Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Astronomers complete 1st global asteroid tracking drill

This is only a test. Astronomers report on the TC4 Observation Campaign, which, in October, used a real Near-Earth Asteroid to practice our global response to a potential asteroid threat.

Deborah Byrd

November 4, 2017

A rare chance to scrutinize a comet’s jet

On July 3, 2016 - as Comet 67P erupted with a plume of dust - the orbiting Rosetta spacecraft happened to pass right through the dust cloud.

Deborah Byrd

November 1, 2017

Flying Horse over Cusco, Peru

If you travel from the Northern to the Southern Hemisphere, or vice versa, you'll see familiar constellations. But their location in the sky will be shifted in surprising and delightful ways.

Deborah Byrd

November 1, 2017

Boo! Halloween star trails

When your camera stays fixed as the stars move throughout the night, you get a photo of what are called star trails. Then ... just add pumpkins.

Deborah Byrd

October 31, 2017

Smokey sunset skies over Italy

These swirling, intense red sunset skies are due to ongoing wildfires in northern Italy.

Deborah Byrd

October 30, 2017

Mojave Forsaken: Ghost towns and dark skies

Let the creepiness begin! Just in time for Halloween, a new video from ProjectSkyGlow depicting spooky California ghost towns under the darkest of dark night skies.

Deborah Byrd

October 30, 2017

Small object visits from beyond solar system

This small asteroid (or comet) passed under Earth's orbit on October 14 at about 60 times the moon's distance. Now it appears to be heading toward interstellar space again.

Deborah Byrd

October 29, 2017

Photos: Observe the Moon Night

Saturday night is International Observe the Moon Night, and EarthSky community members from around the world sent photos, reminding us that we all see the same moon.

Eleanor Imster

Deborah Byrd

October 28, 2017

Two recent studies explore the possibility of an ancient ocean on dwarf planet Ceres, largest world in the asteroid belt. If it existed, what happened to it? And could Ceres still have liquid water today?

Deborah Byrd

October 28, 2017

Blue jets, red sprites and other flashes

In recent years, the International Space Station has given astronauts the chance to photograph transient luminous events - or TLEs - natural light shows produced at the tops of thunderstorms.

Eleanor Imster

Deborah Byrd

October 26, 2017

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.