Posts by 

Deborah Byrd

Like Baily’s Beads

"Like Bailey's Beads," said Meiying Lee, who created this magnificent composite of thin, waning moons.

Pluto’s atmosphere is disappearing

Pluto's atmosphere is disappearing. The dwarf planet's atmosphere is freezing as it moves farther from the sun in its orbit and falling to the surface.

2 old open star clusters merging in the Milky Way

An astronomer in Brazil has looked toward a known open star cluster and found 2 old open star clusters, merging in our Milky Way galaxy.

Moon and Venus on October 7, 8, 9 and 10

The young moon and Venus will be near each other in the sky from about October 7 to 10, 2021. The Southern Hemisphere has the best view!

Where are the water worlds? New tool to find out

Where are the water worlds? Since water means life (as we know it), scientists studying exoplanets want to know. A new tool might help find them.

Super-Earth, mini-Neptune or sub-Neptune?

The exoplanet community hasn't yet converged on the best name for exoplanets that are 1.7 - 3.5 Earth-radii. Super-Earth, mini-Neptune, sub-Neptune?

Hello, Mercury! BepiColombo speeds by

Hello, Mercury! BepiColombo is a Mercury mission, due to arrive in earnest in December, 2025. Along the way, it needs help to get there.

Earth is dimming due to climate change

Scientists used measurements of earthshine, plus satellite data, to learn that Earth is dimming due to the warming oceans.

23 species proposed for delisting, now extinct

On September 21, 2021, another 23 species proposed for delisting by U.S. Fish and Wildlife. One is the beloved Ivory-billed Woodpecker.

Einstein’s most famous equation: E=mc2

Einstein's most famous equation describing the relationship of energy and mass, E=mc2, first appeared in a scientific journal on September 27, 1905.