Posts by

Deborah Byrd

More globular star clusters found at Milky Way’s heart

We think of globular clusters as being scattered far from the galaxy's central regions, in the great spherical halo of our Milky Way. But astronomers are finding them much closer to the galactic center.

Deborah Byrd

January 27, 2019

ISS transit on eclipse night

Astrophotographers watch for transits of the International Space Station across the face of the sun or moon. This one happened on eclipse night, as seen from Texas.

Deborah Byrd

January 25, 2019

Lunar light pillar over Antarctica

We see a fair number of photos of light pillars - shafts of light extending from the sun or other bright light source - taken from northerly latitudes. This one is caused by the moon, and it's over Earth's South Pole.

Deborah Byrd

January 24, 2019

A meteorite strike during the moon eclipse!

Check it out. You can see the flash of a meteorite that struck the moon during Sunday night's total eclipse. Photos and video here.

Deborah Byrd

January 23, 2019

Patty and the ice circle

EarthSky friend Patricia Evans said she read about the giant ice circle slowly spinning in the Presumpscot River in Westbrook, Maine ... and had to go see it.

Deborah Byrd

January 23, 2019

See it! Venus and Jupiter before sunup

Have you been watching the 2 brightest planets - Venus and Jupiter- inch closer in the east before sunup? Closest the morning of January 22. Venus is brighter! Photos from the EarthSky community here.

Deborah Byrd

January 23, 2019

Eclipses in 2019

A heliocentric - or sun-centered - view of eclipses in 2019 from astronomer Guy Ottewell.

Deborah Byrd

January 21, 2019

Photos of January 20-21, 2019, lunar eclipse

This 2019 total eclipse of the moon was the last one until May 2021. The EarthSky community captured it. A selection of images here. See more at EarthSky Community Photos!

Deborah Byrd

January 21, 2019

Double star flips planet-forming disk into pole position

Our sun's planets orbit in a plane extending from the sun's equator. Astronomers have found a double-star system whose planet-forming disk has flipped up - perpendicular to what we'd expect - over the poles. What would nature be like on one of these worlds?

Deborah Byrd

January 17, 2019

Venus and Jupiter before sunup

The 2 brightest planets are easy to spot in the east before dawn now. Plus they're getting closer! The Venus-Jupiter conjunction will come on the morning of January 22.

Deborah Byrd

January 16, 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.