Posts by

Deborah Byrd

An impending Milky Way collision is already giving birth to new stars

A newly found young star cluster on the outskirts of our Milky Way seems to be made of material from the Magellanic Clouds. It appears the collision between the Clouds and our Milky Way may already be starting.

Deborah Byrd

Eleanor Imster

January 9, 2020

These 2 stars in Sagitta will merge and explode by this century’s end

When the 2 stars in the binary star system V Sagittae come together - around the year 2083, astronomers say - they'll create a star explosion called a nova. Then V Sagittae will temporarily outshine all the stars in our Milky Way galaxy.

Deborah Byrd

January 8, 2020

Magnitude 6.4 earthquake shakes Puerto Rico

USGS reports that the strong earthquake in Puerto Rico this morning was "widely felt." Strong to very strong shaking occurred across parts of southern Puerto Rico closest to the event, and moderate shaking occurred across the rest of the island.

Deborah Byrd

January 7, 2020

Polar stratospheric clouds over Sweden

Northern Europe had an amazing display of these clouds this week.

Deborah Byrd

January 2, 2020

Photos of December 26 ‘ring of fire’ eclipse

The December 26, 2019, annular or 'ring of fire' solar eclipse was viewed across a narrow track that started at sunrise in Saudi Arabia and ended at sunset over the North Pacific Ocean.

Deborah Byrd

December 26, 2019

Betelgeuse is ‘fainting’ but (probably) not about to explode

The well-known bright star Betelgeuse - a red giant star, famous for its name and for the fact that it'll explode someday - has become noticeably dimmer since late October. Here's what astronomers think is happening.

Deborah Byrd

December 23, 2019

Don’t miss these cyclones on Jupiter, and more

The Juno spacecraft's last perijove - or closest point to Jupiter - resulted in a treasure trove of images. Its next perijove is coming up on December 26. Get updated here, and view Juno's latest amazing images.

Deborah Byrd

December 22, 2019

Hefty black hole holds new record for high mass

Astronomers have discovered a black hole with 40 billion solar masses in the heart of the Abell 85 cluster of galaxies.

Deborah Byrd

December 8, 2019

Interstellar object closest to the sun today

The fascinating object 2I/Borisov has been steadily brightening as it nears its encounter with our sun. It'll pass closest to the sun on December 8, 2019, then flee again toward interstellar space.

Deborah Byrd

December 8, 2019

Astronomers catch a comet outburst

Remember comet 46P/Wirtanen? It was a bright comet about this time last year. Around the time it swept near the Earth and sun, the comet entered the field of view NASA’s TESS planet-hunter. And boom! It underwent an outburst, caught by TESS.

Deborah Byrd

Eleanor Imster

December 6, 2019

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.