Philip Plait

Philip Plait

@PhilPlait

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73 Spouts 1,193 Followers 17 Following

Astronomer, science communicator, author, talking head. Writer/host of Crash Course Astronomy, scifi dork. Upcoming book: Under Alien Skies

https://badastronomy.substack.com

@PhilPlait

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So you're carrying a ball of anti-matter across Engineering, and you trip. What happens?

I mean *before* the catastrophic explosion that vaporizes you and everything around you.

Does the anti-matter ball fall down... or up?

https://badastronomy.subst...

If you trip on the way to the warp drive, does the anti-matter fall up or down?

A new experiment shows that it falls down. But wow, Geordi will be ticked at you.

10:55 AM - Sep 28, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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There will come a day when I don't have to debunk astrology AGAIN but that day will never come so, like astrology, this post has no premise.

https://badastronomy.subst...

Astrology debunked (again), Carbon detected on the surface of Jupiter’s ocean moon Europa

A distant moon keeps looking better and better for life

11:06 AM - Sep 26, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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Yesterday, pieces of an alien object from space came to Earth, landing in the Utah desert... and scientists are thrilled.

After all, it's not every day we get pristine pieces of an asteroid for us to study!

https://badastronomy.subst...

Yesterday, pieces of asteroid impacted Earth… on purpose

Scientists and engineers successfully retrieve samples of the asteroid Bennu from the OSIRIS-REx mission

10:05 AM - Sep 25, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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Tonight is the equinox! But I bet it doesn't mean what you think it means!

Let me equisplain.

https://www.scientificamer...

09:24 AM - Sep 22, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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Can you guess what these are?

(Hint: They're stars!)

Yes, seriously. This is a super cool bit of astrophotography — find out all about it at (you guessd it) my newsletter:

https://badastronomy.subst...

Star art: Kaleidocosmo - Bad Astronomy Newsletter

Stars are colorful, and this one weird trick shows how to photograph it

10:46 AM - Sep 21, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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At some point, not long after the Universe itself was born, the very first stars ignited and lit up the cosmos.

We may now have indirect evidence of their existence.

https://badastronomy.subst...

10:08 AM - Sep 19, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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Some personal stuff today, plus a pretty cool pic of finding an Indian spacecraft needle in a gigantic lunar regolith haystack.

Also: Damn, but I hate anti-science conspiracy crap.

https://badastronomy.subst...

20k, Eclipse panel reminder, SciAm, and a pic of a spacecraft on the Moon (kinda)

Another milestone reached, stuff I wrote for a wonderful magazine, and NASA snaps a shot of an Indian spacecraft sitting on the lunar surface.

10:36 AM - Sep 18, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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Did you know that human-made satellites are actually pretty easy to spot in the sky?

https://www.scientificamer...

Can You Spot a Satellite? - Scientific American

Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.

11:31 AM - Sep 15, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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Newly posted OpEd for sciam.bsky.social, in which I am angrily disgusted at Apollo Moon landing deniers, and how they play into the greater conspiracy theorist mindset destroying our country.

https://www.scientificamer...

Moon Landing Denial Fired an Early Antiscience Conspiracy Theory Shot - Scientific American

Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.

11:56 AM - Sep 14, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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Quite a bit going on here:

The Lucy space mission sees its first asteroid target!

I'm doing a live NASA panel next week about the upcoming eclipses!

And I'm home. Finally.

The scewp:

https://badastronomy.subst...

10:00 AM - Sep 14, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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I am so, so, SO done with Twitter.

https://badastronomy.subst...

09:16 AM - Sep 12, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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I do so love a mind-melting cosmic photo of galaxies just mercilessly whacking into each other and creating fantastic structures.

And hoo boy do I have one for you today.

https://badastronomy.subst...

A massive galaxy cluster with massive galaxy collisions

On scales like these, the human brain tends to melt a bit.

10:12 AM - Sep 11, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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Meteors, meteoroids, and meteorites, oh my!

https://www.scientificamer...

09:47 AM - Sep 08, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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Paid subbies to me newsletter get another moving update and how wet it is here, as well as a news roundup and a weird video about…otamatones.

https://badastronomy.subst...

