NEW: Around Halloween, a Japanese astronomer caught two strange bright flashes on the Moon, one after the other. What were these spooky lights? Aliens having a rave? Nope. They were asteroid impacts: a reminder that the Moon is a constant battleground. @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/s...

NEW: Intuitive Machines, Astrolab, and Lunar Outpost have all built seriously cool, super-futuristic moon rovers. They’re competing to become the official mode of transportation for NASA’s Artemis astronauts. And for NatGeo, I test drove all three. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

NEW: Intuitive Machines, Astrolab, and Lunar Outpost have all built seriously cool, super-futuristic moon rovers. They’re competing to become the official mode of transportation for NASA’s Artemis astronauts. And for NatGeo, I test drove all three. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

Hey there astronomy community! If anyone has any information or new footage of that impact flash on the Moon, please let me know—I’d love to see it/hear about it. 📸: @dfuji1.bsky.social

Hey there astronomy community! If anyone has any information or new footage of that impact flash on the Moon, please let me know—I’d love to see it/hear about it. 📸: @dfuji1.bsky.social

NEW: The interstellar object named 3I/ATLAS is many things: a time capsule from an ancient star, an effervescent icy voyager, a clue to the earlier days of the Milky Way. You know what it absolutely, definitely isn’t? An alien spacecraft. Me @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/2502...

NEW: Hurricane Melissa was such a monstrous tempest that it was literally shaking the Earth as far away as Florida, where seismometers picked up its stormquakes. Here’s how seismometers can also shine a light on hurricanes long gone. Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/seis...

NEW: Some alien worlds orbiting right next to their stars seem to have a lot of water—but how? A new study, using lasers and diamond anvils, has a wild answer: they are making all that water themselves by mixing hydrogen skies with magmatic hearts. Me @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

NEW: The interstellar object named 3I/ATLAS is many things: a time capsule from an ancient star, an effervescent icy voyager, a clue to the earlier days of the Milky Way. You know what it absolutely, definitely isn’t? An alien spacecraft. Me @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/2502...

Update: it happened!

NEW: Hurricane Melissa was such a monstrous tempest that it was literally shaking the Earth as far away as Florida, where seismometers picked up its stormquakes. Here’s how seismometers can also shine a light on hurricanes long gone. Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/seis...

A fascinating new piece for @sciam.bsky.social by @squigglyvolcano.bsky.social about Hurricane Melissa being picked up by seismographs. Because the seismic record began long before the satellite era, we may be able to use older seismograms to learn more about past storms. 🧪

So proud of this AMAZING new package up on @technologyreview.com today all about CONSPIRACIES. Helmed/conceived by @asilverman.bsky.social it covers everything from medical conspiracies, to the Simpsons, to Fruit of the Loom and much more. Dive in and enjoy! www.technologyreview.com/supertopic/t...

Editors: if you let me write a story that’s essentially called “It’s a fucking comet, people. It’s just a comet” about 3I/ATLAS, with exactly that tone, I will basically write it for free.

Editors: if you let me write a story that’s essentially called “It’s a fucking comet, people. It’s just a comet” about 3I/ATLAS, with exactly that tone, I will basically write it for free.

My favourite 3I/ATLAS conspiracy idea is that it hid behind the Sun during its closest approach, perfect timing so that Earth couldn’t see it. Yeah, except for like the time both before and after this where astronomers can clearly see it. Good stealth there, aliens!

NEW: Some alien worlds orbiting right next to their stars seem to have a lot of water—but how? A new study, using lasers and diamond anvils, has a wild answer: they are making all that water themselves by mixing hydrogen skies with magmatic hearts. Me @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

Seismologists! If you're using seismometers to track Hurricane Melissa, get in touch ASAP. It's for a story. I'd love to chat!

Thanks to @bmcnoldy.bsky.social & @drkimwood.bsky.social for help with this story. We were all struggling to find sufficient words. “It’s this frustrating combination of, scientifically speaking, we know this is possible, but as humans we are flabbergasted at seeing manifest in this way.” -Kim 🧪

@bot.astronomy.blue signup

NEW: The clean rooms where NASA and ESA build spacecraft aren’t as clean as you think. And a new study shows that one kind of bacteria can even “play dead” and camouflage itself so that scientists can’t even detect it. 🦠 So: maybe it hitchhiked to Mars. 😅 www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

I did a brief writeup on known space debris reentries on Oct 16, none of which match the UA1093 airliner incident planet4589.org/space/misc/u...

Hey space community! Can anyone help with this story? Something — possibility a bit of space debris possibly a meteorite — just smashed through the windshield of a passenger jet. Does anyone know (especially with the shutdown) how any info could be verified here? avbrief.com/united-max-h...

BREAKING: ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (which is designed to look at Mars itself) turned to face interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS while it passed relatively close by, at a distance of 30m kilometres. And it caught it! Look at that adorable little puffy coma. More here: www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

Update: I am now floating the theory that 3I/ATLAS keeps me from finding two matching pairs of socks.

