Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Sunspot, and chance of weekend storms

Experts say there's a 60% chance this weekend of geomagnetic storms, possibly causing auroras. Plus, over the past couple of days, a lone sunspot has grown rapidly!

Deborah Byrd

July 7, 2017

Solar minimum is coming

Low ebb in the 11-year sunspot cycle expected 2019-2020. Want some basic information about the sunspot cycle and its effects? Watch this NASA ScienceCast.

Eleanor Imster

Deborah Byrd

July 7, 2017

Breathtaking night-shining clouds

Wonderful video showing noctilucent - or night-shining - clouds recorded on July 1 and 4. These clouds shine in the darkness, typically on summer nights.

Deborah Byrd

July 7, 2017

See the moon, Saturn, Antares in a line

Golden Saturn, 6th planet outward from the sun, is the farthest world you can see easily with the unaided eye. Antares is a bright, reddish star.

Deborah Byrd

July 7, 2017

How do planets form after star death?

Supernova explosions destroy pre-existing planets. Yet astronomers observe planets orbiting tiny, dense, essentially dead neutron stars left behind by supernovae. How do the planets get there?

Deborah Byrd

July 6, 2017

Earthquake rocks Montana early Thursday

The 5.8-magnitude earthquake in western Montana took place just after midnight, local time. It woke people up near the epicenter and was felt throughout the region. Expect aftershocks.

Deborah Byrd

July 6, 2017

A day at the beach

A July 4 day at the beach, with a circumhorizon arc overhead.

Deborah Byrd

July 6, 2017

Scorpion rising

Low-lying constellation Scorpius the Scorpion rising behind some of the flora in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California.

Deborah Byrd

July 5, 2017

Juno to buzz Jupiter’s Great Red Spot

On July 10, we'll get humanity's first up-close and personal view of the spot -- a storm monitored since 1830 and possibly existing for more than 350 years.

Deborah Byrd

July 4, 2017

Southern Cross over Indonesia

Camping under the Southern Cross in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, Indonesia.

Deborah Byrd

July 3, 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.