Posts by 

Deborah Byrd

New names for 5 Jupiter moons

The naming suggestions in a contest - which ran from last February to April - ranged from the scholarly to the silly, these scientists said. We think you'll like the winners.

What asteroid Ryugu told us

The Hayabusa2 mission has confirmed that - if asteroid Ryugu or a similar asteroid were to come dangerously close to Earth - we'd need to take care in trying to divert it, lest it break up into fragments that might then impact Earth.

Yellowstone’s Steamboat geyser breaks record

With 33 eruptions as of August 27, Steamboat geyser in Yellowstone National Park is having an exceptionally active year.

Venus returns to evening sky

If you're looking for Venus now - the brightest planet - you won't find it with the eye alone. But it's possible to catch the planet in September 2019, near the sunset, with a telescope.

India’s moon mission: “95% of mission objectives accomplished”

Saturday's heartbreaking loss of contact with the Vikram lander - part of the Chandrayaan-2 mission to the moon - hasn't changed the upbeat tone of India's space science. Here's what we know so far.

Contact with India moon lander lost, moments before touchdown

The Vikram lander was to have made India the 4th nation of Earth to soft land on the moon. Contact with it was lost just 1.3 miles (2.1 km) above the moon's surface.

Ka-bam! Signs of a giant impact with Jupiter

Scientists used Juno spacecraft data and models of how Jupiter's inner core should look to probe the giant planet's early history. They now think an object with 10 times Earth's mass might have struck Jupiter billions of years ago.

Hurricane Dorian viewed from space

NASA astronaut Christian Koch snapped this image of Hurricane Dorian from the International Space Station on Monday, September 2, 2019. The station orbits more than 200 miles (300 km) above Earth.

Webb telescope now assembled for 1st time

On August 28, 2019, NASA announced that the 2 halves of the James Webb Space Telescope have now been successfully connected. The telescope is being assembled at Northrop Grumman’s facilities in Redondo Beach, California.

Year’s closest new supermoon August 30

Today - August 30, 2019 - presents the closest new moon of the year, exactly a fortnight (about 2 weeks) before the year's farthest and smallest full moon on September 14, 2019.