I talked to CBC-Kitchener-Waterloo Radio this morning about #Artemis II and they recorded a little video version of the interview afterward (with similar questions). You can watch here: www.cbc.ca/player/play/...

Wow, that's Mare Oriental on the left, a huge impact basin surrounded by mutiple rings of hills (tyocal for big impacts). That's very difficult to see from Earth becaue it's on the lunar far side, but easy enough if you're on the way to the moon and heading around back.

There are too many gems here, but if I had to just pick three... Our overview piece: www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa... Our coverage of Artemis II's space toilet: www.scientificamerican.com/article/arte... This one, from me: www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa... Read 'em all—please!

Happy Peeps Day!

It’s time to post one of my favorite memes of the year.

A thing I am reminded of every time I pop in to watch this is that living in Orion for 10 days is severely no-frills. The Shuttle or ISS are like a nice apartment that your hoarder friend lets you crash in. Orion is four people sleeping in a broom closet and the toilet is dicey.

If you are not already, I recommend following @maryrobinettekowal.com for excellent Artemis II commentary. Lots of fantastic details!

It’s kind of surprising and amazing how emotional it feels seeing the launch today. I personally never got blasé about launches, but today’s felt quantitatively and qualitatively different.

LAUNCH! ARTEMIS II LAUNCHES WITH A CREW OF 4 TOWARDS THE MOON

Artemis II is away!

Heard a lot of neat stuff during the astronaut biographies just now, but one that I especially liked “Grandmother Moon “.

Traveling to the vicinity of the moon is not a straight line – it’s beautiful spirals.

I loved seeing second-grader Lucas Ye (Mountain View, CA) talking about his design of the official zero-gravity indicator mascot for the Artemis, “Rise”.

Moon is one thing, other planets, quite another! A fun "how to": Make a Scale Solar System www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/resource... Or a trip to take! Sweden Solar System en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden_...

NASA's Artemis II Crew Launches To The Moon (Official Broadcast) -- I was a real space junkie as a kid, and have pretty clear memories of the moon landing and other launches. www.youtube.com/live/Tf_UjBM...

Doctor Meow and the Multiverse of Catness

Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again. #Pinks #ProudBlue

Me and all my friends...

DO NOT PLUG SPACE HEATERS INTO POWER STRIPS DO NOT PLUG SPACE HEATERS INTO POWER STRIPS DO NOT PLUG SPACE HEATERS INTO ANYTHING BUT A GROUNDED, WALL SOCKET

Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.

Crinkle Party

New year. New ewe.

31 December 1995. Still the perfect goodbye.

Open up this picture fully. Then look at the surface of Mars. Then look up to the top right. Spot Mars' moon Phobos high in the sky. Then notice the bright spot beside Phobos. That's Earth.

Discworld QOTD, from Hogfather

Christmas Dragon wishes to deliver unto you happiness and warmth this holiday season.

Betty Reid Soskin, nation’s oldest park ranger, has died at 104. richmondside.org/2025/12/21/b... I heard this on the jazz station I listen to: while she was most recently known for her iconic role as a park ranger at the Rosie the Riveter Museum, she was an established songwriter.

A Lord of the Rings Cover Band called Nick Cave Troll

From the Larchives. My own Wreath of Khan.

Here’s the “typewriter tap dance” sequence from the “Too Marvelous For Words” number, as it appears in the 1937 musical film, “Ready, Willing, And Able”. A miniaturized Ruby Keeler dances on typewriter keys with Lee Dixon.

Just to understand the concept of a trillion. 1 million minutes ago it was October 21, 2023. A billion minutes ago it was 114 CE. A trillion minutes ago it was 1,900,114 BCE

I like relating it to age. I actually celebrated the day I turned 1 billion seconds old. I was over 31 and a half years old. And since a trillion is a thousand billion, I would be around 31,700 years old when I turn 1 trillion seconds old (posthumously, of course).

good news everyone the Mistaken Text From Grandma Thanksgiving buddy drama is still going strong this story delights me every year

Panda Life 🐼

Another sometimes forgotten disadvantage to changing the clocks twice a year.

Happy Halloween !

As other people have noted, if you have local food banks, now would be an excellent time to donate cash to them, if you have the cash to spare. We will be upping our donations to food banks and hunger-related charities here in Ohio.

POV: The new singer of the Reading Rainbow theme song and the new host of Reading Rainbow meet for the first time in Canada 🥹📚🌈 Video Description: Mychal and Bukola meet for the first time! They joyfully dance to the Reading Rainbow theme song, sung by Bukola ✨ youtube.com/@kidzuko?feature=shared

Ya gotta wonder about a guy that gets so worked up over this. But hey: it's the kind of "thinking" that has kept This is True going strong for more than 32 years now. Got your free subscription yet?

Choose your own (research) adventure. My cartoon for this week’s @newscientist.com

One of the cartoons in my new book 'Physics for Cats' which is out now in the UK, USA, Canada, France and Germany. Order from your local bookshops or online: www.tomgauld.com/

A riddle for @theguardian.com books page. p.s. My new book 'Physics for Cats' is out this week in bookshops and online. Details at www.tomgauld.com

Picking up from our family’s favorite local sushi place today, I saw this on their television “aquarium”. It’s more than just a little reminiscent of Paul Kidbys’s Great A’Tuin painting. Seeing this made me unreasonably happy. Not just merely due to tasty sushi. #Discworld, #TerryPratchett , #GNU

This Week’s Honorary Unsubscribe goes to George Hardy, the last of his kind. The story in 3 minutes.

A recent cartoon for @newscientist.com p.s. my new book of science cartoons 'Physics for Cats' is out now. Visit www.tomgauld.com for details