Posts by 

Kelly Kizer Whitt

Visible planets and night sky for December

Visible planets: Venus dominates the morning sky. Bright Jupiter is visible most of the night. Saturn shines after sunset.

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.

Virga is rain that doesn’t reach the ground

Learn what virga is and how it forms, and see great photos to help you learn how to identify it yourself! Plus, learn if radar can pick up virga.

Emperor penguins: A report from the Antarctic

EarthSky friend Eliot Herman took a trip to the Antarctic, where he had the opportunity to see emperor penguins. Read his report and enjoy his amazing images.

World’s largest iceberg headed toward warm waters

Weather satellites such as NOAA-21 are tracking the movements of the world's largest iceberg, A23a, which is headed toward the South Atlantic.

Betelgeuse nearly disappeared – for some – in rare eclipse

On December 11 and 12, 2023, the star Betelgeuse dimmed, and nearly disappeared, for several seconds as asteroid Leona passed in front of it.

See the best northern lights photos of 2023

The blog Capture the Atlas announced its best northern lights photos of 2023. You can see some of the best aurora photos in the world here.

Comet Nishimura and the Sigma-Hydrid meteors

Comet Nishimura may be the parent comet to the Signma-Hydrid meteor shower, that peaks December 9-12. Will the shower be more active this year?

Oldest known wild bird, Wisdom, is back!

A beloved albatross named Wisdom is the world's oldest known wild bird. She's more than 70! And she just returned again to her winter nesting ground.

Comet Halley to reach farthest point from sun on December 9

Comet Halley reaches its farthest point in orbit from the sun on December 9, 2023. It'll then begin its return trip to the inner solar system, arriving in 2061.