Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Comet Finlay is in outburst!

With a small 'scope or large binoculars, you can catch Comet Finlay. It'll be near Mars on December 23 and 24. Cool photo opportunity for those equipped to catch it!

Deborah Byrd

December 18, 2014

So long, Venus Express!

ESA lost full contact a few weeks ago. The spacecraft is expected to fall into Venus' thick atmosphere and likely be destroyed in the coming weeks.

Deborah Byrd

December 16, 2014

Questions of life on Mars revive with methane spike

Curiosity rover has now measured a dramatic spike in methane, an organic chemical, in the Martian air, plus other organic molecules in a Martian rock.

Deborah Byrd

December 16, 2014

Probing the Big Bang of bird evolution

Big bird news! A consortium of 200 scientists in 20 countries has released its first results on the origins and diversity of birds. Overview plus video here.

Deborah Byrd

December 15, 2014

See it! Best photos of 2014’s Geminid meteor shower

Many commented that the 2014 Geminid meteor shower was the best meteor shower they'd seen in awhile. Thank you to all who posted photos!

Deborah Byrd

December 14, 2014

Rosetta’s comet fuels debate on origin of Earth’s oceans

There's three times the concentration of deuterium-enriched water (heavy water) in the vapor from Rosetta's comet as in the water on Earth.

Deborah Byrd

December 11, 2014

Buckyballs in space born in molecular striptease?

Oo la la! Big organic compounds called PAHs may "strip" to create buckyballs in space.

Deborah Byrd

December 11, 2014

Mars’ Mount Sharp built of lake sediments?

The Curiosity rover on Mars is exploring the base of Mount Sharp, within the Gale Crater. Did the crater hold a series of lakes? Did lake sediments create the mountain?

Deborah Byrd

December 11, 2014

The father, the son and the moon

Silhouette of statue in Sweden, under a waning moon, by a master sky photographer.

Deborah Byrd

December 10, 2014

Asteroid 2014 UR116 is no threat to Earth

Calculations by NASA and Harvard say the closest the asteroid will get to Earth is about 2.7 million miles - over 10 times the moon's distance - in April 2047.

Deborah Byrd

December 10, 2014

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.