This is why NASA exists. To reach the farthest parts of the universe and understand them through science. To understand our Earth and benefit all humanity. To create technology for the stars that can be used on land and sea. #savenasa

I also imaged Jupiter in RGB. Seeing was better than it has been (which is to say below average but acceptable). Each channel is a stack of 500 of the best 25% of images. You can also see the moons Europa, Io, and Ganymede from left to right. 🔭

Given not much else was possible with the near-full Moon illuminating the sky (aside from imaging Jupiter), I tried making a Lunar mosaic. Each channel is made of 7 sub-images stitched together. I tried my best to balance the colors. You can see mountains along the limb! 🔭

Instead of whatever this is, we should have a government getting lots of new homes and apartments built, lots of clean energy built, lots of high speed rail and transit and bike lanes built, human rights for everyone, economic & healthcare opportunities for all, & innovation that leads the world.

So… they cut funding for research into cures for cancer but are going to spend loads of money *checks notes* running a whole other country?

Wrote a thing: The carnage associated with fossil fuel is why speeding the transition to renewables is good for international stability as well as everything else. Fossil fuel is inseparable from violence, and dependence on it it has created a brutal world order....

Jesus christ did they really just kidnap the sitting leader of a sovereign nation

Every member of this administration should be facing war crime charges at the Hague.

This year, I'd like to write more (both on my blog and also my hard SF setting) and actually finish a story, tackle my ever-growing book pile, improve my astrophotography, and try to get back into Blender again. I also want to start grad school, but that's in the hands of the admittance committee.

The far right revels in acts of cultural and intellectual destruction. They don't know how to create nor do they want to. They want only to erase anything that stands in opposition to their vision of society, to wit; a dark and empty future where only they determine what is true.

We have the ability to prevent diseases that only a few short generations ago were rightfully feared and ruined so many lives. Now that's being destroyed by a lunatic right-wing death cult. Being anti-vaccine is a form of child abuse. Death from a vaccine-preventable illness is negligent homicide.

Color Composite of last night's 84%-illuminated gibbous Moon. 🔭

I've been reprocessing the data I've collected over the last year. Here are some of my best photos, reprocessed with a bit more skill. Definitely a lot that needs improved but not bad for my first year! Hopefully I'll be able to take even better photos next year! 🔭

Had a rare night of both clear skies and calm seeing for once a few days ago. Finally wrapped up some asteroid photometry, hopefully I'll have something written and submitted to the Minor Planet Bulletin soon. 🧪🔭

Since it appears that there will be no more clear nights the rest of the year, I've plotted out all the times I've been out imaging with the telescope in 2025. In total, I was able to observe 78 nights out of the year, which is just 21.4%. If I had the money I'd move somewhere with less clouds. 🔭🧪

The name "Popular Science" doesn't mean we shift our coverage depending on public opinion. It means we cover relevant subjects that are rigorously researched, reliable, and grounded in reality. And trans lives are grounded in reality. We see y'all. No matter what. www.popsci.com/science/tran...

The horrific shooting at Brown and the murder of Dr. Loureiro at MIT, the continued assault on trans people, the dismantling of our scientific institutions, the blatant war crimes carried out in the Caribbean, and probably much more that I can't recall. Tragedy after tragedy. How do we move forward?

So many horrible things have happened in the last week or so and I simply do not have the emotional bandwidth to process them all. So please don't mistake my silence for apathy.

Since the Moon is currently being obnoxiously bright and inhibiting my ability to do precision photometry and deep sky imaging, I instead tried some planetary photography. Here's Saturn! It turned out a lot better than I expected. I was planning on hitting Jupiter after but it has clouded over. 🔭

To the people that think space exploration and monitoring is a waste of money: understanding things happening in space is critical to the safety of our modern world.

Today marks a milestone for European space exploration. The largest contributions in the history of the European Space Agency, €22.1 billion, were just approved at our Ministerial Council meeting in Bremen, Germany. #CM25 More details 👇 www.esa.int/About_Us/Cor...

