Posts by 

Deborah Byrd

Photos! The close Mercury-Venus conjunction

Closest Mercury-Venus conjunction until 2033 It hasn’t been easy, but members of the EarthSky community have caught photos of the...

Watch for the legendary green flash

It's said that once you see a green flash, you'll never again go wrong in matters of the heart. Here's how to see one!

ISS passing Polaris, seen from Canada

What a catch! This EarthSky community member caught the International Space Station (ISS) slicing across the night sky on May 17, 2021, passing Polaris, the North Star.

Off Japan’s coast: An ancient animal symbiosis comes back to light

Scientists have found a surprising modern-day symbiosis between 2 undersea animals, which had been gone from the fossil record for 270 million years.

Photos: Young moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars

The brightest planet Venus has now returned to the evening sky, joining Mercury. It'll surprise you by appearing so bright, low in the western twilight. The moon swept past Venus Wednesday and Mercury Thursday ... this weekend, Mars!

Arc to Arcturus, spike to Spica

Learn a phrase useful to sky watchers: Follow the arc to Arcturus and drive a spike (or speed on) to Spica.

SpaceX Starship prototype soars 6 miles up, then lands upright

SpaceX's test flight of Starship SN15 went off without a hitch today, May 5, 2021. Following 4 Starship prototypes that exploded upon landing after their high-altitude flight tests, the SN15 landed safely.

Venus and the owl, from California

Venus and Mercury are both in the western sky after sunset now, but both are exceedingly low in the sky, in the midst of bright twilight, and so difficult to spot. These photos captured them.

Check out this week’s asteroid impact exercise

Follow the action as asteroid scientists, space agencies and civil protection organizations participate in a drill - simulating an asteroid impact about to happen - during this week's virtual Planetary Defense Conference.

Record-breaking flare from nearby Proxima Centauri

Astronomers saw Proxima Centauri - the star nearest our sun - emit a flare, or burst of radiation, 100 times more powerful than flares from our sun. They said Proxima's flare ranks as one of the most violent seen on a solitary star anywhere in the galaxy.