Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Strongest magnets make biggest cosmic explosions

In other words, magnetars - tiny neutron stars that are the strongest magnets in the universe - power long-duration gamma-ray bursts.

Editors of EarthSky

Deborah Byrd

July 10, 2015

Galactic radio jets and dark matter

The afterglow of the Big Bang points to invisible dark matter, in places where galactic jets travel at near light speed.

Deborah Byrd

July 10, 2015

Noctilucent clouds and rising moon

These clouds - sometimes called night-shining clouds - are thought to be made of ice crystals that form on fine dust particles from meteors.

Deborah Byrd

July 10, 2015

Best photos: Venus and Jupiter after sunset

People around the world are capturing the very bright planets Venus and Jupiter as they draw closer in the west after sunset this month.

Deborah Byrd

July 8, 2015

Galactic fireworks

Here's a composite image of Messier 106, known for its strange spiral arms, located 23 million light years away.

Deborah Byrd

July 4, 2015

Stars’ spiral arms cradle baby planets

A new theoretical model focuses on the spiral arms now known to exist around some young stars. The spiral arms may enable rocky planets like Earth to form.

Tom Edathikunnel

Deborah Byrd

July 2, 2015

Mercury and more before dawn

Ken Christison caught Mercury in the east before dawn this week. He couldn't see it with the eye that day, but you might see it, if you look. Here's how.

Deborah Byrd

July 2, 2015

Are those sinkholes on Rosetta’s comet?

Sinkholes on Earth happen when a subsurface cavern collapses. On the comet, the caverns may be created by ices turning to gas, as the comet nears the sun.

Deborah Byrd

July 1, 2015

SpaceX rocket explodes after launch

It was unmanned, and astronauts aboard the International Space Station still have 4 months of supplies. But it's the third failed cargo mission to ISS in 8 months.

Deborah Byrd

June 28, 2015

Sunset over Greece

A beautiful sunset on one of the long days of summer.

Deborah Byrd

June 27, 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.