Posts by

Deborah Byrd

The fire and the fireball

A bright meteor is called a fireball. This one creates a backdrop to clouds of smoke from an actual fire that - as of Saturday - had burned some 9,000 acres and was only 10% contained, according to Inciweb.

Deborah Byrd

June 13, 2020

Scientists to strike on June 10 #ShutDownSTEM #Strike4BlackLives

EarthSky is joining the grassroots effort to #ShutDownSTEM and #Strike4BlackLives on Wednesday, June 10. Thousands of researchers around the world have pledged to pause their work on Wednesday to support the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement and efforts against racism in the scientific community and society at large.

Deborah Byrd

June 10, 2020

Jupiter, Saturn, moon on June 6-8, plus a word about the daytime moon

If you stay up late on the nights of June 6, 7 and 8, 2020, you can glimpse the moon with the bright planets Jupiter and Saturn, ascending in the east. Or see them before daybreak.

Deborah Byrd

June 6, 2020

Despite the full moon, comet Lemmon!

This faint comet - Comet C/2019 U6 (Lemmon) - is headed toward its perihelion, or closest point to the sun, on June 18. It's currently visible from the Southern Hemisphere, via strong binoculars, with a dark sky.

Deborah Byrd

June 5, 2020

Farewell, Venus

Photos - taken through telescopes, or with other optical aid - from the EarthSky community. The brightest planet Venus is now in a thin crescent phase as viewed from Earth. Venus will go between us and the sun on June 3.

Deborah Byrd

Claudia Crowley

May 31, 2020

Markarian’s Chain of galaxies

Markarian's Chain forms part of the Virgo galaxy cluster. When viewed from Earth, the galaxies lie along a smoothly curved line. Armenian astronomer Benjamin Markarian discovered these galaxies' common motion in the early 1960s. American astronomer Fred Espenak captured this image.

Deborah Byrd

May 24, 2020

Have you seen Venus and Mercury? Photos here

Wow! Thanks, everybody, for the wonderful Venus and Mercury photos! These 2 worlds have been nearest each other this week for all of 2020. A selection of photos from our community here, and many more at EarthSky Community Photos.

Deborah Byrd

May 22, 2020

One of Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids has a comet-like tail

Trojan asteroids orbit 60 degrees ahead of and behind Jupiter, in its wide orbit at 5 times Earth's distance from the sun. Now the 1st Trojan asteroid has been found with a comet-like tail.

Deborah Byrd

May 21, 2020

Crescent Venus, moon, sun

Three crescents - Venus, the moon, the eclipsed sun - all at about the same phase.

Deborah Byrd

May 21, 2020

Global warming is making hurricanes stronger

As Earth gets warmer, hurricanes are expected to get stronger. A study of 40 years of satellite data suggests it's already happening.

Deborah Byrd

May 20, 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.