Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Zombie star eats an asteroid

What's left in a solar system whose central sun has become a white dwarf? This study shows what our own solar system might become, billions of years from now.

Deborah Byrd

November 16, 2015

Moon and planets, Alert, Nunavut, Canada

Deep into the dark months of the year - 508 miles (817 km) from the North Pole - a photo of the moon and morning planets.

Deborah Byrd

November 16, 2015

Mystery object WTF has come home

It was the first time astronomers knew just when and where a piece of space debris would reenter Earth's atmosphere. It was last night, over the Indian Ocean.

Deborah Byrd

November 14, 2015

Mars’ moon Phobos slowly falling apart

The mysterious grooves on Phobos are likely early signs of structural failure. Scientists expect the moon to be pulled apart in 30 to 50 million years.

Deborah Byrd

November 13, 2015

Lunar alpenglow and Orion

The beautiful constellation Orion, and all that surrounds it in the sky. Plus light from the setting moon on the sacred Chana Dorje peak in Tibet.

Deborah Byrd

November 12, 2015

Comet Encke pelts Mercury with meteors

This comet is the same one causing the amazing display of Taurid fireballs on Earth this year. And so our solar system begins to seem a little more familiar.

Deborah Byrd

November 11, 2015

Venus, Jupiter and Mars trails

The morning planets rising above an observatory in Malaysia.

Deborah Byrd

November 10, 2015

Swift’s 1000th gamma-ray burst

This flash of gamma rays came at 6:41 p.m. EDT on October 27. Later, astronomers learned it had traveled toward Earth for 12 billion years.

Deborah Byrd

November 9, 2015

Saturday night’s mystery light not a UFO

People in Los Angeles and various states in the U.S. West saw the mysterious light. It was confirmed as a Naval missile test off the California coast.

Deborah Byrd

November 8, 2015

Weather disasters linked to climate change

Thirty two groups of scientists in 20 countries analyzed 28 weather disasters in 2014 - and found half of them linked to human-caused climate change.

Deborah Byrd

November 7, 2015

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.