Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Video: Will this go faster than light?

Light speed is the ultimate speed in our universe. Why we haven't been able to build - or even conceive of - a contraption that goes faster than light.

Deborah Byrd

February 7, 2014

Curiosity rover sees Earth and moon from Mars

Earth is now an evening "star" as seen in the sky of Mars. A closer look reveals a double world.

Deborah Byrd

February 7, 2014

Places to go: Maldives is the world’s lowest country

Not one of its 1,200 mostly uninhabited coral islands measure more than six feet (1.8 meters) above sea level.

Deborah Byrd

February 7, 2014

MIT theorists predict new forms of exotic insulating materials

Topological insulators could exist in six new types not seen before. The results could help provide insights into quantum physics.

Deborah Byrd

February 6, 2014

Polaris, aka the North Star, is getting brighter

Modern interpretations of the historical data indicate that Polaris could be as much as 4.6 times brighter than it appeared to some of the earliest astronomers.

Deborah Byrd

February 5, 2014

A star set to explode

Scientists say the object nicknamed SBW1 will someday explode as a supernova.

Deborah Byrd

February 5, 2014

Where the Curiosity rover is now on Mars

The Curiosity rover is in a particularly interesting place now, creeping across a sand dune in a place called Dingo Gap on Mars. Breathtaking images!

Deborah Byrd

February 4, 2014

Full video of Felix Baumgartner’s supersonic leap from 24 miles up

Baumgartner's jump came 65 years to the day after Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in a plane. But Baumgartner went supersonic using just his body.

Deborah Byrd

February 4, 2014

Amazing new image of Saturn’s puzzling hexagon

Saturn's hexagon is a long-lived weather pattern at the planet's north pole, first spotted by Voyager 1 in 1980.

Deborah Byrd

February 4, 2014

Largest human migration takes place around now

Hundreds of millions return to their home villages around the Chinese New Year. In a week to 10 days, 3.6 billion passenger miles are clocked on trains, buses, and cars.

Deborah Byrd

February 1, 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.