Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Don’t miss these sunspot photos

More photos of the magnificent solitary sunspot - AR2738 - that's made its way across the sun's face over the past couple of weeks. Thanks to all in the EarthSky community who contributed photos!

Deborah Byrd

April 19, 2019

See it! Photos of Venus and Mercury

Mercury and Venus came so close in the morning sky this month that they fitted into a single binocular field. But from Earth's northerly latitudes, Mercury was hard to see! Photos here.

Deborah Byrd

April 18, 2019

Fogbow over New Mexico

An early morning fogbow over the desert in northern New Mexico.

Deborah Byrd

April 17, 2019

Check out this peregrine falcon webcam

An EarthSky community member - Jody Kuchar - alerted us to the webcam, which is based in Wisconsin. Thank you, Jody!

Deborah Byrd

April 14, 2019

Use the moon to locate the Crab on April 13

Cancer the Crab is famous, but faint. You likely won't see it tonight, in the moon's glare. But you'll see bright stars around it, and they can guide you to Cancer when the moon moves away.

Deborah Byrd

April 13, 2019

Vote to help name solar system’s largest unnamed body

2007 OR10 has one of the reddest surfaces ever found in our solar system's distant Kuiper Belt. Vote to help decide between 3 possible official names.

Deborah Byrd

April 11, 2019

Astronomers release 1st real black hole image

On April 10, in coordinated press conferences across the globe, researchers unveiled a history-making image - the 1st ever - of the "shadow" of a supermassive black hole.

Deborah Byrd

April 10, 2019

Hubble Telescope joins a Messier Marathon

There are 110 Messier objects. They are some of the sky's most beautiful nebulae, star clusters, galaxies, from a list originally published by Charles Messier in 1774. During a Messier Marathon, stargazers with telescopes try to find as many in one night as they can.

Deborah Byrd

April 10, 2019

Latest predictions for the coming solar cycle

Solar physicists predict another weak 11-year solar cycle ahead. At the same time, they expect the coming cycle to break the trend of weakening solar activity seen over the past 4 cycles, and they add there's "no indication we are currently approaching a Maunder-type minimum in solar activity."

Deborah Byrd

April 9, 2019

Photos of last night’s young moon

The young moon has returned to the west after sunset. Check out these photos from the EarthSky Community.

Deborah Byrd

April 7, 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.