polar orbit.
December 5, 2012
Photos from friends: An early season aurora in Lapland
It's only when when autumn comes, and the nights begin to lengthen, that aurora season begins in earnest at northerly latitudes.
December 5, 2012
Did clouds help Snowball Earth thaw out?
There's evidence Earth was covered by a planet-wide glacier, more than 650 million years ago. But how did Earth thaw out again?
December 5, 2012
Photos from friends: December 3, 2012 line-up of three planets
No one has sent us a photo of planets above pyramids yet, but we hope someone will! Meanwhile, enjoy our friends' photos of the December 3 planets, which were seen from around the world.
December 3, 2012
Watching the seasons change in the atmosphere of Titan
Who would have imagined we'd be able to watch the seasons change in the atmosphere of Saturn's large moon Titan? The Cassini spacecraft makes it possible.
December 2, 2012
