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Posts by
Deborah Byrd
How to watch Taurid meteors in 2020
Although a modest shower, perhaps offering 5 meteors per hour, the Taurid shower lasts over a month and is known for producing dramatic fireballs, or exceptionally bright meteors.
November 1, 2020
Owl in front of the moon, with Mars above
An owl, a nearly full moon and a shining planet Mars. What more could you ask for Halloween 2020?
November 1, 2020
The magnetic fields of a jellyfish galaxy
New work reveals the intricate relationship between so-called jellyfish galaxies, and the magnetic environment through which they move.
October 28, 2020
Watch for Earth’s shadow and the Belt of Venus
Look east after sunset - or west before sunrise - for Earth's shadow. It's a deep blue-grey band, curved as Earth is curved, moving opposite the sun. The Belt of Venus is the subtle pink band above the shadow.
October 27, 2020
Photos of fiery Mars, at its best in 2020
Photos from the EarthSky community of the bright planet Mars, at its best. Earth passed between Mars and the sun - bringing the planet to a once-in-two-years opposition - on October 13, 2020.
October 13, 2020
Astronomers see a star ‘spaghettified’ by a black hole
Astronomers have spotted a rare blast of light from a star being ripped apart by a supermassive black hole. The phenomenon - known as a tidal disruption event - is the closest such flare recorded to date at just over 215 million light-years from Earth.
October 13, 2020
Bright fireball widely seen over northeastern Mexico
A fireball is an especially bright meteor from space. It can start out icy and burn up entirely in our atmosphere, or rocky ... in which case a meteorite sometimes falls to Earth's surface. This bright fireball blazed over northeastern Mexico on Tuesday, October 6, 2020.
October 8, 2020
Watch for 2020’s Draconid meteor shower
The Draconid shower will likely produce its greatest number of meteors on the evening - not after midnight - of October 7, 2020. Try the night of October 8, too.
October 7, 2020
Orange Arcturus sparkles after sunset
On October evenings, look for brilliant Arcturus in the west, flashing in colors. Follow the curve in the Big Dipper’s handle to this yellow-orange star.
October 4, 2020
Photos of the beautiful Venus-Regulus conjunction
The brightest planet Venus has been blazing in the east before sunrise for some months. In late September and early October, the bright star Regulus - Heart of the Lion in Leo - swept past it.
October 3, 2020
