Posts by

Deborah Byrd

Lone Wanaka Tree in New Zealand

There's a legend about this tree. It's said it started out as a fence post about 80 years ago, then sprouted into the tree you see here, beloved of photographers.

Deborah Byrd

November 25, 2018

Hear Opportunity’s 5,000th sunrise on Mars

Scientists used data sonification to transform a photo of the now-silent Opportunity rover's 5,000th sunrise on Mars into a piece of music.

Deborah Byrd

November 25, 2018

Landing on Mars is still hard

There's a reason space engineers describe landing on Mars as "7 minutes of terror."

Deborah Byrd

November 25, 2018

Here’s where InSight will touch down on Monday

"If you were a Martian coming to explore Earth's interior, it wouldn't matter if you put down in the middle of Kansas or the beaches of Oahu ... The beauty of this mission is happening below the surface."

Eleanor Imster

Deborah Byrd

November 24, 2018

A 1st glimpse of the Magellanic Clouds

Gilbert Vancell caught these 2 dwarf galaxies - satellites to our Milky Way - from Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in Indonesia, home to active volcanoes.

Deborah Byrd

November 24, 2018

Glory, above a sea of clouds

For Arnaud Besancon - an astrophotographer in Germany - a night of watching for Leonid meteors ended in a beautiful surprise.

Deborah Byrd

November 22, 2018

See it! The weekend’s meteor showers

Both Leonid and Taurid meteors were raining down this past weekend. Many said the Leonids were sparse this year, but the EarthSky community caught some! Photos here.

Deborah Byrd

November 19, 2018

New NASA video calls for return to moon and Mars

"We're returning to the moon, preparing to go beyond to Mars. We are going. We are NASA."

Deborah Byrd

November 18, 2018

Merging galaxies fuel mega black holes

It hasn't been easy for astronomers to peer into the cores of merging galaxies. Dust obscures the view. Now, new research has given astronomers a better look.

Eleanor Imster

Deborah Byrd

November 18, 2018

The night the stars fell

Check out this old engraving of the November 1833 Leonid meteor shower. It's one reason this shower - due to peak this weekend - is so famous.

Eleanor Imster

Deborah Byrd

November 16, 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.