Posts by

Deborah Byrd

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

Did Ceres once have an ocean?

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

Webcam surveys high clouds on Mars

A webcam on ESA’s Mars Express has acquired an unprecedented catalog of more than 21,000 images, providing a global survey of unusual, high-altitude, martian clouds.

Deborah Byrd

October 26, 2017

Airglow over Little Grand Canyon, Utah

The light of excited atoms and molecules, high over Utah's own smaller version of the Grand Canyon.

Deborah Byrd

October 26, 2017

International Observe the Moon Night is this week

International Observe the Moon Night is a global, public event coming up on October 16, 2021. Here's how you can participate online or in person.

Deborah Byrd

October 25, 2017

Fornax Galaxy Cluster reveals its secrets

This new 2.3-gigapixel image of the Fornax Galaxy Cluster - one of the largest images ever released by European Southern Observatory - might make you feel small.

Deborah Byrd

October 25, 2017

Artificial intelligence finds 56 new gravitational lens candidates

Using the same technology Tesla is using to teach cars to drive themselves, European astronomers are using artificial intelligence to seek out and find many new gravitational lenses.

Deborah Byrd

October 24, 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.