Posts by 

Deborah Byrd

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

Photos from friends: Jupiter and moon awesome in late November 2012

In late November, with Jupiter a week away from being closest to Earth for 2012, full moon swept past Jupiter. Enjoy the photos from EarthSky Facebook friends.

Rainfall totals in Italy from November 6 to 13, 2012

NASA has released a map showing the heavy rainfall in northern Italy in November 2012, made by combining measurements from many satellites.

Sun produced coronal mass ejection, or CME, earlier today

The sun produced a coronal mass ejection, or CME, today (November 20, 2012). See a NASA spacecraft photo of the CME as it leaves the sun.