Posts by

Deborah Byrd

2 views from space: San Francisco Bay

A beautiful image of San Francisco Bay via ESA's Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

Deborah Byrd

May 16, 2020

Listen to the sounds of BepiColombo’s Earth flyby

Data sonification uses data to result in a sound, so that you can better perceive what the data show. Here are several audio recordings based on data from the Mercury-bound BepiColombo spacecraft's Earth flyby on April 9.

Deborah Byrd

May 12, 2020

Cool! A Hubble photo translated to music

There's no sound in space. But - working with NASA - musicians and scientists turned a Hubble Space Telescope image of a galaxy cluster into music.

Deborah Byrd

May 10, 2020

Whoa! Comet ATLAS got brighter this week

Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) was getting brighter. Then, sadly, the Hubble Space Telescope caught it apparently disintegrating. Now ... surprise. Veteran comet observer Terry Lovejoy reported earlier today that the comet is brightening again!

Deborah Byrd

May 9, 2020

New York City sunset

A May 2020 sunset over the nearly empty streets of New York City.

Deborah Byrd

May 8, 2020

Happy Buddha Purnima on May 7

Buddha Purnima - Buddha's birthday - is celebrated on a full moon day in the month of Vaisakh (April/May) according to the Hindu calendar.

Deborah Byrd

Swami Krishnananda

May 7, 2020

Red rainbow over Bellingham, Washington

An EarthSky Community member caught an unusual red rainbow arching high into the sky.

Deborah Byrd

May 4, 2020

Milky Way could be catapulting stars into its outer halo

Scientists used computer simulations to learn that our Milky Way galaxy may sometimes launch newly forming stars into the space around itself - that is, into the halo of our galaxy - via outflows triggered by supernova explosions.

Deborah Byrd

May 3, 2020

Find the radiant point for the Eta Aquariid meteor shower

Eta Aquariid meteors radiate from the Y-shaped group of stars called the Water Jar in the constellation Aquarius. Here are 2 ways to find it.

Deborah Byrd

May 2, 2020

Many-colored crescent Venus

Maybe you didn't realize Venus can appear as a crescent, much less in rainbow colors? These effects happen when Venus draws near its time of passing between us and the sun, which it will on June 3.

Deborah Byrd

May 1, 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.