And plate tectonics may be essential for life. A new theory of Earth's composition suggests another factor to consider in the search for habitable exoplanets.

Deborah Byrd

July 21, 2015

Unprecedented $100 million to SETI

Breakthrough Listen initiative, announced Monday, will scan the nearest million stars, plus stars in 100 other galaxies, for signs of an advanced civilization.

Deborah Byrd

July 20, 2015

When Earth’s continents rose above its oceans

Earth's thick continental crust - the land under our feet - may have risen from the oceans half a billion years earlier than scientists previously thought.

Tom Edathikunnel

Deborah Byrd

July 19, 2015

Mountain with a moat on Charon

Latest image release from New Horizons team shows Pluto's moon Charon a strange mountain rising out of a depression. They're calling it a “mountain in a moat.”

Deborah Byrd

July 19, 2015

See it! Moon, Venus, Jupiter, comet

What a glorious western twilight sky on the nights of July 17 and 18, 2015! Waxing moon, brightest planets, and Comet C/2014 Q1 (PANSTARRS).

Deborah Byrd

July 19, 2015

Surprising frozen plains in Pluto’s heart

The latest data from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft reveals a vast, craterless plain apparently no more than 100 million years old.

Deborah Byrd

July 17, 2015

Comet appears briefly for Southern Hemisphere

It's setting soon after the sun, but it's in the same part of the sky as this weekend's spectacular display of the moon, Venus and Jupiter.

Deborah Byrd

July 16, 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.