Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Light pillars over northern Sweden

As winter comes to the far north, sky conditions may be just right to produce a beautiful light phenomenon called "light pillars."

Deborah Byrd

November 12, 2014

Extraterrestrial oceanography reveals depths of Titan sea

The Cassini spacecraft - which has been orbiting Saturn since 2004 - used radar to sound the depths of a sea of liquid methane and ethane on Saturn's large moon Titan.

Deborah Byrd

November 11, 2014

Moonset behind trees

Increasingly golden or orange color as the moon sets is due to the fact that - as it sinks - you're seeing the moon through more and more of Earth's atmosphere.

Deborah Byrd

November 10, 2014

Three cool images of a comet’s night side

The dayside images of Rosetta's comet have been fantastic. Now, thanks to backscatter of sunlight from the comet's coma, we're seeing amazing nightside images.

Deborah Byrd

Andrew R. Brown

November 10, 2014

Spectacular meteor shower on Mars from Comet Siding Spring

Several craft orbiting Mars saw its aftermath. Also, after Siding Spring passed, the MAVEN mission got the first direct measurements of dust from an Oort Cloud comet!

Deborah Byrd

November 10, 2014

Stunning video of twin waterspouts off Ligurian coast, Italy

The twin waterspouts appeared on November 6, 2014 over the sea during a thunderstorm.

Deborah Byrd

November 10, 2014

Bright fireball seen over San Antonio, Texas

Hundreds of sky watchers in Texas reported a bright meteor or fireball Saturday night. It was said to be greenish in color and to rival the brightness of the sun!

Deborah Byrd

November 9, 2014

Coronal loops

The biggest sunspot region in more than two decades produced many impressive solar flares. Just before it disappeared, it also gave us this beautiful display of coronal loops.

Deborah Byrd

November 8, 2014

Nevada earthquake swarm continues

The swarm began on July 12 and has increased in intensity over the past several days.

Deborah Byrd

November 7, 2014

Astonishing image of planet-forming disk from ALMA

It looks like an artist's illustration, but it's a real image and it lets us glimpse the process by which planets are born in orbit around their stars.

Deborah Byrd

November 6, 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.