Posts by

Deborah Byrd

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

Parker Solar Probe sheds light on our local star

Parker Solar Probe - now in its 4th orbit around the sun - can endure heat and radiation like no previous mission. This week, 4 new studies in Nature reveal new insights about the sun's mysterious corona and solar wind.

Deborah Byrd

December 5, 2019

Chennai engineer helped find India’s Vikram lander, which crashed on the moon

In September, India hoped to become the 4th nation to soft land on the moon successfully with its Chandrayaan 2 mission. Moments before touchdown, the mission's Vikram lander crashed. Now the lander has been found again.

Deborah Byrd

December 3, 2019

What to look for on a 1st quarter moon

For those of you with telescopes, or telescopic lenses, here's something to watch for on a moon just past 1st quarter.

Deborah Byrd

December 3, 2019

Orion, the Bull, the Pleiades and a meteor

A long bright meteor, too, and on the night of the elusive Unicorn meteor shower ... but not a Unicorn meteor.

Deborah Byrd

December 2, 2019

A better way to convert dog years to human years

Researchers collected DNA samples from 104 Labrador retrievers over a 16-year period. They compared changes in their DNA samples against DNA previously collected from humans. The result? A better sense of what a "dog year" really means.

Deborah Byrd

December 1, 2019

Photos: This week’s moon, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn

What a week it's been for planets! Jupiter and Venus - the 2 brightest planets - were in conjunction last Sunday. Then the moon swept through the evening sky, passing Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. Thanks to all in the EarthSky Community who contributed photos! A sampling here ... Links to more in this post.

Deborah Byrd

November 30, 2019

Epic cosmic explosion detected via faster-than-light particles

Space-based observatories detected a violent explosion in a galaxy billions of light-years away. It became the brightest source of high-energy cosmic gamma rays seen so far. Specialized Earth-based telescopes detected it via faster-than-light particles cascading through Earth's atmosphere.

Deborah Byrd

November 24, 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.