Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Watch the Webb get its instruments

This new space telescope is expected to revolutionize our view of the cosmos, much as its predecessor the Hubble Space Telescope did.

Deborah Byrd

June 9, 2016

Asteroid 2016 LT1 sweeps close June 7

The asteroid - discovered June 4 - is about 20 feet wide and will pass within about 100,000 miles (153,000 km) this afternoon according to clocks in North America.

Deborah Byrd

June 7, 2016

Did humans evolve with grasslands?

Scientists have uncovered a 24-million-year record of vegetation in the region of east Africa where early humans likely evolved.

Deborah Byrd

June 7, 2016

Golden veil cloaks a newborn star

This beautiful new Hubble image shows a young star just emerging from its cloud of gas and dust.

Deborah Byrd

June 7, 2016

Pluto’s heart: Icy and alive

Computer simulations show that the heart-shaped Sputnik Planum region on Pluto is covered with icy, churning, convective "cells," less than a million years old.

Deborah Byrd

June 6, 2016

A cloud in Pluto’s twilight zone?

Remember this image of Pluto, backlit? Careful analysis of it may have revealed the only cloud found so far in this world's atmosphere.

Deborah Byrd

June 6, 2016

Ice ages, and ice at Mars’ polar cap

Confirmation that Mars came out of its last ice age 400,000 years ago. Plus insights into the water cycle on Mars, a possible help to future space colonists.

Deborah Byrd

June 4, 2016

Smoke trail from fireball over Arizona

NASA said the June 2 meteor was the largest seen by its camera network in 8 years. It identified this smoke trail as what the meteor left behind. Video of the fireball here.

Deborah Byrd

June 3, 2016

Help astronomers observe Tabby’s Star

They're using Kickstarter to raise funds needed to unravel one of astronomy's biggest mysteries. Is the star KIC 8462852 surrounded by an alien megastructure?

Deborah Byrd

June 2, 2016

Lake Mead reaches a record low

Lake Mead - largest U.S. reservoir, as measured by water capacity - has reached a record low. Space images from 2016 and 1984 show its highs and lows.

Deborah Byrd

June 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.