09:56 AM - Sep 07, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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Oh YEAH you wanna look at this MIND-BLOWING JWST pic of a fantastic SPIRAL GALAXY or else I will RANDOMLY CAPITALIZE words some more

https://badastronomy.subst...

JWST’s view of the magnificently dusty skeletal arms of the spiral galaxy M51

Creepy, or beautiful? Why not both?

11:04 AM - Sep 05, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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JWST looked at the closest supernova in 400 years and what it saw was... weird. Like, *really* weird.

https://badastronomy.subst...

10:21 AM - Sep 04, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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Hey! What color is the Sun?

I bet you just pictured it as yellow in your head. But guess what.

https://www.scientificamer...

10:20 AM - Sep 01, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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Paid subbies to my newsletter can learn about how long asteroids usually last on the "potentially hazardous" list. It's an antidote to the execrable doomcriers who write clickbait crap whenever a near-Earth asteroid is discovered.

https://badastronomy.subst...

2023's July the hottest on record, and how many asteroids get removed from the “hazardous” list

So, kindof a bad news/good news thing going on here

10:25 AM - Aug 31, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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You can watch actual video using real images of an alien planet orbiting its host star 630 trillion km from Earth!

https://badastronomy.subst...

Watch an alien planet orbit its star!

Seriously, it’s real. Also, some stinky climate news. Literally.

10:28 AM - Aug 29, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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A new comet might - *might* - be a showstopper in a few weeks. Read all about it here!

https://badastronomy.subst...

11:11 AM - Aug 28, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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Red vs. Blue: Ever wondered why stars are different colors?

SCIENCE!

Well, that and temperature. Here, let me 'splain:

https://www.scientificamer...

[may require signup at SciAm but it's free!]

10:36 AM - Aug 25, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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This is really weird: Despite being 4.5 *billion* km from the Sun, Neptune's clouds wax and wane with the solar magnetic cycle!

https://badastronomy.subst...

10:17 AM - Aug 22, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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Come hear me talk about Saturn in Boulder this weekend!

And in the meantime, feast your brain on this extremely cool pic of a galaxy getting twisted into taffy by an interloper.

https://badastronomy.subst...

10:14 AM - Aug 21, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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OH NOES

MERCURY IS IN RETROGRADE NEXT WEEK!!!

What does this mean for you?

(hint: nothing)

https://www.scientificamer...

☿ 🔄

How to Survive Mercury in Retrograde - Scientific American

Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.

10:27 AM - Aug 18, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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" Recalculating. Stay on Lunar highway 47 for 6 kilometers, then take a slight left at Clavius crater. Your destination will be on the right."

https://badastronomy.subst...

If you want to take a drive around the Moon, you’ll need reliable lunar GPS

It may take a while, but mapping the Moon accurately is a pressing need

09:50 AM - Aug 17, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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All natural disasters are personal.

https://badastronomy.subst...

10:07 AM - Aug 15, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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I just checked a graph that shows the Perseids rate over time, and even tonight there should be a decent showing, maybe 20 per hour. If you want to go for them and have clear skies try getting up before dawn (around 3ish) to look.

Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks This Weekend in a Stargazing Must-See - Scientific American

Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.

08:58 PM - Aug 14, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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Self promo time: A reminder that the 25% off sale on subscriptions to my newsletter ends tonight! Sign up now for more astronomy and science and opinions and sometimes stories and jokes!

https://badastronomy.subst...

12:03 PM - Aug 14, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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This gawt-dayum *amazing* JWST image of the iconic Ring Nebula is leaving me with more questions than answers. That's how you know it's SCIENCE

https://badastronomy.subst...

JWST puts a psychedelic spin on the Ring Nebula

This beloved object looks pretty different in infrared. Kinda. Sorta.

10:58 AM - Aug 14, 2023

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@PhilPlait

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The Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend! Here's what you need to know to watch (and understand!) this terrific and fun celestial event:

https://www.scientificamer...

12:19 PM - Aug 11, 2023

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