Mark Traphagen, who follows Google+ and authorship more than anyone else I know (it is a bit obsessive in a good way), said that Google has ended the byline only Authorship results in Google. He posted this on Google+ and I scratched my head.
What does that mean? Did Google ever show a byline without an image? Mark said they did starting in December and now, all bylines show images. Well, truth is, it doesn't seem to be.
I searched for [google authorship] and spotted many cases of bylines with the author's image but also a case or two without.
Here are screen shots:
With Image:
Without Image:
So I did learn something new, I really thought they always showed images, but I guess they do not.
Forum discussion at Google+.