Posts by 

Deborah Byrd

Heat grips Pacific Northwest

Meteorologists issue warnings, watches and advisories as extreme heat grips Pacific Northwest this weekend, into next week. Triple-digit highs expected.

Solar array upgrade planned for 3rd ISS spacewalk June 25

A June 25 spacewalk will help give the International Space Station a solar array upgrade, a 20 to 30% power boost aimed at another decade of science operations.
Earth

Taupo supervolcano needs monitoring, scientists say

Earth's most recent supervolcano is the Taupo supervolcano, from 25,000 years ago. It experienced unrest in 2019. Scientists want to know more.

Analemma shows the sun’s path over a year

An analemma is a figure-8 curve showing the position of the sun at a chosen time of day (often, noon) over a year. Here's one on the side of a house.

Stark reality of California drought from space

This image is from June 2021. It shows barren hillsides and dry trees in a national forest, during the California drought. Click in for a comparison image from 2020.
Space

Astronomers spot largest rotation in the universe

Astronomers have found the largest rotation in the universe by analyzing red and blue shifts in galaxies funneling along filaments in the cosmic web.

The 1st microsecond of the Big Bang

Researchers used the Large Hadron Collider to investigate the 1st matter formed in the 1st microsecond of Big Bang. They said it had liquid-like properties.

Scientists release best-ever dark matter map

Astronomers with the Dark Energy Survey have created the largest-ever map of dark matter, using artificial intelligence. It covers 100 million galaxies.

Whales make rainbows

Whales are magnificent creatures and ... whales make rainbows. Photos and video here.

Lucky strike: Space debris smacked ISS robotic arm

Space officials called it a "lucky strike" when space debris smacked into the skinny robotic arm on the space station, creating a hole now seen in images.