menu
close
subscribe donate

Eddie Irizarry

Eddie Irizarry

Eddie Irizarry of the Sociedad de Astronomía del Caribe (Astronomical Society of the Caribbean) has been a NASA Solar System Ambassador since 2004. He loves public outreach and has published multiple astronomy articles for EarthSky, as well as for newspapers in Puerto Rico. He has also offered dozens of conferences related to asteroids and comets at the Arecibo Observatory.
Asteroid 33012EddieIrizarry, a 7.8 km space rock, has been named in his honor.

A very faint star field, with the comet, a tiny dot, within tick marks.

Newly found Comet Leonard might become 2021’s brightest

Posted by in Astronomy Essentials | Space | 1 week ago
Posted by

The first comet to be found in 2021 – labeled C/2021 A1 (Leonard) – might become the brightest comet of this year! Charts and more info here.
Simulated solar system orbits, showing the location of the Earth and the asteroid on January 6, 2021.

Biggest asteroid to pass Earth in 2021 also one of the fastest

Posted by in Astronomy Essentials | Space | 2 weeks ago
Posted by

On March 21, when asteroid 2001 FO32 sweeps past Earth, it’ll be moving at such a fast pace that observers using telescopes might be able to detect its motion – its drift in front of the stars – in real time.

Is that a UFO?! There’s probably an explanation

Posted by in Human World | Space | 1 month ago
Posted by

Most Unidentified Flying Objects aren’t actually unidentified. Here’s a list of phenomena, either natural or human-made, that people often mistake for UFOs.
Centaur upper-stage rocket.

Observations confirm new mini-moon is 60s-era rocket booster

Posted by and in Space | 2 months ago
Posted by and

A mysterious object discovered in September is currently a new mini-moon for Earth. NASA confirmed on Tuesday, December 2, that the object is a lost-and-found 60s-era rocket from the Surveyor 2 moon mission, launched from Earth more than 50 years ago.
Black-and-white radar image of 2 asteroids stuck together.

Astronomers reveal asteroid 2000 WO107 as a contact binary

Posted by in Space | 2 months ago
Posted by

Asteroid 2000 WO107 passed Earth safely on November 29, at 11 times the moon’s distance. Astronomers at Goldstone bounced radar signals from its surface and discovered it’s 2 asteroids that touched, and stuck.
Computer-generated asteroid orbit, in relationship to Earth.

This asteroid just skimmed Earth’s atmosphere

Posted by in Space | 2 months ago
Posted by

The asteroid – 2020 VT4 – is estimated to be between 16 and 36 feet (5-11 meters). It skimmed the top of our atmosphere on Friday, November 13, 2020. Astronomers spotted it one day later.

Comet C/2020 M3 (Atlas) is closest November 14

Posted by in Space | 2 months ago
Posted by

Discovered last June, Comet C/2020 M3 (Atlas) is closest to Earth – millions of miles away – on Saturday, November 14, 2020. It’s in an easy-to-find location, if you have a dark sky. Charts and photos here.
Animation of the orbits of Earth and Apophis.

Infamous asteroid Apophis is accelerating

Posted by in Space | 3 months ago
Posted by

Astronomers in Hawaii have detected the Yarkovsky effect – a minuscule push imparted by sunlight – for asteroid Apophis. The effect is particularly important for Apophis, because it relates to the possibility of an Earth impact in 2068.

Watch online today: Small, close-passing asteroid

Posted by in Space | 4 months ago
Posted by

Watch online today as asteroid 2020 SW swoops in for its closest approach to Earth on Thursday. The asteroid will pass just 7% of the moon’s distance. Charts here for telescope users. How to watch online.

Asteroid 2011 ES4 will pass closest on September 1

Posted by in Space | 5 months ago
Posted by

The orbit of asteroid 2011 ES4 is still not entirely known. Our knowledge of it might improve sometime today – or early tomorrow – if it is “recovered” by astronomers. It’s expected to pass within the moon’s orbit, possibly as close as 0.19 lunar distances.