Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Surprise dew drops for Spiderweb Galaxy

Astronomers using the ALMA telescope to study the Spiderweb Galaxy unexpectedly found droplets of condensed water at the galaxy's outskirts.

Deborah Byrd

July 2, 2016

Antarctic ozone shows signs of healing

Scientists at MIT and elsewhere say that the Antarctic ozone hole shows signs of shrinking. They say they expect it to close permanently by mid-century.

Deborah Byrd

July 2, 2016

This week’s old moon

A waning crescent moon - seen in the east before dawn - is called an old moon.

Deborah Byrd

July 2, 2016

Pluto spacecraft gets new mission

Plus the Dawn spacecraft will remain at Ceres, and 7 other NASA craft have the green light for continued operations through fiscal years 2017 and 2018.

Deborah Byrd

July 1, 2016

Venus returning to evening twilight

Don't expect to see Venus with the eye yet. It'll be back by mid-July, 2016. But it's up there each evening twilight now, setting shortly behind the sun.

Deborah Byrd

July 1, 2016

Tracking Venus in 2016 and ’17

Looking for Venus? It'll soon come into view in the west after sunset. This video tracks Venus from when it reappears again by mid-July, 2016 … to April, 2017.

Deborah Byrd

July 1, 2016

Known asteroids near Earth today

The first map shows all the known asteroids within one-third of Earth's distance from the sun today - Asteroid Day - June 30, 2016. Look below for a second map.

Deborah Byrd

June 30, 2016

Join astronomers in tracking asteroids

Sign up to trigger asteroid observations on a global telescope network on Asteroid Day, June 30. Anyone can help! Sign up by 00:00 UTC on July 1.

Deborah Byrd

June 30, 2016

Coral reefs hit hard by bleaching

"It’s time to shift this conversation to what can be done to conserve these amazing organisms in the face of this unprecedented global bleaching event."

Deborah Byrd

Eleanor Imster

June 28, 2016

Spectacular new images of Jupiter

Just days before the Juno spacecraft's arrival at Jupiter on July 4, astronomers unveiled these VLT images of Jupiter in the infrared.

Deborah Byrd

June 28, 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.