Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Earth and moon between Saturn’s rings

Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn obtained this new image April 12. The craft was 870 million miles (1.4 billion km) from Earth.

Deborah Byrd

April 21, 2017

Cassini’s final encounter with Titan

Cassini's final closest approach to Saturn's moon Titan is scheduled for April 21 at 11:08 p.m. PDT (2:08 a.m. EDT or 6:08 UTC on April 22).

Deborah Byrd

April 21, 2017

Video: Cassini’s final crazy engineering

During Cassini's close pass of Titan on April 21-22, Titan's gravity will bend Cassini's orbit around Saturn, shrinking it slightly, so that instead of passing just outside the rings, the spacecraft will begin its Grand Finale dives just inside the rings. Wow!

Deborah Byrd

April 21, 2017

Growing crack in Larsen-C ice shelf

The European Space Agency is monitoring the progress of the crack in Antarctica's Larsen-C ice shelf. The crack is eventually expected to produce a massive iceberg.

Deborah Byrd

April 20, 2017

Photos of close asteroid 2014 JO25

Large asteroid 2014 JO25 safely passed Earth on April 19, 2017 at some 1,098,733 miles (1,768,239 km) or about 4.6 times the distance from Earth to the moon. Images from the EarthSky community here.

Deborah Byrd

April 20, 2017

Watch space debris conference online

ESA invites you to watch the opening address and more from the European Conference on Space Debris. It'll begin April 18 at 09:30 CEST.

Deborah Byrd

April 17, 2017

Lyrid meteor shower has begun

The annual Lyrid meteor shower is active each year from about April 16 to 25.

Deborah Byrd

April 17, 2017

California superbloom from space

Thanks to years of drought followed by above-average rainfall, California is enjoying a fantastic wildflower superbloom in 2017. See before-and-after space images here.

Deborah Byrd

April 13, 2017

A star whose magnetic field flipped

Tau Boötis was the first star, other than our sun, ever seen to undergo a magnetic field reversal. This post also includes 2 great videos about our sun's magnetic reversals.

Bruce McClure

Deborah Byrd

April 13, 2017

First-ever image of dark matter?

The scientists say their image, which combines images from more than 23,000 galaxy pairs, confirms dark matter's existence. Will other astronomers agree?

Deborah Byrd

April 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.