Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Last night’s moon and Jupiter

The EarthSky community comes through again! Wonderful photos of the moon and Jupiter on June 3, 2017, from around the world.

Deborah Byrd

June 4, 2017

Cool preview of Pluto craft’s next target

On June 3, July 10 and July 17, astronomers will be watching as tiny MU69 in the outer solar system - the New Horizons spacecraft's next target - occults or blocks the light from 3 different stars.

Deborah Byrd

June 3, 2017

Close conjunction of Venus and Uranus

Planet Venus passed 1.8 degrees south of planet Uranus on June 2, 2017, and Eliot Herman in Tucson captured their close conjunction.

Deborah Byrd

June 3, 2017

Juno at Jupiter: 1st science results

An update on the science coming out of the Juno spacecraft mission to the gas giant planet Jupiter - largest planet in our solar system - and some spectacular recent images.

Deborah Byrd

May 30, 2017

Full-sphere, 360-degree ISS transit

Super cool, interactive image of a transit across the sky of the International Space Station, via Project Nightflight of Austria.

Deborah Byrd

May 30, 2017

This season’s 1st noctilucent clouds

Late May is typically the start of the season for noctilucent clouds, aka night-shining clouds. A photographer in Denmark has already captured some!

Deborah Byrd

May 30, 2017

Auroras over the South Pole

A strong G3-class geomagnetic storm sparked auroras over both poles of Earth this past weekend. Hunter Davis, at the South Pole, captured images.

Deborah Byrd

May 29, 2017

Young moon returns to the west

This very special young moon marks the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Very tough to spot on May 26 from locations east of the Atlantic, but the Americas had a better shot at it.

Deborah Byrd

May 27, 2017

River of Mist, Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park, in northern California, is one of the most beautiful parks in the world. It set a record in 2016 with over 5 million visitors.

Deborah Byrd

May 23, 2017

Brown dwarf launches a vast jet

For the first time, astronomers have found a spectacularly long jet - nearly a light-year long - from a brown dwarf.

Deborah Byrd

May 22, 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.