Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Firefall at Yosemite National Park

Around this time of year - if the western horizon stays clear - the last few minutes of daylight fall perfectly on Horsetail Falls, making it glow as if on fire. Photographers call it the firefall ...

Deborah Byrd

February 21, 2019

Plum Tree Blossom Festival in Tokyo

Tokyo's plum trees start blooming when it's still chilly, usually during February. The plum in Japanese culture symbolizes hope and vitality. The blossoms are a sign spring will come!

Deborah Byrd

February 19, 2019

Stonehenge mystery solved?

A new study suggests that Europe's ancient megaliths, including Stonehenge, might have stemmed from a single hunter-gatherer culture in what's now northwestern France.

Deborah Byrd

February 17, 2019

See it! Photos of speedy comet Iwamoto

A selection of EarthSky community photos of a fast-moving, faint comet that came nearest to Earth - 28 million miles away - on February 12.

Deborah Byrd

February 16, 2019

Milky Way ascending before dawn

This is the time of year when - after a hiatus behind the sun - the center of the Milky Way returns to our sky shortly before sunup.

Deborah Byrd

February 15, 2019

ExoMars rover named for Rosalind Franklin

The European Space Agency has named its life-seeking ExoMars rover - due to launch in 2020 - for Rosalind Franklin, a British chemist who helped reveal the mysteries of DNA.

Deborah Byrd

February 12, 2019

Bird friends

The best spots for watching egrets in California are said to be the central and northern wetlands. Here's a Great Egret and Snowy Egret that like to fish together.

Deborah Byrd

February 11, 2019

Pine tree silhouettes and stars

The pine-forested mountains of Tonto National Forest in Arizona are a wonderful place to view the stars, wrote William Eager.

Deborah Byrd

February 10, 2019

Yellowstone’s Roosevelt Arch with planets

Located in Gardiner, Montana, the Roosevelt Arch is at the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park. The US Army at Fort Yellowstone oversaw its construction. Theodore Roosevelt laid down its cornerstone in 1903.

Deborah Byrd

February 9, 2019

Our Milky Way is warped

A team of astronomers has produced a 3D map of our galaxy, the 1st accurate one, they say. It reveals our galaxy's true shape as warped and twisted.

Deborah Byrd

February 5, 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.