Venus and Mercury are back in the evening sky. Have you seen them? Probably not; they're exceedingly close to the sun. But EarthSky Community member Helio Vital did manage to capture a photo of Venus on April 19, 2021. Way to go, Helio!
The long-sought "lost golden city" of Aten has been found near Luxor, Egypt, in the Valley of Kings. "The mission expects to uncover untouched tombs filled with treasures," the scientists said.
An international team of astronomers has mapped a piece of the cosmic web without using bright quasars for the first time. They did it by turning a powerful instrument to a single region of the sky for hundreds of hours.
The zodiacal light is a strange pyramid of light that extends from the eastern or western horizon, before dawn or as true darkness falls. It was known to stem from dust moving in the plane of our solar system. The Juno spacecraft has found that Mars might be the source of the dust.
Three very strong earthquakes in the ocean near New Zealand took place in less than 8 hours on Friday, local time. Tsunami warnings went out across the Pacific, including Hawaii, but have now been lifted.
From the Northern Hemisphere, look after true darkness falls for the elusive zodiacal light. It appears as a hazy pyramid of light extending up from the sunset point. Southern Hemisphere? Look before dawn!
Check out this amazing new video from NASA's Perseverance rover, showing its own descent and landing on the surface of Mars last week. Truly, it's like nothing seen before! Also, the first-ever audio from Mars ...
Far-northern skywatchers sometimes travel southward in winter, for a glimpse of Canopus - the sky's 2nd-brightest star - above the southern horizon. Can you see it? Details here.
Deborah Byrd (asteroid 3505 Byrd) helps edit EarthSky.org and is a frequent host of EarthSky videos. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named in her honor in 1990, a Public Service Award from the National Science Board in 2003, and the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society in 2020. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.