Posts by

Deborah Byrd

$40 billion a day for solar super-storms

The probability of another event like the 1859 Carrington event is - at any given time - low. But many believe it's "almost inevitable" one will occur, eventually. A new study explores the risks.

Deborah Byrd

January 20, 2017

Mars rover examines possible mud cracks

The site on Mars is called Old Soaker. It seems to have cracks, as in a dry lake bed. These may be Curiosity's 1st confirmed mud cracks. If so, they're keys to understanding an ancient, warmer, wetter Mars.

Deborah Byrd

Eleanor Imster

January 19, 2017

Moon, Jupiter, Jupiter’s moons

Jupiter and its Galilean moons with Earth's moon at the last quarter phase, captured Thursday morning.

Deborah Byrd

January 19, 2017

Space sounds film competition, 2017

Both young and established filmmakers are invited to use real sound recorded in space in a new competition launched by Queen Mary University of London. Details here.

Deborah Byrd

January 19, 2017

Solar system montage

A very cool composite of real images from an excellent astrophotographer.

Deborah Byrd

January 19, 2017

Pluto team live on Facebook January 19

The New Horizons team will be discussing the historic Pluto encounter and the spacecraft's next target in the Kuiper Belt - live on Facebook - beginning at at 4 p.m. EST (21:00 UTC).

Deborah Byrd

January 18, 2017

Speed of light

Manuel Dietrich titled this photo Speed of Light. He captured it in the Black Forest of southwest Germany.

Deborah Byrd

January 18, 2017

Hubble spies exocomets’ plunge into star

Interstellar forecast for a nearby star: Raining comets! The Hubble Space Telescope has discovered doomed, wayward comets plunging into the star HD 172555.

Deborah Byrd

January 17, 2017

Waning Venus

Between now and late March, when Venus flies between us and the sun - thereby entering our morning sky - those with telescopes will see Venus wane, like a little waning moon.

Deborah Byrd

January 15, 2017

Seeking Alpha Centauri’s unseen planets

A new agreement between the European Southern Observatory and Breakthrough Initiatives will let ESO's Very Large Telescope seek planets in the star system next door.

Deborah Byrd

January 14, 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.