Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Once a day, Io’s atmosphere collapses

Jupiter's moon Io has active volcanos spewing gases into its thin atmosphere. As Io moves in and out of Jupiter's shadow, its atmosphere collapses and then repairs itself.

Deborah Byrd

August 3, 2016

Star lashes companion with mystery ray

Astronomers thought the star AR Scorpii was a lone variable star. Now they realize it's a dwarf star bombarding its companion with relativistic electrons.

Deborah Byrd

August 2, 2016

Time to see the starlit Milky Way

New moon is August 2, 2016. The next few evenings are a wonderful time to go out in the country for an edgewise view into our own galaxy, the Milky Way.

Deborah Byrd

August 2, 2016

Why no young stars at Milky Way center?

An international team of astronomers finds that that there's a large region around the center of our home galaxy that's devoid of young stars.

Deborah Byrd

August 1, 2016

Solar eruption larger than Earth

Here is gas arching up from the surface of the sun, sculpted by the sun's magnetic fields. These great features are called prominences.

Deborah Byrd

August 1, 2016

Earth’s shadow, sea and land

Earth's shadow is a blue-gray line ascending in the east each evening, as the sun sinks below the western horizon. Belt of Venus is a pink line above the shadow.

Deborah Byrd

July 27, 2016

Watchers spy rare white whale Migaloo

Not all experts agree that the white whale spotted off Australia's east coast on Tuesday was the beloved Migaloo. But most are adamant it was.

Deborah Byrd

July 27, 2016

Where are Ceres’ large craters?

There's a curious lack of big craters on the dwarf planet Ceres, largest body in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Why?

Deborah Byrd

July 26, 2016

New China telescope to search for aliens

A 1,600-foot (500-meter) dish called FAST - in southwest China - is now the world's largest radio telescope. It's expected to be fully operational in September.

Deborah Byrd

July 26, 2016

Sky and Earth time-lapse, New Zealand

A new time-lapse video from New Zealand, showing both its dramatic landscape and the sky above. It's called "The Edge of Perception."

Deborah Byrd

July 26, 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.