<ahem> THE 1000th ISSUE OF MY BAD ASTRONOMY NEWSLETTER WAS JUST PUBLISHED. </ahem> badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/1000 🔭 🧪

My historical NASA budget dataset has a new home on The Planetary Society's website, and is now updated with all final FY 2026 details. New per-sheet CSV/XLSX download options as well! Check it out at: www.planetary.org/space-policy...

What does it take to land a quadruple lutz? ⛸️ We break down the science behind figure skating’s high-scoring skills and what makes them so hard to master.

Trump and his goons pushed out (or didn't replace) more than 10,000 federal government STEM Ph.D.s since he took office, representing 106,636 years of federal work experience. www.science.org/content/arti...

#FlatironCCA astronomers and colleagues discovered that a star in the Andromeda Galaxy disappeared without going supernova, and instead collapsed directly into a black hole: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/2026/02/12/caught-in-the-act-astronomers-watch-a-vanishing-star-turn-into-a-black-hole

This was a very, very fun press release to write! www.simonsfoundation.org/2026/02/12/c...

A “disappearing” star in the Andromeda galaxy is the closest and best candidate for a newborn black hole that astronomers have ever seen

What is the peer-review process like? https://bit.ly/3Vs1zak University press publishers answer frequently asked questions like this one on our #AskUP site. Curious about how university press publishing works? #AskUP!

10 years ago today, we told the world "We have detected gravitational waves. We did it!" Relive the moment we shared our result with the world www.youtube.com/live/aEPIwEJ... #GW10Years #OTD 🔭🧪⚛️ 🎂

"Knowing I stood there having a chance to win was a victory in and of itself." Lindsay Vonn, after her crash yesterday. "Life is too short not to take chances on yourself. Because the only failure in life is not trying. I believe in you, just as you believed in me."

If you're afraid to ask someone for a recommendation, please don't be. It's part of the job of being a mentor, editor, teacher, advisor, former boss, etc. to write recommendations or politely decline. (I wish I could go back in time and tell my former self this.)

Have a little more faith in your own neural network. Learn to write well in science. We need honest, good science writing. Doesn't have to be perfect. All slides from the workshop "Psst . . . Your AI Is Showing: How to Put Your Own Voice in Scientific Papers" are here: doi.org/10.5281/zeno... 🧪🔭⚛️

We stan Hubble 💁 🧪 🔭 www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...

40 years ago today, we lost seven heroes aboard Challenger. As an astronaut who commanded the space shuttle after this tragedy, I think about them often. Their courage pushed the boundaries of exploration. Today, we remember their sacrifice and the legacy they left behind.

Those in power have tried to convince us that resistance would be too tiring. But let Minnesotans teach you that it’s actually energizing to be a part of a movement to change society for the better. If you’re tired, get involved. You’ll be surprised by how quickly you start to feel better.

Covers of the 2 leading science journals this week @science.org and @nature.com www.science.org/content/arti... www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

🛰️ As the head of NASA's mission to the Psyche asteroid, understanding the fundamentals of science is, well, fundamental to planetary scientist Lindy Elkins-Tanton: buff.ly/KGctcDn

If you wanna watch a really big rocket roll very slowly out to the launch pad in Florida, live, go here now m.youtube.com/watch?v=nrVn... It’s the Artemis II mission, aiming to launch in the coming weeks to send humans to the Moon for the first time in over half a century 🧪

Statement on the passage of HR 6938, which includes funding for NASA in FY 2026: www.planetary.org/press-releas...

ICYMI like I did, Bill Harwood @rocketksc.bsky.social just pointed me to the Artemis II SLS Reference Guide that NASA-Marshall put out last month. 82 pages of really interesting and useful info. Thanks Bill! www.nasa.gov/humans-in-sp...

Did you know that the #AAS247 press conferences are open for all conferences attendees? If you've never been, check out the meeting schedule to hear astronomers present work directly to members of the media. @press.aas.org

Even more promising news regarding our efforts to Save NASA Science today. As a reminder, we went all out in the last year to stop these cuts:

"I doubt Senator Kelly will see this blog, and if he does see it, I imagine he will not be pleased with it. He’ll probably find it embarrassing. His humility likely makes him bristle at stuff like this. Well, that’s just too damn bad, Senator."

Bad things happen quickly; good things take time. It's not a perfect pattern, but it helps explain why some of the break-things chaos of this administration is so damaging. lastwordonnothing.com/2026/01/05/b...

