Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Watch for Venus before dawn

While watching Jupiter and the moon around April 9-11, don't forget Venus! It passed between us and the sun on March 25 and now blazes in the east before dawn.

Deborah Byrd

April 10, 2017

Jupiter and its moons

The 4 largest moons of Jupiter - called the Galilean satellites - are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Recent photos here.

Deborah Byrd

April 9, 2017

New Hubble image of Jupiter

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system - some 88,789 miles (142,984 km) at its equator. We pass between Jupiter and the sun this week, and Hubble Space Telescope looked its way.

Deborah Byrd

April 7, 2017

Red ring of light over Eastern Europe

The enormous ring of light that appeared in the night sky on April 2 - above a thunderstorm in the Czech Republic - was a rare and fleeting lightning phenomenon.

Deborah Byrd

April 6, 2017

Milky Way and zodiacal light

Which one looks brighter to you? One is the combined light of many stars. The other is the light of our own star, the sun, reflecting on grains of dust.

Deborah Byrd

April 3, 2017

Merging galaxies behaving strangely

When large and small galaxies merge, the large galaxy's central black hole typically gorges on gas and dust. But in a merging galaxy system called Was 49, the small galaxy has the feeding black hole.

Deborah Byrd

April 1, 2017

Seahorse aurora

Seeing a seahorse shape in the shifting light of an aurora is an example of "pareidolia."

Deborah Byrd

April 1, 2017

No kidding! April Fools’ Comet

Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacombini-Kresák will be closer to Earth on April 1 than it's been since its discovery. You need a telescope to see it, but there's an online viewing Friday night.

Deborah Byrd

March 31, 2017

March 28 very young moon

It's rare to see a moon less than 24 hours old, that is, 24 hours past the new phase. But North America had a shot at a younger moon on the night of March 28.

Deborah Byrd

March 29, 2017

Watch a full rotation of the moon

Wonderful video from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, a NASA spacecraft in a polar orbit around the moon since 2009. The moon as you've never seen it!

Deborah Byrd

March 28, 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.