Kelly Kizer Whitt

Wisconsin

Editor and Writer at EarthSky

Author of Solar System Forecast, A Different Sky, etc. Editor & writer at https://t.co/OIGlcnhxgK. Xwd puzzle creator. Mastodon: @[email protected]

Featured in: Favicon

earthsky.org Favicon

ecowatch.com Favicon

sierraclub.org Favicon

realclearscience.com Favicon

farmersalmanac.com Favicon

substack.com Favicon

wiscnews.com Favicon

newsbeezer.com Favicon

greensburgdailynews.com Favicon

nationworldnews.com + 9 more

Articles

Could desert lichen survive on other worlds?

2 days ago | earthsky.org | Kelly Kizer Whitt

Space Astrobiology is the study of life in our universe. The only life we currently know of resides on Earth. So scientists look at exoplanets – worlds around other stars – that might have similar conditions as Earth and, thus, be conducive to life. Many of the exoplanets we’ve discovered orbit stars with radiation stronger than that of our sun.
Dark galaxy spotted with the help of globular clusters

3 days ago | earthsky.org | Kelly Kizer Whitt

Space When you look at the night sky, all the light you see is what astronomers call ordinary matter. It represents only 15% of the matter (mass) in the universe. A mysterious substance called dark matter makes up . So when you look at a galaxy through a telescope, all the light you see is ordinary matter. But is it possible to have a galaxy made out of dark matter?
1st look from the Vera Rubin Observatory! Watch here

6 days ago | earthsky.org | Kelly Kizer Whitt

Space The much-anticipated 1st look from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, starring our universe, is coming Monday. Watch in the player above or on YouTube. Get ready for the newest worldwide premiere, starring our universe! The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is poised to scan the sky – smoothly, rapidly, nightly – for the coming 10 years. And we’ll get our first look at the images from the Rubin Observatory at 10 a.m. CDT (15 UTC) on June 23, 2025.
Sculptor galaxy pops in most detailed thousand-color image

1 week ago | earthsky.org | Kelly Kizer Whitt

Today's Image On June 18, 2025, astronomers shared a thousand-color image of the Sculptor galaxy from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). The rich colors of the galaxy come alive in this image, which took more than 100 exposures and 50 hours of observations. The details in the color help astronomers understand what is happening inside the galaxy, which lies 11 million light-years away.
Katmai bear cam season begins now! Livestream here

1 week ago | share.google | Kelly Kizer Whitt

Earth Watch a bear cam above or visit Explore.org for all 8 bear cams. Returning for a 13th season, the world-famous bear cam livestream at Katmai National Park in Alaska begins on June 18, 2025. The bear cams go live at 12 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time, or 3 p.m. CDT. Explore.org established the bear cams in 2012. The cams are situated along the Brooks River and at Brook Falls, where brown bears await salmon swimming upstream.
Cosmic Dawn, a NASA documentary, in Media We Love

1 week ago | earthsky.org | Kelly Kizer Whitt

Human World Watch Cosmic Dawn: The Untold Story of the James Webb Space Telescope in the player above. On June 11, 2025, NASA released a new documentary called Cosmic Dawn: The Untold Story of the James Webb Space Telescope. You can watch the 96-minute show in the player above. This is the story of how the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) came to life, bringing us some of the deepest glimpses into the universe we’ve yet seen. Much of the documentary focuses on the engineering challenges.
Supernovas might be linked to past climate shifts

2 weeks ago | earthsky.org | Kelly Kizer Whitt

Earth Massive stars end their lives in powerful supernova explosions, ejecting high-energy radiation across the galaxy. A galaxy like our Milky Way should have a supernova explosion about every 50 years. The Milky Way spans 100,000 light-years, and studies have shown that for a supernova to impact Earth, it would have to be about 100 light-years away.
Astro quiz: How much do you know about the night sky?

2 weeks ago | earthsky.org | Kelly Kizer Whitt

How much do you know about the night sky? Test yourself with this quick quiz. Some of the answers may be easy, while others might leave you in the dark. If you get stuck, the answers are at the bottom. Have fun!Top image: The large, starry, cloudy swath is our Milky Way galaxy. The bright, oval fuzzy patch at the right is our nearest large spiral galaxy, Andromeda.
Cumulonimbus clouds bring thunderstorms: How to spot them

3 weeks ago | earthsky.org | Kelly Kizer Whitt

Earth Cumulonimbus clouds are among the most awe-inspiring cloud formations. They can tower for miles into the sky, bumping into the stratosphere and flattening out in an anvil shape on top. Cumulonimbus clouds are sometimes called thunderheads, because they’re the engines behind thunderstorms, severe weather and even tornadoes. If you see a cumulonimbus cloud bubbling upward into the sky, get ready to take cover.
Largest explosions in the universe since the Big Bang

3 weeks ago | earthsky.org | Kelly Kizer Whitt

Space As the name suggests, black holes are so dark that we can’t see them … unless we catch them snacking on a star. And those stars do not go quietly. When a star gets too close to a black hole, the immense gravity shreds the star, releasing an outpouring of light and energy. Astronomers in Hawaii said on June 4, 2025, that they’ve detected three different stars being devoured by supermassive black holes that released more energy than 100 supernovas.