And on humanity's visionary side: Not only can we see neutrinos, we can now measure their spectrum. In essence, we can see neutrinos in *color* and start to track down the cosmic sources that create them. 🔭🧪 www.science.org/content/arti...

You've probably heard about how the rapidly increasing numbers of satellites are affecting #astronomy. A new paper in @nature.com looks at the possible future for space-based telescopes — and finds 96% of some images could be impacted. 🧪🔭🛰️ By @jennaahart.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d41...

I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.

Today is #LGBTQinSTEMDay 🌈 ESA proudly joins the STEM community in celebrating the unique contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals. The Pride Flag will fly across ESA sites as a reminder of how far we’ve come, and how much more there is to do. #SpaceForAll

Hi, it's me again. I'm reposting this today because a whole lot of people who saw this yesterday told me they appreciated it. Know this: I believe in you. If you need permission to have some quiet space for yourself, here it is. <3

Help the @vrubinobs.bsky.social team tune their alert system by identifying which image changes are real astrophysical events and which are cosmic imposters using early data collected by the observatory. Join Rubin Difference Detectives project on Zooniverse: www.zooniverse.org/projects/ebe...

I mean, who wants to stay in a country actively stripping away your rights and personhood?

🧪 "@siricarpenter.bsky.social and I started TON because we wanted to understand how our colleagues produced their work...We wanted to go behind the scenes and learn everything about the process ... TON was then, as it remains today, a labor of love." -- @jeanne-erdmann.bsky.social

With all the strong geomagnetic activity ongoing tonight, have you ever wondered how strong these events need to be to cause some damage? Has this happened in the past? I’d be silly not to use tonight’s hype to promote my new book, ‘Space Hazards’, which explores these questions!

If you have a very low-latitude aurora observation from tonight, please record your exact time and rough location and DO NOT DELETE your photo. These observations will be important for scientific research of this event. Comment below if you have a low-latitude aurora sighting.

For anyone applying to grad school in the US this fall, the @aas.org has made a working group to monitor which programs have faced cuts - this spreadsheet contains all the info: 🔭☄️

It may look like CGI, but this is the real deal: It's an accurate 3D rendering of our galactic neighborhood, highlighting the locations where new stars are being born. This animation is based on measurements of 44 million stars by the Gaia space telescope. 🧪🔭 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

Here's a fun one: can you see Earth and the Moon together with your naked eye... from Mars? I do the math! www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-... 🔭🧪

Today is our Save NASA Science Day of Action! You can take actions online to support the nearly 300 registered participants on the ground with me here in the D.C. planetary.org/dayofaction

We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: NASA’s next-gen Habitable Worlds Observatory may be our best chance to find alien life. But can a nation busy ripping itself apart unite to launch a mission to solve life’s cosmic mysteries? By @nadiadrake.bsky.social (and me). www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-...

Are you interested in galaxies? Supernovae? Want to help us learn more about how the environment of a galaxy may influence the types of supernovae we see? We welcome you to dive into our Zooniverse project: Supernova Host Herding! www.zooniverse.org/projects/boo...

In my latest piece for The Planetary Report, I argue that we’ve largely lost the rhetorical ability to defend the unquantifiable values of space exploration—beauty, curiosity, discovery—in the face of an unrelenting focus on utilitarian pragmatism. www.planetary.org/articles/a-c...

Everything in this is true. It’s so real and hits so close to home and I hate it. www.wired.com/story/the-de...

Discover how astronomers read spectra to learn the story of distant planets: youtu.be/IMWeWlJG4To #Spectroscopy 🔭 🧪

A poignant article by Senator Mark Kelly on how ensuring a continued American presence in space is crucial to keeping our country’s engine of science and innovation moving.

We're continuing to roll out more details of the Save NASA Science Day of Action on October 6th! FAQ ➡ www.planetary.org/advocacy/day... Online Action Pledge ➡ www.planetary.org/pledge-to-ac... Learn more & register ➡ planetary.org/dayofaction

Trump’s NIH cuts are hitting cancer research hard. NCI scientists say grant funding has been slashed, lifesaving trials canceled, and top researchers pushed out. It's a crisis in the making, and lives are on the line. NIH employees spoke out. Support them here ➡️zurl.co/2AW7t zurl.co/6FaQW

4,000 NASA workers are leaving through deferred resignation. "The cuts amount to an estimated 20% of NASA's workforce" www.npr.org/2025/07/26/n...