Posts by 

Kelly Kizer Whitt

Earth’s atmosphere sheds onto the moon!

Researchers found Earth's atmosphere sheds onto the lunar surface thanks to the solar wind stripping particles, which then spiral along magnetic field lines.

Triangulum the Triangle in northern skies

The constellation Triangulum lies close to overhead in northern skies on December evenings. It contains the Triangulum galaxy, a gorgeous pinwheeling spiral.

Hotspots for Category 6 storms are growing

Category 6 storms - or extremely strong Category 5 hurricanes on the current scale - arise in hotspots on the globe, and those spots are growing.

Look for Cetus the Whale swimming in a celestial sea

Cetus the Whale is a huge constellation that swims in a sea of stars near constellations named for a river and fish. And it contains a wonderful variable star.

Fornax the Furnace: A dim constellation with galaxies galore

Fornax the Furnace appears as a few dim stars to the unaided eye but harbors galaxies from one orbiting the Milky Way to some at the edge of the universe.

Forms of aurora: Arcs, curtains, coronas and more

Here are some of the forms of aurora that you might see. Some are more common, such as diffuse glows, while others are a sign of a big geomagnetic storm.

See the best northern lights photos of 2025

The blog Capture the Atlas announced its 2025 Northern Lights Photographer of the Year contest. See 10 of the best northern lights photos here.

Apollo 17 – last human footsteps on the moon – 53 years ago

It's been 53 years since humans last set foot on the moon. The Apollo 17 astronauts left the lunar surface on December 14, 1972.

Proximity to a supermassive black hole doesn’t spell doom

Scientists found that stars in the "S-cluster," a group of young, high-velocity stars orbiting our galaxy's central supermassive black hole, have stable orbits.

Mercury’s sodium tail is now appearing in special filters

On December 3, 2025, Steven Bellavia imaged Mercury's sodium tail flowing away from the sun. See the image here and read more about Mercury's tail.