Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Does your dog pronk?

Among wild animals, pronking may be a way of avoiding predators. But when you see an animal pronk, you can't but think it's leaping for joy.

Deborah Byrd

July 17, 2017

Watch for Venus and Aldebaran

You can't miss the star right next to brilliant planet Venus, in the east before dawn now. It's Aldebaran, the Eye of the Bull in the constellation Taurus.

Deborah Byrd

July 16, 2017

Peering toward the Cosmic Dark Ages

During the Cosmic Dark Ages, our universe matured from a primordial soup of neutral gas to the star-filled cosmos we see today. A new study probes this mysterious time.

Deborah Byrd

July 16, 2017

No commands to Mars craft in late July

NASA says to blame the sun for its moratorium on sending commands to Mars from July 22 to August 1.

Deborah Byrd

July 15, 2017

Strange radio signals from nearby star

A 10-minute observation in May of nearby star Ross 128 yielded a peculiar radio signal. Further observations planned for Sunday night.

Deborah Byrd

July 14, 2017

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

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.