Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Northern lights over Wisconsin last night

Earth's geomagnetic field flared into a moderate storm last night, causing northern lights sightings as far south as the northern U.S.

Deborah Byrd

June 7, 2013

Oldest primate skeleton provides clues to early humans

Oldest known primate skeleton found in China in 2002. While not part of human lineage, this little creature does provide tantalizing clues to our earliest history.

Deborah Byrd

June 6, 2013

New mosaic from Mars Express: Ancient flood plain on Mars

ESA has released two new images of Kasei Valles, an ancient vast flood plain on Mars. Mars Express spacecraft, launched 10 years ago this week, acquired them.

Deborah Byrd

June 6, 2013

Managing wild horse and burro populations in a human world

Many find the story of free-ranging horses on U.S. federal lands heart-breaking. Others don't. A new report recommends birth control for wild horse populations.

Deborah Byrd

June 5, 2013

Scarred landscape in Oklahoma from May 20 tornado

Track left behind by ES-5 Moore-Newcastle, Oklahoma tornado on May 20, 2013. The tornado took at least 24 lives, injured hundreds and damaged 13,000 structures.

Deborah Byrd

June 5, 2013

This morning’s moon

The June 5, 2013 moon. It's now waning and in the sky only before dawn. Soon, though, the moon will be back in the evening sky, waxing toward a supermoon.

Deborah Byrd

June 5, 2013

See this blurry blue dot? It’s the lightest exoplanet imaged so far

The new planet - designated HD 95086 b - has a predicted mass of only four to five times that of Jupiter.

Deborah Byrd

June 3, 2013

If you made a sphere of all Earth’s water, how big would it be?

Earth is the water planet. What if you could take all of the water on Earth and form it into a sphere? How big would it be?

Deborah Byrd

June 3, 2013

A last look at Jupiter

The giant planet Jupiter is about to disappear into the sunset. Jean-Baptiste Feldmann captured Jupiter, along with Venus and Mercury, on June 1.

Deborah Byrd

June 3, 2013

Aurora over Oregon’s Mt. Hood this weekend

Beautiful aurora seen in Oregon on Friday night (May 31-June 1). Ben Coffman was at Trillium Lake, near Mount Hood, when he captured it.

Deborah Byrd

June 1, 2013

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.