Posts by

Deborah Byrd

If drinking purified pee weirds you out, don’t live in a desert

Water recycling is probably a better option for California and other desert areas, assuming people can get used to the yuck factor.

Deborah Byrd

June 17, 2014

Double rainbow at sunset

Rain clouds and a sunset combined to create this beautiful double rainbow over New Mexico.

Deborah Byrd

June 17, 2014

Hubble Space Telescope to seek spacecraft target beyond Pluto

NASA okays the use of the Hubble Space Telescope in the search for an object the New Horizons spacecraft can visit after its Pluto encounter in 2015.

Deborah Byrd

June 16, 2014

Physicist and artist unveil designs for warp-speed spacecraft

The technology needed to create a faster-than-light spacecraft doesn't exist yet. Will a spacecraft like this one someday carry humans to the stars?

Deborah Byrd

June 16, 2014

Stars reflecting in Unity Pond, Maine

A four-shot panorama featuring the springtime arc of our Milky Way galaxy reflected in the calm water of Unity Pond, Maine.

Deborah Byrd

June 9, 2014

Hatta Dam, day to night

A composite image created from two photos - one day and one night - of Hatta Dam in the United Arab Emirates.

Deborah Byrd

June 7, 2014

Asteroid nicknamed Beast to fly past Earth June 8

Once they looked, astronomers began finding many asteroids near Earth. The one passing Sunday, June 8 is an especially big one, found only two months ago.

Deborah Byrd

June 6, 2014

Jet zips past moon

"Aimed at the moon and started to focus when I saw the jet enter the frame ... "

Deborah Byrd

June 6, 2014

Why do koala bears hug trees?

As temperatures climb, koalas move to cooler trees and go limp, like wet dishrags. Turns out their tree-hugging is a cooling mechanism.

Deborah Byrd

June 4, 2014

Severe storms blast through central U.S. on Tuesday

More severe weather expected Wednesday through the Ohio/Tennessee Valley region. Damaging wind and large hail. A tornado threat cannot be ruled out.

Matt Daniel

Deborah Byrd

June 4, 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.