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.
Late in the day on Thursday, astronomers released this new image of 2020 CD3, a small object now confirmed to be orbiting Earth temporarily. It was apparently captured into Earth orbit 3 years ago. Its fate, here.
These hot, dust-laden winds are known as “la calima” and happen most often in winter. They can blow at up to 75 mph (120 kph). The dust kicked up last weekend in Africa drifted over the Canary Islands, shutting down airports and stranding travelers.
This video tracks a telescopic view of Venus from when it came into easy view in our evening sky – around October 2019 – to May 2020. It shows how Venus wanes in phase as the planet’s disk sizes increases, and explains why.
Orange Arcturus is more evolved than our sun and has swollen up to a larger size. It’s less than 37 light-years away and appears as the brightest star north of the celestial equator. The Big Dipper can help you find it.
In 1543, Copernicus tried to show the world that medieval beliefs of an enclosed, Earth-centered universe were wrong. Instead, he said, Earth revolves around the sun. His work set off what’s known today as the Copernican Revolution.