Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Taurid meteor over Atlantic coast

The long-lasting 2016 Taurid meteor shower hasn't been as spectacular as last year's shower. But, like all Taurid showers, it has produced some fireballs!

Deborah Byrd

November 7, 2016

Into the thin air

Photographer Jeff Dai captured this self-portrait atop a glacier - 17,000 feet (5,300 m) above sea level - in the Himalayas of Tibet.

Deborah Byrd

November 3, 2016

Curiosity finds small meteorite on Mars

It's not the first meteorite found by a rover on Mars, and won't be the last. In fact, in several ways, Mars is a meteorite-hunter's paradise. Photos here.

Deborah Byrd

November 1, 2016

Wow! Photos of moon, Venus and Saturn

Venus and Saturn were extra close on the sky's dome this past weekend. Now the waxing moon has come back after sunset and is sweeping near them each evening.

Deborah Byrd

November 1, 2016

Airglow over Sweden

Airglow is the light of excited atoms, high in Earth's atmosphere.

Deborah Byrd

October 31, 2016

6.6-magnitude earthquake rocks Italy

Felt in Rome, it's the strongest earthquake to hit Italy in 36 years and the largest in an on-going sequence of damaging earthquakes in Italy in 2016.

Deborah Byrd

October 30, 2016

Huge new Antarctic marine reserve

The new Antarctic safe zone in the Ross Sea will encompass 600 thousand square miles (1.5 million square km) and be the largest marine protected area in the world.

Deborah Byrd

October 28, 2016

New Horizons returns last of Pluto data

Remember when they said it would take more than a year for New Horizons to send its data back from Pluto? Now, say scientists, "We have our pot of gold."

Deborah Byrd

October 28, 2016

Catching the elusive gegenschein

The gegenschein, or counterglow, is a faint brightening of the night sky in the region opposite the sun. It's sunlight scattered by interplanetary dust.

Deborah Byrd

October 28, 2016

Earth-sized planets with lots of water

A computer simulation suggests that low-mass stars might be a good place to look for Earth-sized exoplanets, in their stars' habitable zones.

Deborah Byrd

October 27, 2016

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.