Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Turquoise-tinted plumes in Large Magellanic Cloud

This image - made with a special filter - shows the outskirts of a much-studied nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, called the Tarantula Nebula.

Deborah Byrd

November 1, 2014

Star system like a wheel within a wheel

Scientists found dust and gas flowing from an outer disk around a star toward a possible second, smaller disk around a second star. Planets may be forming here!

Deborah Byrd

October 31, 2014

Success in the search for quiet, distant quasars

If quasars weren't so luminous, we couldn't see them so far away in space and time. But how about modest quasars, also far away? Astronomers say they've found some.

Deborah Byrd

October 29, 2014

Spectacular explosion at launch for Antares rocket

Watch the NASATV live broadcast of the catastrophic launch failure. The rocket was bound for the International Space Station, loaded with supplies.

Deborah Byrd

October 28, 2014

Exciting Rosetta space mission inspires a magical short film

A very good 7-minute film, called Ambition. It's not like any film about space exploration you've ever seen. The Rosetta comet mission lies at its heart.

Deborah Byrd

October 28, 2014

Video: Lightning photobombs a double rainbow

Amazing double rainbow arcs across the sky. Lightning gets in on the act.

Deborah Byrd

October 26, 2014

See it! Photos of October 23 solar eclipse

Favorite photos of the beautiful partial solar eclipse on October 23. 2014. Thank you to all who submitted to EarthSky.org or posted at EarthSky Facebook or G+.

Deborah Byrd

October 24, 2014

Starquake sets magnetar ringing like a bell

Astronomers have observed signals from a highly magnetized neutron star, indicating starquakes that set the neutron star ringing like a bell.

Deborah Byrd

October 23, 2014

Sun may delay plans for sending humans to Mars

Less solar activity indicates a weaker magnetic field on the sun. A weak field lets cosmic rays into the solar system, posing a radiation hazard for astronauts.

Deborah Byrd

October 23, 2014

Orionid meteors 2014

The Orionid meteor shower peaked on the morning of Tuesday, October 21, 2014. But you might still see meteors in this annual shower.

Deborah Byrd

October 21, 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.