Posts by 

Deborah Byrd

Watch for Mercury, too, as 2021 ends

Watch for Mercury, the sun's innermost planet, as 2021 ends. Bright Venus will be falling into the sunset glare. Mercury will be nearby.

Moon, Mars and Antares as 2021 ends

Moon, Mars and Antares: Start watching the east a few days before December 31, 2021, for red Mars and red Antares. On December 31, the moon will join the show.

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.

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