Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Astronomers date an ancient Milky Way collision

The Gaia-Enceladus dwarf galaxy slammed into our Milky Way 11.5 billion years ago. It added the mass of 50 billion suns to the Milky Way. Grand names and big numbers! Now new knowledge of this collision comes from a single bright star visible in Southern Hemisphere skies.

Deborah Byrd

January 20, 2020

These 2 outbound comets are likely from another solar system

Hyperbolic comets fly through our solar system at high speed before heading out to interstellar space, never to return. A new study from astronomers in Japan identifies 2 hyperbolic comets that likely originated outside our solar system.

Deborah Byrd

January 19, 2020

It’s probably nothing: Gravitational wave burst detected near Betelgeuse

Betelgeuse has dimmed recently, prompting some to wonder if it's about to explode. An explosion might trigger a gravitational wave burst. Betelgeuse is still there. The nearby gravitational wave burst probably means nothing for this star. Still ...

Deborah Byrd

January 15, 2020

Team builds the 1st living robots

The scientists call them "xenobots." They are tiny living robots assembled from the cells of frogs. Their creators promise advances from drug delivery to toxic waste clean-up.

Deborah Byrd

January 14, 2020

Crab Nebula: Visualize an exploded star

A new NASA video combines visible, infrared and X-ray views of the famous Crab Nebula, a star that exploded into view in our sky 1,000 years ago.

Eleanor Imster

Deborah Byrd

January 14, 2020

Rippling ice and storms at Mars’ north pole

This image is part of a wider system of depressions that spiral outward from the very center of Mars' north pole. Seen in context, you can see rippling troughs that curve and bend and slice outwards from the pole counterclockwise.

Deborah Byrd

January 14, 2020

New Hubble view of gigantic galaxy

The Hubble Telescope released this glorious image of the spiral galaxy UGC 2885 on January 6. This image was made in part as a tribute to dark matter pioneer Vera Rubin.

Eleanor Imster

Deborah Byrd

January 13, 2020

Taal Volcano in Philippines spews ash

So far, there've been no reports of casualties or major damage from the event that began Sunday. At this writing, the alert level has been raised to 4: “an imminent hazardous eruption."

Deborah Byrd

January 13, 2020

Pollen sunset over Austin, Texas

When you see concentric colored rings around a sunset, you might want to grab a tissue. This atmospheric phenomenon results from an abundance of uniformly sized pollen grains, drifting in the air.

Deborah Byrd

January 10, 2020

Mexico’s Popocatépetl volcano had a spectacular eruption this week

El Popo erupts! Well, it erupts often, but Thursday morning's eruption - which happened at sunrise - was a beauty. El Popo is the nickname for Mexico's most active volcano, Popocatépetl, near Mexico City. The eruption Thursday caused officials to issue a yellow alert.

Deborah Byrd

January 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.