Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Planet 9 hypothesis alive and well

Is there an unknown, massive planet on the fringes of our solar system? New work that claims to remove "observational bias" also supports this very exciting possibility.

Deborah Byrd

July 14, 2017

Big sunspot at sunset

Neeti Kamthekar captured this photo of the lone sunspot that's been making its way across the sun in recent days. In reality, the sun's own spin is causing its apparent movement.

Deborah Byrd

July 14, 2017

Massive iceberg breaks off Antarctica

An iceberg - about the size of the U.S. state of Delaware - split off from Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf sometime between July 10 and 12.

Deborah Byrd

July 13, 2017

Wow! Juno’s super-close Red Spot images

Raw images from the Juno spacecraft's extremely close sweep past Jupiter's Red Spot are beginning to come in. NASA invites you to help process them!

Deborah Byrd

July 12, 2017

Astronomers find the smallest star yet

This star is just a sliver larger than Saturn, not even the largest planet in our solar system. Yet it's massive enough to shine as a star, and its pull of gravity is some 300 times stronger than Earth's.

Deborah Byrd

July 12, 2017

Dawn at Saturn

Although the Cassini spacecraft - now on the verge of running out of fuel - is in its final year in orbit around Saturn, it's still producing heart-stirring images.

Deborah Byrd

July 12, 2017

James Webb Telescope chillin’ in Houston

In hot Houston, the telescope hangs in historic Chamber A at Johnson Space Center, with the best air conditioning available. It'll soon receive a last test of its ability to withstand the cold of space.

Deborah Byrd

July 11, 2017

California’s Alamo Fire, from space

Large plume of smoke from the Alamo Fire in southern California, blowing over the eastern Pacific on July 9. Areas burning actively at that time appear in red.

Deborah Byrd

July 11, 2017

Gender, racial bias in astronomy revealed

Research has found that women generally experience subtle, indirect or unintentional discrimination in the sciences. A new survey shows women of color undergo the worst harassment.

Deborah Byrd

July 10, 2017

Astronomers track hypervelocity stars

New video shows 6 hypervelocity stars, zipping from Milky Way center to outskirts. An interaction with our galaxy's central, supermassive black hole might have kicked them into fast motion.

Deborah Byrd

July 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.