Posts by

Deborah Byrd

NASA announces Venus rover challenge winners

The Venus rover challenge - called "Exploring Hell" - received a great response from countries around the world. NASA said the design ideas submitted will help advance the final design of a mechanical rover that might one day explore the hellish surface of Venus.

Deborah Byrd

July 9, 2020

Altair and Aquila the Eagle

Look for the star Altair in the east on July evenings. You'll recognize it for the 2 fainter stars on either side of it ... as if the 3 were "walking the Milky Way hand in hand and three abreast."

Deborah Byrd

July 8, 2020

Deneb and its constellation Cygnus the Swan

The Summer Triangle consists of 3 bright stars - Vega, Deneb and Altair - in 3 different constellations. Deneb also represents the tail of Cygnus the Swan.

Deborah Byrd

July 7, 2020

Eclipse? What eclipse?

Even experienced observers say they couldn't discern the Earth's shadow on the moon during the partial penumbral eclipse of July 4-5, 2020.

Deborah Byrd

July 5, 2020

For the 1st time, a visible light explosion from a black hole merger

In recent years, black hole mergers in our universe have been detected via ripples in spacetime known as gravitational waves. Now, for the first time, astronomers believe they've observed visible light from a black hole merger, in a peculiar 3-black-hole system.

Deborah Byrd

July 3, 2020

Vega and its constellation Lyra

The Summer Triangle consists of 3 bright stars in 3 different constellations. The brightest is Vega in the constellation Lyra.

Deborah Byrd

July 2, 2020

Dusty sunrises and sunsets over U.S. South

See the layers of dust set against this South Carolina sunset? That dust came from Africa's Sahara Desert. It traveled across the Atlantic Ocean this month to cause dusty skies across the U.S. South and into Texas.

Deborah Byrd

June 30, 2020

A monster quasar in the early universe

Astronomers just announced the most massive quasar yet known in the early universe. Its monster central black hole has a mass equivalent to 1.5 billion of our suns. The object has been given a Hawaiian name, Poniua'ena.

Deborah Byrd

June 26, 2020

Hummingbirds see colors we can only imagine

"Our experiments enabled us to get a sneak peek into what the world looks like to a hummingbird," one scientist said.

Deborah Byrd

June 23, 2020

June’s old moon and Venus

Here are 2 beautiful images of the very old moon - a waning crescent seen in the east shortly before sunrise - near the brightest planet, Venus.

Deborah Byrd

June 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.