Posts by

Deborah Byrd

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

Iridium flare over Georgia

Iridium flares come from iridium communications satellites. They happen when an antenna from one of these satellites reflects sunlight directly down at Earth.

Deborah Byrd

December 9, 2014

Tunnel View in Yosemite National Park, at night

Toby Harriman Photography captured this magnificent photo in November 2014, at Yosemite National Park in California.

Deborah Byrd

December 7, 2014

Why scientists want to find a pulsar orbiting a black hole

Discovering a pulsar orbiting a black hole is considered 'an authentic holy grail’ for testing Einstein's theory of gravity.

Deborah Byrd

December 5, 2014

Venus, west after sunset

Venus isn’t easy to see now in the sunset direction, shortly after the sun goes down. But keep watching! One evening soon, you’ll spot it.

Deborah Byrd

December 5, 2014

Rare and wonderful full-circle rainbow

In theory, any rainbow can be a full circle, but - from Earth's surface - we typically see only the top part of a rainbow.

Deborah Byrd

December 4, 2014

Astronomers and citizen scientists discover a strange galaxy

J1649+2635 is one of only four galaxies known to have both spiral arms and jets of subatomic particles propelled outward from its core at nearly light speed.

Deborah Byrd

December 3, 2014

How galaxies evolve in the cosmic web

Galaxies in thread-like filaments within the cosmic web have a much higher chance of actively forming stars. So galaxy evolution was accelerated in the filaments.

Deborah Byrd

December 3, 2014

Glacier melt rate in West Antarctica tripled in last decade

A comprehensive, 21-year analysis reconciling four different techniques. A word about this year's sea ice extent. And why is info about Antarctica so hard to come by?

Deborah Byrd

December 3, 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.