The 2023 December solstice is December 22, at 3:27 UTC (December 21, at 9:27 p.m. CST). Northern Hemisphere's shortest day. Southern Hemisphere's longest day.
After weeks of earthquakes, an Iceland volcano began erupting powerfully on December 18, 2023. It was a bigger eruption than volcanologists had predicted!
A study suggests our sun is about the lowest mass star that - when it dies - produces a visible, though faint, planetary nebula. What happens when our sun dies.
Aldebaran, the brightest star in Taurus the Bull, is at one tip of a V-shaped cluster. If placed where our sun is, its surface would pass the orbit of Mercury.
At Death Valley’s Racetrack Playa, the sailing stones show signs of movement, etching trails in the dry lake bed. It was a mystery until quite recently.
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.