And now for the last of my work from Saturday evening: an exoplanet transit and about 5 hours of data on AE UMa! First up is the exoplanet, Qatar-1 b. This is another large, hot Jupiter orbiting a K-type star with a period of just 1.4 days. Next is AE Ursae Majoris, a pulsating variable star. 🔭🧪

In addition to the color photo I posted earlier, I was also able to assemble an animated timelapse of 3I/ATLAS's motion over the course of about 26 minutes. The average rate of motion is about 2 arcseconds per minute. 🔭🧪

Now that Orion is back up in the sky, I decided to re-image the Horsehead Nebula but in color this time. About 1 hour, 42 minutes total integration time, 34 minutes per channel (2 minute subs). 🔭

Had a much better imaging opportunity for 3I/ATLAS the other night and assembled this color composite. Just two minutes per channel, to avoid significant trailing. 🧪🔭

They are vandalizing our scientific institutions and undermining the safety of everyone in this country. People don't appreciate how nearly-miraculous vaccines are because they never knew a time before we had them. Now we will all suffer because of their ignorance.

Nothing is yours. It is to use. It is to share. If you will not share it, you cannot use it.

No. The chief problem is, AI is literally A TOOL FOR UNLEARNING. The more you use it, the worse you get at whatever it is you’re using it for. It’s the opposite of educating, it’s uneducating. 2/2

Question for any comet people that might follow me; is it possible to use/measure isotope ratios in 3I/ATLAS's coma/tail to provide loose constraints on age, or at least a guess at if it formed around a pop II or I star? 🔭🧪

Megaconstellations are bad and should be banned under international law.

"AI" as digital asbestos - A wonderful and disturbingly apt analogy!

I finally managed to capture our friendly interstellar visitor, 3I/ATLAS. This is just 4 minutes of movement. 3I is absolutely zipping through the Solar System! You can see the coma surrounding the comet's nucleus, still outgassing icy vapor. Amazing to consider this came from another star. 🔭🧪

Geomagnetic storm still going strong so there might be a chance for more aurora tonight!

Decent aurora showing down here in southern PA!

And now for some more science, also from last night. This is a plot of brightness for the δ Scuti variable star SZ Lyncis. These regular dips and peaks are a result of the star physically expanding and contracting in cycles of rhythmic pulsation, driven by changes in opacity in its chromosphere! 🔭🧪

My first image since getting my mount repaired, the core of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31)! This is only about 3 hours of total integration time (about 1 hour in each color channel). I decided to switch targets after it crossed the meridian... 🔭

Aw yeah we're back in business. First clear night since getting my mount back from repairs (and of course the Moon is out and obnoxiously bright)

For the first time in a very long time, I feel the faintest glimmer of hope.

Voted in my local elections today (no sticker pic since it has my county's name on it, sorry)

Capitalism destroys all culture with advertising. It destroys our outdoor spaces with advertising. It destroys interpersonal interactions with advertising. It destroys our ability to trust others with advertising. There has got to be a human right to avoid ads.

Last chance to turn it off. On Monday, November 3rd, Microsoft will start using your LinkedIn data for AI training. And remember, you're opted in by default. To toggle it off 👉 Account - Settings & Privacy > Data privacy > Data for Generative AI Improvement.

“some people abuse SNAP” your soul is rotten

We're gonna need a modern version of the Lighthill Report after all this "AI" business is finally revealed for what it is - a speculative vehicle for technoligarchs to consolidate wealth and undermine democracy.

My feed is like: - Record breaking hurricane hits Jamaica, fueled in part by warm ocean waters linked to climate change - UN head blasts countries for low climate ambition, saying breaching 1.5C of warming is now inevitable - US CDC has been directed to study the alleged harms of offshore wind farms

Link's perma ban is wrong and should be reversed.

If you need someone to talk to, Trans Lifeline is here for you +1-877-565-8860 translifeline.org

Finally got around to tinkering with Obsidian for my worldbuilding. I'm still uncertain how to best use it, but it feels like the kind of software I've long wanted specifically for my setting. Graph view especially meshes very well with how I naturally tend to have things in my head.

There is no greater sin than not including radiators on your spacecraft. Repent and find salvation in the Chruch of the Incandescent Radiator. A cute little piece I did back in 2022 that I rediscovered.

Science says taxing rich people works actually

Not being even vaguely sarcastic: At some point, a journalist needs to ask Johnson “you regularly claim you have no idea what your own government is doing. If we take you at your word, how are you so poorly informed, and do you this level of ignorance should disqualify you as speaker?”