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-...

Missing my dad extra hard today — it's been three orbits since he left.

Lots to look at in this subcommittee markup, but: Whose yacht did those orcas attack?? 🤦‍♀️ appropriations.house.gov/sites/evo-su...

"You’re punching a generation-size hole, maybe a multigenerational hole, in the scientific and technical workforce. You don’t just Cryovac these people and pull them out when the money comes back. People are going to move on.” www.scientificamerican.com/article/prop...

Meanwhile, check out the midpoint of this re-entry window. (Prediction is current as of 4pm US Eastern, and it will change, but if 2025 wants to be maximally chaotic…it’s on course) #kosmos482 aerospace.org/reentries/6073

“A lot of life’s interesting things are in the bits that don’t fit. The anomalies. The curiosities.” — Jocelyn Bell Burnell #breakthroughdiscuss

About the leaked NASA budget proposal that kills an almost-ready-to-launch flagship mission: "It sets back a program that is clearly the leading program in the world—in a historic fashion. You take that program and shoot it through the head." www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa...

The one science story that friends, family, and neighbors are pinging me about right now: • K2-18b I love that people are excited about it! That's great!! But how much damage are we doing to the general appetite for cool, actual science with the type of hyperbole that came from this team?

Mmmmmmhmmmmmmmmmm. Would also add that there’s room for improvement in multiple areas. These are good conversations to have. 🖖👽

Extremely yes!! Cannot wait. (But do we have to wait five years? Okay…)

Re-upping this absolute gem for no reason whatsoever. www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYD3...

Wow — this shot of a total solar eclipse is truly one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time. Shot from the moon's surface by @firefly-aerospace.bsky.social's Blue Ghost lander, it shows the sun about to emerge from behind the Earth. What a beautiful cosmic perspective! 💍

"Please stand by. We are awaiting a wayward boat to clear the range." — Blue Origin, accurately telling the story of my launch-reporting life 🚀

I decided to stop in Florida on the way to #AAS245. This pic sucks but we had a great view of the Cape (and New Glenn!) on the way in. 🚀

Found the answer 🌊 www.sfgate.com/sports/artic...

Hooooly moly. If you’ve ever visited Santa Cruz, surely you’ve seen the wharf. Maybe you were even lucky enough to go watch the sea lions from the viewing areas (one of my favorites) that just fell into the sea. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2024/12/23/s...

I closed out this year by picking up the Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Writing (Features) from @agu.org (thank you!!) and this is what happens when you show up wearing a 🦖 necklace for your formal portrait with AGU president @lgraumlich.bsky.social. Win!! 🙌😂

On this date, 15 years ago, I defended my PhD, bailed early from my own party, and went to dance the role of the Sugarplum Fairy. Hard to believe it’s been so long since I last performed to that beautiful, melancholy score. Tchaikovsky captured the end of a good dream so perfectly.

Hi from CA! Went for a (very long) walk in the redwoods yesterday and found this guy carved into a random rock along a trail to nowhere 👽🖖

Cool video showing rocket launches around the globe 1957 to now.

Last weekend, Earth’s most famous technosignature — known as the Arecibo message — celebrated its 50th birthday. In a story for SciAm, I had the chance to explore the transmission's significance, both then and now. I couldn't have done it on my own, so here's a bit of how it came to be...🧵

If you really want a Star Trek future, it’s not just going to space in cool machines. It’s building a society with respect for all life, sentient & otherwise, applying science wisely, and pursuing principles of justice, fairness & reason. Let’s build that and ride it to the stars.

This is an astonishing loss. Laura is a champion for the voiceless, for truth, for her staff, for our community. She is a brilliant, courageous thinker and a world-class journalist. It's taken me some time to collect a few thoughts, but here goes. 🧵🧪

Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the Arecibo Message, humanity's 1st deliberate transmission to the stars. You can read all about it today, tho, in this reflective piece from @nadiadrake.bsky.social (her dad, Frank Drake, spearheaded the message!). www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...

Today has been brought to you by the makers of Advil and the letters W, T, and F.

Sweet Beans #pibblesarethebest

Yay icy moons!! (At least in my case)

Beans is ready 😎 #getmooned #eclipse2024

When I think about the anomaly on Voyager 1, it's hard not to get a sort of end-of-life feeling about it all, to start confronting the inevitability of Voyager silently traversing the wilds of interstellar space — still out there, but beyond our reach. www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa...

Taking my best girlie out for a drink

I'm psyched to have two stories in National Geographic’s October ✨space✨ issue! One is a feature about looking for life on icy moons (and in Earth's darkest corners); the second is a Q&A with Brian May (it will rock you). The issue is gorgeous, go find one! www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/iss...

Today’s wordle: passive-aggressively punking women everywhere

Hello earthquake my old friend…felt that little one. Surprised it woke me up! Only an M3.4? earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/...

Taking some space to reflect on September 2, 2022. Miss you and love you forever, Dad. 💔

Love this doggo.

I’d like to posit that it’s possible to take the search for alien life seriously without alienating (yep, did that) most your colleagues. Ask me how I know.

This sweet girlie ❤️

To borrow a (timely) quote: “That belongs in a museum!” https://observer.com/2023/07/the-master-recording-of-nasas-voyager-golden-record-heads-to-auction/

Thinking about these lovebirds as I begin a new orbit around the sun. Love you forever, Mama and Papa D! ❤️

Pride! 🏳️‍🌈