Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Late April 2018 moon and Jupiter

The moon swept past the very bright planet Jupiter in late April, shortly before the giant planet was at its closest and brightest for the year. Gorgeous photos from the EarthSky community, here.

Deborah Byrd

April 30, 2018

Take a virtual tour of 6 exoplanets

The virtual exoplanet tour has a cool 360-degree visual display. Since launching in late 2017, it's had over a million YouTube views. Check it out here.

Deborah Byrd

April 29, 2018

Curious holes in Arctic sea ice

Warming seawater might be the culprit, or seals might have gnawed the holes. For now, the strange circular holes in Arctic sea ice, photographed earlier this month, are mysterious.

Deborah Byrd

April 29, 2018

Moon near Jupiter April 28 to 30

Look up! You'll see a very bright "star" - really the planet Jupiter - near the moon.

Deborah Byrd

April 28, 2018

Sunset at Shell Beach, California

Shell Beach is a neighborhood in the city of Pismo Beach in San Luis Obispo County, California. Photographer Mimi Ditchie caught this image on Earth Day weekend.

Deborah Byrd

April 27, 2018

Gaia’s 2nd data release: 1.7 billion stars!

Why did ESA's director of science say Gaia's observations are "redefining the foundations" of astronomy? Also, links to virtual reality resources made possible by Gaia, available for you to explore.

Deborah Byrd

April 26, 2018

Watch thousands of asteroids orbiting our sun

Both NASA and ESA space missions have just released new videos plotting the orbits of tens of thousands of asteroids (and comets) orbiting our sun.

Deborah Byrd

April 26, 2018

Watch the mating dance of a new bird species

Be a birder for a few minutes, and enjoy the distinctive song, dance and courtship display of a newly recognized Bird-of-Paradise, in new videos from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Eleanor Imster

Deborah Byrd

April 25, 2018

See it! Last weekend’s Lyrid meteors

We didn't receive huge numbers of photos of the 2018 Lyrid meteor shower, but the ones we saw were beautiful. Thanks to all who submitted.

Deborah Byrd

April 25, 2018

These sea turtles use magnetic fields like GPS

"They might not always make it back to the exact beach where they were born, and instead might opt for beaches with similar magnetic properties, as if their internal GPS has just slightly mixed up addresses."

Eleanor Imster

Deborah Byrd

April 24, 2018

Deborah Byrd

Deborah Byrd (asteroid 3505 Byrd) helps edit EarthSky.org and is a frequent host of EarthSky videos. Deborah 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. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named in her honor in 1990, a Public Service Award from the National Science Board in 2003, and the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society in 2020. 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.