Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Astronomers find 72 bright and fast explosions

There and gone in a cosmological flash. Astronomers report on 72 bright, quick events found in a recent survey. They're like supernovae, but flash into view, then disappear again much faster.

Deborah Byrd

April 7, 2018

Hand of the Desert at night

Artist Mario Irarrázabal created the Hand of the Desert after the city of Antofagasta, Chile, asked him for something notable, to fill the empty space of the Atacama Desert. Astrophotographer Yuri Beletsky captured it at night.

Deborah Byrd

April 5, 2018

See it! Moon sweeps past Jupiter

Have you been watching the moon's sweep past Jupiter this week? From the time they rise in mid- to late evening until dawn, they're still the brightest things up there.

Deborah Byrd

April 5, 2018

Antarctic ice grounding lines are shifting

Europe's CryoSat satellite was used - over 7 years - to track 10,000 miles (16,000 km) of Antarctic coastline. It can be seen warm ocean water is eating away at Antarctica's floating margins.

Deborah Byrd

April 4, 2018

Astronomers spy most distant star yet

Astronomers call it Lensed Star 1 because gravitational microlensing magnified its light some 2,000 times. That's how they saw it shining from the distant past, only 4.4 billion years after the Big Bang.

Deborah Byrd

April 3, 2018

A beautiful conjunction of Mars and Saturn

Red Mars and golden Saturn were only 1.3 degrees apart on April 2, 2018, about the width of your finger at arm's length. Photos from the EarthSky community. Thanks to all who submitted.

Deborah Byrd

April 3, 2018

Watch a robot fish swim in the ocean

MIT computer scientists have developed SoFi - a soft, robot fish made of silicone rubber - that can swim alongside real fish in the ocean.

Deborah Byrd

April 2, 2018

Tiangong-1’s fiery death and ocean plunge

Tiangong-1's reentry was confirmed as April 2 at 00:16 UTC (April 1 at 8:16 p.m. EDT). Reentry occurred in the Pacific Ocean, northwest of Tahiti.

Deborah Byrd

April 2, 2018

Forgotten boat and 3 planets

Photographer Nima Asadzadeh caught Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn against the backdrop of the distant Milky Way center, from Lake Urmia, Iran.

Deborah Byrd

April 2, 2018

Astronomers ponder possible life adrift in Venus’ clouds

On Friday, astronomers announced a new paper laying out the case for the atmosphere of Venus as a possible niche for extraterrestrial microbial life.

Deborah Byrd

March 31, 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.