Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Gravity lens reveals dwarf dark galaxy

A detailed analysis of an image of the gravitational lens SDP.81 has indicated the presence of a dark dwarf galaxy, four billion light-years away.

Deborah Byrd

April 17, 2016

Powerful earthquakes in Japan and Ecuador

Japan was struck by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake on April 15, 2016. One day later, on April 16, Ecuador was struck by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake.

Deborah Byrd

April 17, 2016

Why are these black hole jets aligned?

The only way for this alignment to exist is if the supermassive black holes in this part of space are all spinning in the same direction.

Deborah Byrd

April 16, 2016

Giant sunspot turns toward Earth

Sun-watchers have had their eye on giant sunspot AR2529. Check out these photos from the EarthSky community. Aurora alert for April 13!

Deborah Byrd

April 13, 2016

Mars rover up high, spies a dust devil

After making the steep-ever climb of any rover on Mars, Opportunity looked back along its own tracks toward a swirling Martian dust devil in the valley below.

Deborah Byrd

April 12, 2016

Stars strip atmospheres of super-Earths

The planets are 2-10 times as massive as Earth. They orbit near their stars and receive some 650 times the radiation that Earth receives from our sun.

Deborah Byrd

April 11, 2016

See it! Star Aldebaran near the moon

On Sunday, as seen from North America, the moon "occulted" or passed in front of the star Aldebaran. Many then saw Aldebaran near the moon Sunday evening.

Deborah Byrd

April 11, 2016

Planet 9 not affecting Cassini at Saturn

"Although we'd love it if Cassini could help detect a new planet, we don't see any perturbations in our orbit that we cannot explain with our current models," said Cassini project manager Earl Maize.

Deborah Byrd

April 9, 2016

Crab Nebula

Visible only through telescopes, the Crab Nebula - aka M1 - is all that remains of a cataclysmic supernova explosion that lit the daytime sky in A.D. 1054.

Deborah Byrd

April 9, 2016

Moon in front of Earth

It's the fully illuminated far side of the moon - the side not visible from Earth - set against the fully illuminated (dayside) of the Earth.

Deborah Byrd

April 7, 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.