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Posts by
Deborah Byrd
Lightsail 2 set to launch in June
"We are go for launch!" said Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye. Funded by space enthusiasts, LightSail 2 aims to accomplish the 1st-ever, controlled solar sail flight in Earth orbit next month.
May 14, 2019
Rainbow spokes over Pennsylvania
When dense rain showers are falling into a rainbow, you might see one or more dark spokes centered on the point exactly opposite the sun. These are called rainbow spokes, or rainbow wheels.
May 14, 2019
Nature in Japan: Time travel
Hideto Shimizu hiked many miles across the mountains of Japan to capture the images in this gorgeous 90-second video. He wrote: "I hope it delivers you the feelings of the places I photographed."
May 13, 2019
Star formation burst created 50% of Milky Way disk stars
Analysis of data from the Gaia satellite shows a powerful burst of star formation - a stellar baby boom - in our Milky Way galaxy 2 to 3 billion years ago. This single burst might have created half the stars in the galaxy's flat disk.
May 10, 2019
Why can’t I find the Milky Way in May?
From the Northern Hemisphere now, the plane of the Milky Way is as parallel to your horizon as it can be, in early evening. Just wait. Around midnight, the starry band of the Milky Way will begin ascending in your eastern sky.
May 10, 2019
Milky Way over Lunar Crater, Nevada
This volcanic crater in Nevada - called Lunar Crater - was used to train Apollo astronauts in 1972.
May 10, 2019
Two airplane glories, half a world apart
Liz Dunster caught a photo of an airplane glory during a flight over North Carolina. Karthik Easvur caught a glory over India and provided a video!
May 9, 2019
The young moon returns
Casual observers rarely see a moon within 24 hours of new moon. But observers who have the right conditions, and are watching carefully - and those using telescopes or binoculars - can see much younger moons.
May 6, 2019
When does Ramadan begin in 2019?
Earliest sightings of a young crescent in the west after sunset mark the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. When will the UAE's moon-sighting committee see this month's young moon? If they're using binoculars and telescopes (and have clear skies), they might see it May 5. For the eye alone, the date is probably May 6.
May 3, 2019
Old moon, Venus, Mercury
The moon is sweeping past the planets Venus and Mercury in the morning sky now.
May 3, 2019
