Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Last night’s successful SpaceX launch

After standing down due to high winds, SpaceX chose March 16 for its EchoStar XXIII launch. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket delivered this commercial communications satellite for EchoStar Corporation to a geostationary transfer orbit.

Deborah Byrd

March 17, 2017

Where was dark matter in the early universe?

Surprising new observations of distant galaxies suggest that dark matter was less influential in the early universe than it is today.

Deborah Byrd

March 17, 2017

Weekend moon near Antares and Saturn

The moon is waning, appearing later each night. It's in a pretty inconspicuous place in our sky. But if you start watching these objects now, you'll get a preview of their excellent show coming up this June.

Deborah Byrd

March 17, 2017

Great Barrier Reef is dying

Authors of a cover story in journal Nature this week called for immediate global action to reduce the magnitude of climate warming in order to secure a future for coral reefs.

Deborah Byrd

March 16, 2017

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

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.