Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Milky Way over New Zealand

The core of the Milky Way is coming back into view in the evening. Here's a preview, from a glorious Southern Hemisphere vantage point.

Deborah Byrd

May 1, 2017

Simulating the smallest ring world

Chariklo is the smallest space body known to have rings. A new supercomputer simulation by Japanese researchers suggests a life expectancy for the rings of only 1 to 100 years.

Deborah Byrd

April 30, 2017

Io’s shadow on Jupiter

Here's is Jupiter's closest moon, Io, casting its shadow on Jupiter's cloud tops. Another moon, Europa, is to the left.

Deborah Byrd

April 29, 2017

How Kepler saw Neptune

New video from NASA depicting the observations of our solar system's 8th planet, Neptune, by the famous planet-hunting Kepler telescope.

Deborah Byrd

April 29, 2017

Landslides on dwarf planet Ceres

A recent study shows that landslides are common on the dwarf planet Ceres and reinforces the idea that Ceres has a lot of water ice.

Deborah Byrd

April 28, 2017

New Project Skyglow video and giveaway

The guys at Project Skyglow have done some amazing videos, and they have a new book out. It's not too late to enter their giveaway, honoring International Dark Sky Week.

Deborah Byrd

April 28, 2017

Black dog, rising moon, San Juan Islands

This black dog's name is Smokey. He belongs to James Younger, who captured this photo April 19, 2017 while camping at the San Juan Islands in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

Deborah Byrd

April 26, 2017

Happy World Penguin Day

Antarctica has 12 million penguins and 5 penguin species, according to a new report released today. But at least 2 penguin species have recently and significantly declined.

Deborah Byrd

April 25, 2017

Raining stars

Although they're called shooting stars, meteors aren't star-related. They're really comet dust. Nature photographer John Ashley created this composite image of the Lyrid meteor shower peak April 22.

Deborah Byrd

April 25, 2017

Cassini completes final, fateful Titan flyby

This was Cassini's 127th Titan flyby. The craft passed at an altitude of about 608 miles (979 km) above the moon's surface. Cassini is now in position for its daring Grand Finale.

Deborah Byrd

April 24, 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.