Terzan 5 looks like an ordinary globular cluster, but has stars of hugely different ages. Some of its stars are similar to the Milky Way's most ancient stars.

Deborah Byrd

September 7, 2016

Brown dwarfs hiding in plain sight

Brown dwarfs are like stars, but too small to ignite fusion in their cores and so shine as stars do. If you saw one, it wouldn't be brown. It'd be magenta.

Deborah Byrd

September 7, 2016

Moon, Venus and sleeping giants

A wonderful capture of this weekend's view of the moon and planet Venus, with the famous iconic statues of Easter Island.

Deborah Byrd

September 6, 2016

Philae comet lander … found!

With only a month left of the Rosetta mission, the Philae comet lander has been found wedged into a dark crack on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.

Deborah Byrd

September 5, 2016

A quasar Milky Way six million years ago?

As the first human ancestors walked the Earth, our galaxy's central black hole might have been in the process of blasting away most of the galaxy's normal matter.

Deborah Byrd

September 4, 2016

Venus, Jupiter and the young moon

Photos from the EarthSky community of the fragile young moon sweeping past the sky's 2 brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, this weekend. Thanks to all who submitted!

Deborah Byrd

September 4, 2016

Hurricane Hermine strikes Florida coast

National Weather Service in Tallahassee reported that Hermine made landfall east of St. Marks, near Tallahassee, early Friday morning as a Category 1 hurricane.

Deborah Byrd

September 2, 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.