Posts by

Kelly Kizer Whitt

Webb has successfully arrived at L2!

Webb arrived safely at L2 on Monday, January 24, 2022. It is ready for its testing phase before scientific operations begin this summer.

Kelly Kizer Whitt

January 24, 2022

Webb set to arrive at its final destination, L2

The James Webb Space Telescope launched December 25, 2021. It successfully unfolded and is on its way to L2, where it will begin its science mission.

Kelly Kizer Whitt

Editors of EarthSky

January 22, 2022

Tonga volcano dwarfed biggest nuclear blasts ever seen, monitor says

The Tonga volcano was felt around the world. The January 15, 2022, blast sent tsunamis as far as the US West Coast.

Kelly Kizer Whitt

January 21, 2022

6th mass extinction happening now? These scientists say yes

By including invertebrates in their study and not just mammals and birds, these scientists say Earth is currently undergoing a 6th mass extinction.

Kelly Kizer Whitt

January 21, 2022

Scientists find carbon-12, life’s most crucial isotope, on Mars

Scientists have discovered rock samples from Mars that are enriched in carbon-12, an isotope that is crucial to life on Earth.

Kelly Kizer Whitt

January 21, 2022

Opposition: A definition for stargazers

Opposition is a great time for stargazers to observe an object such as an outer planet because it rises at sunset, sets at sunrise, and is visible all night.

Kelly Kizer Whitt

January 15, 2022

Millipede fossil shows they were once as big as cars

Scientists recently announced the discovery of a large millipede fossil that shows the creatures were once as long as 9 feet (nearly 3 meters).

Kelly Kizer Whitt

January 12, 2022

Can we – should we – send life to the nearest star?

A team of researchers has studied what's needed to send life to the nearest star. They envision small creatures riding tiny spacecraft to Proxima Centauri.

Kelly Kizer Whitt

January 11, 2022

Black hole eruption the size of 16 full moons

Scientists used the Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope to take the most detailed image yet of the black hole eruption inside galaxy Centaurus A.

Kelly Kizer Whitt

January 9, 2022

Earlier tsunami warnings via magnetic fields

Scientists analyzed tsunamis from 2009 and 2010. They showed the magnetic fields of these great waves can help create earlier tsunami warnings.

Kelly Kizer Whitt

January 5, 2022

Kelly Kizer Whitt

Kelly Kizer Whitt writes and edits some of the most fascinating stories at EarthSky.org. She's been writing about science, with a focus on astronomy, for decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine and made regular contributions to other outlets, including AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club. She has nine published books, including a children's picture book, Solar System Forecast, and a young adult dystopian novel, A Different Sky.