Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Celestial spiral is a double star

It's not a spiral galaxy. It's a double star system seen from Earth to create a spiral shape in a shell of gas.

Deborah Byrd

March 16, 2017

Closest-yet star to black hole

Astronomers have found a star that whips around a black hole about twice an hour. That's a very close orbit, possibly the tightest orbital dance ever witnessed for a star and black hole.

Deborah Byrd

March 15, 2017

Venus as a crescent world

Photos from the EarthSky community of the planet Venus - next planet inward from Earth in orbit around the sun - in early 2017, in a crescent phase.

Deborah Byrd

March 15, 2017

See it! Moon sweeps past Jupiter

Monday and Tuesday nights, the waning moon and this planet were near each other and the 2 brightest things in the night sky. Photos from the EarthSky community.

Deborah Byrd

March 15, 2017

Back-to-back Mars dust storms

In the past few weeks, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has reported 2 dust storms that sprang up in Mars northern hemisphere, then blew up to continent-size upon shifting southward.

Deborah Byrd

March 14, 2017

Cloud shadow on nearby clouds

Like all objects illuminated by sunlight, clouds cast a shadow.

Deborah Byrd

March 13, 2017

When galaxies collide, black holes eat

When our Milky Way galaxy and neighboring Andromeda galaxy collide, supermassive black holes will have a feast!

Deborah Byrd

March 12, 2017

Cassini shows strange Saturn moon Pan

Wonderful Cassini spacecraft - now in its final year orbiting Saturn - shows us a tiny, walnut-shaped shepherding moon.

Deborah Byrd

March 12, 2017

Vibrant sundog

A sundog - a piece of a larger halo around the sun or moon - is caused by tiny ice crystals in the upper air.

Deborah Byrd

March 11, 2017

Sliding stone, Death Valley

Here's a beautiful image of a sliding (or sailing or slithering) stone at Death Valley's famous Racetrack Playa. Cat Connor caught it on Christmas Day 2014.

Deborah Byrd

March 10, 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.