Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Geysers on Enceladus: Curtains not jets

Researchers thought Saturn's moon Enceladus had jet-like geysers. But the jets may be optical illusions, caused by looking through a "fold" in curtain-like geysers.

Deborah Byrd

May 9, 2015

Doomed Russian spacecraft burns up over Pacific

Roscosmos said the craft "ceased to exist" over the Pacific. The final time of reentry is 9:20 p.m. CDT (02:20 UTC), with an accuracy of plus or minus 1 minute.

Eddie Irizarry

Deborah Byrd

May 8, 2015

Mammatus clouds at sunset, over Idaho

Mammatus clouds can appear ominous. But, in a way that’s so common in nature, their dangerous aspect goes hand in hand with a magnificent beauty.

Deborah Byrd

May 8, 2015

Sun and moon halo

Composite image of a halo around the sun and, within 10 hours, a nearly full moon.

Deborah Byrd

May 7, 2015

X2 solar flare on May 5

The flare created a pulse of UV radiation and X-rays that caused a strong radio blackout over the Pacific.

Deborah Byrd

May 6, 2015

Nugget Point in New Zealand

"Sometimes you know you are in the right place at the right time. That you are doing what you are meant to be doing. That it all comes together and your heart sings."

Deborah Byrd

May 6, 2015

Huge salty aquifer found under Antarctica

Antarctica's Dry Valleys are home to briny lakes at the surface. Now scientists find liquid salt water - possibly containing unknown ecosystems - below ground.

Deborah Byrd

May 5, 2015

What bird song looks like at dawn

A meadowlark sings as dawn breaks at the Ninepipes National Wildlife Refuge in northwestern Montana.

Deborah Byrd

May 5, 2015

Dinosaur-killing asteroid caused India’s Deccan Traps?

The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago might have mobilized an existing volcanic system, causing vast lava flows.

Deborah Byrd

May 4, 2015

Crescent comet

The co-orbit around the sun of the Rosetta spacecraft and Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko lets the spacecraft see the comet, at times, in a crescent phase.

Deborah Byrd

May 3, 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.