The best part of the day is when the Sun fucks off

Well, forget what I said, turns out you can process marsrover images on the train too :) There is a super faint smudge where comet 3I/Atlas should be. The new orbit parameters in Stellarium are a pretty good match. 🔭 #3iatlas

Oh and hey, my book about stopping killer asteroids was the runner-up in the NASW Science in Society Journalism Awards in the Books category! Thanks for the nod, @sciencewriters.org. :)

Delighted to see I've made the Notable section of the Best American Science and Nature Writing 2025 edition. Third time's a charm, or something. :) (cc: @clarakm.bsky.social)

Check out both a really exciting paper on the Santorini seismic swarm earlier this year from some of my excellent colleagues: www.nature.com/articles/s41... AND a really good write up in National Geographic by @squigglyvolcano.bsky.social: www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

NEW: Earlier this year, the volcanic island of Santorini was rocked by 28,000 quakes. It didn't end in an eruption—but it wasn't clear what was going on. Now, in part thanks to AI, we know: two volcanoes were communicating using magma! Me, for NatGeo. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

NEW: It was a delight to contribute to @quantamagazine.bsky.social's stunning new series on climate science! Naturally, my story tended apocalyptic: will Earth ever become a climate hellhole like Venus, the most extreme world in the solar system? www.quantamagazine.org/why-is-venus...

NEW: Earlier this year, the volcanic island of Santorini was rocked by 28,000 quakes. It didn't end in an eruption—but it wasn't clear what was going on. Now, in part thanks to AI, we know: two volcanoes were communicating using magma! Me, for NatGeo. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

A meteorite's dramatic trek to Earth seems mundane compared to its sordid journey from Somalia to China: 🧪 🔭 www.scientificamerican.com/article/insi...

In the last 6 days, 9 asteroids passed inside the Moon’s orbit. Estimated sizes: ~1–38 m. All were discovered this month, a reminder that countless small, faint NEOs slip by unnoticed until they make a close pass.

NEW: Earth and the Moon have been best mates for over four billion years. But that doesn't mean they don't want new friends! Case in point: we just discovered an asteroid that's following Earth around! It's known as a quasi-moon. And it's adorable. Me @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/s...

We've reached 6,000 confirmed exoplanets! I talked with @aussiastronomer.bsky.social about where things go from here. (A great graphic by @unamandita.bsky.social visualizes the amazing jumps in planet finds since the first ones were confirmed in the 1990s.)

Yo, astronomers. Is the difference between a quasi-moon and a trojan this? - A quasi-moon orbits the Sun in a very similar path to the planet, but is unstable, can shift about, and eventually leaves; - A trojan either leads or trails the planet, has a stable orbit, and sticks to Lagrange points

A satellite photo of a volcano taken from space FROM THE SIDE

NEW: It was a delight to contribute to @quantamagazine.bsky.social's stunning new series on climate science! Naturally, my story tended apocalyptic: will Earth ever become a climate hellhole like Venus, the most extreme world in the solar system? www.quantamagazine.org/why-is-venus...

NEW: In July, we discovered the third-known interstellar object. It’s now erupting all sorts of stuff, from cyanide (normal) to nickel (weird). And as one source put it: “If it is an alien spaceship, it’s done a really good job disguising it as a comet.” www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

NEW: In July, we discovered the third-known interstellar object. It’s now erupting all sorts of stuff, from cyanide (normal) to nickel (weird). And as one source put it: “If it is an alien spaceship, it’s done a really good job disguising it as a comet.” www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

NEW: 40 light-years away, seven rocky worlds orbit a cool red star. Three are likely barren rocks exposed to space. But JWST just peeked at the 4th rock from the star—and found hints of a nitrogen-rich sky. Could this be a habitable world? Me @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/s...

⚒️ 🧪 A magnitude 6 earthquake struck northeastern Afghanistan just before midnight on August 31st. Vulnerable homes built of mud, brick, stone, and wood collapsed; the reported death toll has exceeded 800 people. Why do earthquakes occur here, what happened in this one, and why was it so deadly?

BREAKING: At least 250 people killed in a 6.0 magnitude earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, officials say.

NEW: The White House wants to kill off Juno, NASA's mission to uncover Jupiter's secrets. Fortunately, its legacy is clear. Juno's a scientist, but also an artist: it revealed Jupiter as a living van Gogh painting hanging in the sky. Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...

Is 3I/ATLAS made of cheese? Is cheese made of 3I/ATLAS? Is Avi made of cheese? Who can say?

Juno is an AMAZING mission. The camera onboard was never supposed to last this long (the radiation around Big J should've zapped it a while back) but it just keeps on ticking. Killing this mission while it's still working and producing great science is a crime.

NEW: The White House wants to kill off Juno, NASA's mission to uncover Jupiter's secrets. Fortunately, its legacy is clear. Juno's a scientist, but also an artist: it revealed Jupiter as a living van Gogh painting hanging in the sky. Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...

NEW: Earth is the weirdest planet. Exhibit #491: Primeval matter imprisoned within the planet's innermost sanctum – a metallic iron-nickel core – is leaking up and out of the surface via volcanic eruptions. Um...excuse me? Me @quantamagazine.bsky.social www.quantamagazine.org/earths-core-...