Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Ultima Thule seen in detail

Ultima Thule - a Kuiper Belt object and the most distant object yet seen by an earthly spacecraft - is now revealed as a "contact binary," created when two small bodies in the early solar system stuck together.

Deborah Byrd

January 2, 2019

New Year’s Day clouds over El Paso

These are called lenticular clouds. They usually - but not always - form where stable moist air flows over a mountain or range of mountains. They can form rapidly and then disappear again just as fast.

Deborah Byrd

January 2, 2019

Spacecraft orbits tiny Bennu, breaks record

On December 31 - while we celebrated - NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft went into orbit around Bennu, a near-Earth asteroid. The maneuver makes Bennu the smallest object yet to be orbited by a spacecraft.

Deborah Byrd

January 1, 2019

As the year turns, watch the moon sweep past 3 planets

The last morning of 2018 and 1st mornings of 2019 will feature a dazzling line-up of the moon and 3 planets. Here are tips on how to see the moon sweep past Venus, Jupiter and Mercury. Great start to the New Year!

Deborah Byrd

Bruce McClure

December 30, 2018

Red sunset from Italy’s Mount Etna

Giuseppe Pappa in Sicily, Italy, wrote on December 27, 2018: "The dust and the gas from Mount Etna gave us today this fantastic view during sunset time. The sun became very red due to volcanic ash in the sky."

Deborah Byrd

December 28, 2018

See it! Jupiter and Mercury close

A beautiful drama is taking place low in the east before sunup this week. Giant planet Jupiter and innermost planet Mercury have swept close, with dazzling Venus above. Photos here from the EarthSky community.

Deborah Byrd

December 22, 2018

Tuesday night’s waxing moon

If you see the moon tonight, it'll look nearly full, illuminating the sky nearly all night on this longest night of the year for the Northern Hemisphere. Full moon comes on December 22.

Deborah Byrd

December 21, 2018

Comet gives birth to baby bow shock

And a spacecraft sees it happen! Rosetta spacecraft data reveals an infant bow shock - similar to what forms at the bow of a ship - at the comet this craft explored for 2 years. It's the 1st seen forming anywhere in our solar system.

Deborah Byrd

December 19, 2018

Astronomers spy most distant solar system object yet

It's more than 100 times Earth's distance from our sun, and it takes 1,000 earthly years to orbit the sun once. Astronomers have labeled it 2018 VG18, but nicknamed it Farout!

Deborah Byrd

December 17, 2018

Best photos of 2018’s Geminid meteor shower

The shower peaked late last week, but, with all the comet excitement going on, people didn't start submitting their best Geminid images until the weekend.

Deborah Byrd

December 17, 2018

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.