Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Black Moon supermoon on July 31

Don't listen to people who tell you that supermoons are hype. Supermoons aren't hype; they're folklore, like Blue Moons or Black Moons or the beloved Harvest Moons.

Bruce McClure

Deborah Byrd

July 31, 2019

The black hole disk that shouldn’t exist

Astronomers didn't expect to see a thin disk around the supermassive black hole at the center of galaxy NGC 3147, some 130 million light-years away. They're using Einstein’s theories of relativity to understand the velocities involved, and the intensity of the black hole's pull.

Deborah Byrd

July 27, 2019

Draco, great Dragon of the north

Meet Rastaban and Eltanin - lovely, romantic names for Dragon stars! These 2 stars represent the Eyes of the Dragon.

Deborah Byrd

July 23, 2019

Gaia starts mapping our Milky Way’s bar

"We knew the Milky Way had a bar, like other barred spiral galaxies. But we only had indirect indications from the motions of stars and gas. This is the first time we see the galactic bar in 3D space, based on geometric measurements of stellar distances."

Deborah Byrd

July 21, 2019

Video: Moon hoax not

Don't believe the moon landings were real? Go ahead. Watch this.

Deborah Byrd

July 19, 2019

Big earthquakes today in Australia and Indonesia

The 2 strong earthquakes of July 14, 2019 - the first a 6.6-magnitude off the western coast of Australia and the second a 7.3-magnitude in Indonesia - happened on or near the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Deborah Byrd

July 14, 2019

Rare lava lake seen from space

Satellite images confirm that this rare lava lake is a continuous feature at the top of Mount Michael, in the South Atlantic's South Sandwich Islands. The temperature of the molten lava is some 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,800 degrees Fahrenheit).

Deborah Byrd

July 10, 2019

Success with a new theory of gravity

Supercomputer simulations of galaxies show that Einstein’s general theory of relativity might not be the only way to explain how gravity works or how galaxies form. The new Chameleon Theory is a possible alternative.

Deborah Byrd

July 8, 2019

Changing eclipse shadow in La Serena, Chile

This series of photos from Eliot Herman shows the progress of the moon's shadow during the July 2, 2019, total solar eclipse in Chile.

Deborah Byrd

July 8, 2019

California shakes from 2nd big quake in 2 days

An earthquake scientist said of the recent 2 big California earthquakes, "... the M6.4 was a foreshock. This was a M7.1 on the same fault ... part of the same sequence." She added it will not trigger another large earthquake outside the Ridgecrest, California, area.

Deborah Byrd

July 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.