Posts by

Deborah Byrd

And now, a word from Juno at Jupiter

Juno arrived at Jupiter in 2016. It's in a 53-day orbit around the planet. Close sweeps past the planet are called "perijoves" (peri means "near"). Here are some spectacular images from the most recent sweep, Perijove 25, in February.

Deborah Byrd

Eleanor Imster

March 6, 2020

I saw an upside-down rainbow. What is it?

Circumzenithal arcs have been described as upside-down rainbows or "a grin in the sky." They're wonderful! See photos here.

Deborah Byrd

March 4, 2020

Western New York digging out from intense snow and ice

An intense storm and lake-effect snow walloped upstate New York - especially rural areas in western New York - in late February 2020. On the shores of Lake Erie, the storm created a dramatic display of thick, windblown ice on homes and buildings.

Deborah Byrd

March 2, 2020

Venus phases: Late 2019 and early ’20

This video tracks a telescopic view of Venus from when it came into easy view in our evening sky - around October 2019 - to May 2020. It shows how Venus wanes in phase as the planet's disk size increases, and explains why.

Deborah Byrd

February 29, 2020

New image of Earth’s new mini-moon

Late in the day on Thursday, astronomers released this new image of 2020 CD3, a small object now confirmed to be orbiting Earth temporarily. It was apparently captured into Earth orbit 3 years ago. Its fate, here.

Deborah Byrd

February 27, 2020

African dust bombards the Canary Islands

These hot, dust-laden winds are known as “la calima” and happen most often in winter. They can blow at up to 75 mph (120 kph). The dust kicked up last weekend in Africa drifted over the Canary Islands, shutting down airports and stranding travelers.

Deborah Byrd

February 24, 2020

Photos: When the moon hid Mars

The moon will cover Mars 5 times in 2020, but the occultation on February 18, 2020, was the only one accessible to viewers in much of North and Central America. Photos from the EarthSky Community here.

Deborah Byrd

February 19, 2020

Study examines effects of nuclear war on Earth’s oceans

Researchers concluded that even a contained nuclear conflict would take a toll on Earth's oceans and potentially disrupt the human food web. "The impacts are huge," a scientist said.

Deborah Byrd

February 10, 2020

Liftoff! Solar Orbiter launches successfully

ESA's sun-exploring Solar Orbiter will be the first spacecraft ever to fly over the sun's poles. It'll study the origin of the solar wind, which has the potential to affect earthly technologies.

Deborah Byrd

February 10, 2020

Pluto’s icy heart makes winds blow

A “beating heart” of frozen nitrogen controls Pluto’s winds and may give rise to features on its surface, according to a new study.

Deborah Byrd

February 9, 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.