Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Our Age of Humans in a galactic context

A proposed new classification system - somewhat like the well-known Kardashev scale for classifying extraterrestrial civilizations - and a new way of thinking about human sustainability on Earth.

Deborah Byrd

September 12, 2017

Last night’s moon over Freedom Tower

Photo taken from Exchange Place, Jersey City, New Jersey.

Deborah Byrd

September 12, 2017

Cassini makes ‘goodbye kiss’ flyby of Titan

NASA said Cassini's final flyby of Titan - Saturn's large moon - went as planned. The spacecraft is now on a course that'll take it inside Saturn's atmosphere, for a fiery end to its mission, on September 15.

Deborah Byrd

September 11, 2017

Pluto craft wakes from hibernation

And last week mission scientists filed a flight plan for New Horizons' next flyby - of the Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69 - in early 2019. It'll be farthest encounter yet between an earthly spacecraft and distant solar system body.

Deborah Byrd

September 11, 2017

NASA ponders Saturn mission legacy

A statement from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Cassini mission success at Saturn, and on where solar system exploration will go from here.

Deborah Byrd

September 11, 2017

Cassini milestones before the final plunge

Milestones for Cassini's final week at Saturn. Today's distant flyby of the large moon Titan will slow down the spacecraft enough so that - on Friday - Cassini will make its final plunge into Saturn's atmosphere.

Eleanor Imster

Deborah Byrd

September 11, 2017

Another X-flare from the sun

We're near solar minimum, but the sun has been active! Click here for a video of solar flares so far in September, 2017 and for news for the sun's most recent X-flare.

Deborah Byrd

September 11, 2017

Most detailed color images of Saturn’s rings, ever

As we prepare to say goodbye to Cassini at Saturn - one of the longest-running and most awesome space missions ever - here's yet another first, a finely seen section of Saturn's inner-central B Ring, in natural color.

Deborah Byrd

September 11, 2017

Ultraviolet light key to life search, too?

Too little UV light, and life might not ever start. Too much, in the form dramatic UV flares from stars, and the atmospheres of orbiting planets might undergo damage.

Deborah Byrd

September 10, 2017

X-ray astronomy and planet-hosting stars

X-ray astronomers explored how quickly young stars settle down after blasting the space around themselves - including any possible planets - with energetic radiation.

Deborah Byrd

September 10, 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.