Posts by 

Deborah Byrd

How to catch the elusive green flash

It's not hard to see a green flash with the eye alone, when sky conditions are right, and when you're looking toward a very clear and very distant horizon.

Comet Leonard in the evening sky

The first comet to be found in 2021 was Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1). It's now the brightest and best comet of this year! Charts and more here.

Ursid meteor shower peaks morning of December 22

The Ursid meteor shower always peaks around the December solstice. The dark hours before dawn are best. This year, a nearly full moon interferes.

Aldebaran, Bull’s bloodshot eye, near moon December 15, 16, 17

Aldebaran, the brightest star in Taurus the Bull, is at one tip of a V-shaped cluster. If placed where our sun is, its surface would reach the orbit of Mercury.

Is the Oregon earthquake swarm tapering off?

The USGS Latest Earthquakes page is displaying more than 40 small-to-moderate earthquakes on December 7 and 8, 2021, off the coast of Oregon.

Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus December 6 to December 9

Wow! What a sight. The moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus all in your western sky after sunset. Watch for them December 6 to 9, 2021.

Photos: This week’s moon and planets after sunset!

Favorite photos - planets and moon - from the EarthSky community during the week of December 6 to 9, 2021. What a beautiful alignment of worlds!

Photos and video: December 4 total solar eclipse

Photos and video, December 4, 2021, total solar eclipse. It was visible along a narrow path - the path of totality - that crossed Antarctica.

Waning moon meets Zubenelgenubi morning of December 2

The waning moon meets Zubenelgenubi, a bright star in the contellation Libra the Scales, on the morning of December 2, 2021. A pretty scene before sunup!

Surtsey, volcanic island, emerged in 1963

On November 14, 1963, volcanic island Surtsey rose from the sea. Scientists have since studied the natural colonization of plants and animals on it.