Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Truck-sized asteroid swept within 2,000 miles on Sunday

Asteroid ZTF0DxQ - now officially labeled 2020 QG - now holds the record for the closest flyby of Earth. It swept just 2,000 miles (3,000 km) from Earth's surface, or about a quarter of the diameter of Earth itself.

Deborah Byrd

August 19, 2020

A clear night over Georgia

Deborah Byrd

August 19, 2020

Mysterious dimming of Betelgeuse explained?

Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope revealed a large amount of dense hot gas moving outwards through Betelgeuse’s extended atmosphere. This gas might have cooled and formed a dust cloud that partially blocked the star's light as seen from Earth, earlier this year.

Deborah Byrd

August 16, 2020

Ceres’ bright spots come from salty water below

The mysterious bright spots on Ceres caused a sensation when the Dawn spacecraft first spied them in 2015. Now, they're known to be salt deposits from a recent or ongoing percolation of briny water from a large reservoir in Ceres' interior.

Deborah Byrd

August 14, 2020

Hello, sunrise!

First sunrise in 4 months at Concordia Research Station in Antarctica, about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from the geographic south pole.

Deborah Byrd

August 14, 2020

Surprising number of exoplanets could host life

A new study suggests that distant stars in our Milky Way galaxy might be orbited by as many as 7 Earth-like planets, in the absence of a gas giant planet like Jupiter.

Eleanor Imster

Deborah Byrd

August 11, 2020

Not a rainbow, not an iridescent cloud

There are many colored arcs in the sky. This photographer captured one commonly seen in summer, when the sun is high in the sky.

Deborah Byrd

August 11, 2020

See it! This weekend’s moon and Mars

Mars is getting exciting - bright now, and very red - and heading toward more brightness and more intense color by October. This past weekend, the moon and Mars were close. Photos here.

Deborah Byrd

August 10, 2020

Mars big as the moon on August 27?

We can't believe it. One of the most popular articles at EarthSky this week is the one asking, will Mars be as big as the moon on August 27? Short answer … no. This hoax has been circulating since 2003.

Deborah Byrd

August 7, 2020

Forecasters bump up hurricane predictions for 2020

On Wednesday, forecasters at Colorado State increased their prediction for the number of named storms in the Atlantic in 2020 to 24 named storms and 5 major hurricanes.

Deborah Byrd

August 6, 2020

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.