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Deborah Byrd

Deborah Byrd

Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. 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.

5 images of the waxing moon tilting over 4 hours.

Do we all see the same moon phase?

Posted by in Astronomy Essentials | Moon Phases | 1 day ago
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No matter where you are on the globe, we all see the same moon. So why do photos from a distant location sometimes look different from what you’re seeing?

New sights and sounds from the Perseverance rover on Mars!

Posted by in Space | Today's Image | 3 days ago
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Check out this amazing new video from NASA’s Perseverance rover, showing its own descent and landing on the surface of Mars last week. Truly, it’s like nothing seen before! Also, the first-ever audio from Mars …
Moon inside the great circle of astars known as the Winter Circle on February 20, 21 and 22, 2021.

Moon in Winter Circle February 20, 21 and 22

Posted by in Tonight | 5 days ago
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The waxing moon this weekend shines inside a large pattern of stars called the Winter Circle, or Winter Hexagon.

For those at southerly latitudes, Canopus!

Posted by in Tonight | 1 week ago
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Far-northern skywatchers sometimes travel southward in winter, for a glimpse of Canopus – the sky’s 2nd-brightest star – above the southern horizon. Can you see it? Details here.
A map showing a large earthquake off the east coast of Japan.

Strong earthquake in Japan called ‘aftershock’ of deadly 2011 quake

Posted by in Earth | Human World | 2 weeks ago
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No fatalities were reported in the February 13, 2021, strong earthquake in Japan, which occurred off Japan’s east coast, near the epicenter of the 2011 9.0-magnitude Tohoku earthquake.
Bright star low in deep blue sky above dark mountains.

Can you see Canopus, the 2nd-brightest star?

Posted by and in Brightest Stars | 2 weeks ago
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Here’s how to spot Canopus, the 2nd-brightest star in the sky as seen from Earth, on February evenings.

Today in science: A spacecraft obliterated a sundog

Posted by in Earth | Human World | 2 weeks ago
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On February 11, 2010, a solar observatory launched into space ripped apart a sundog and created a new ice halo that amazed scientists.
A human standing under the Milky Way in starry sky, looking up.

The 1st sign of intelligent life beyond Earth?

Posted by in Human World | Space | 2 weeks ago
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Physicist Avi Loeb of Harvard believes we should take seriously the idea that ‘Oumuamua – the 1st known object to pass through our solar system from interstellar space – might have been created by an alien civilization. His new book is called “Extraterrestrial.”

Anniversary of mysterious parade of meteors

Posted by and in Human World | Space | 2 weeks ago
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On February 9, 1913, lucky observers witnessed the Great Meteor Procession, when bright meteors soared horizontally across the sky in a stately marching rank for minutes at a time.
Line of small dots close together in varied bright rainbow colors.

See Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky

Posted by in Astronomy Essentials | Brightest Stars | 3 weeks ago
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Find out how to spot Sirius, the brightest star as seen from Earth. Learn the mythology behind this dazzling light and how it earned the nickname of the Dog Star.