Me: I'm on break and have a lot of time for backyard astronomy. Nature: Yeah, about that...

I just found out that a good friend and colleague has unexpectedly died. I saw him Friday evening and never imagined that would be the last time we would see each other.

Kilauea’s starting to look festive. www.youtube.com/live/gXKuUyK...

The story that the current administration does not want you to see.

In a recent SETI Live, @planetarypan.bsky.social spoke with @allplanets.bsky.social, Senior Planetary Astronomer at the SETI Institute, to introduce @skymapper.bsky.social, a global network of smart telescopes and all-sky sensors designed to expand access to astronomical observations. 🧪 🔭 👩‍🔬

New Weather West post out now: A wet and stormy week ahead in California, with substantial SoCal flood risk and initially warm Sierra rain transitioning to very heavy snow. Plus, join me tomorrow (Mon Dec 22) for a live discussion (link therein!). #CAwx

Origin of the lunar farside highlands from Earthshine-induced global circulation in lunar magma ocean: arxiv.org/abs/2509.11199 -> There's a side of the Moon we never see from Earth. Scientists think they've worked out why it's so strange: www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-scienc...

Someone is checking out the tree and presents. 🎁

“The last-minute christmas rush at the bookshop.” - my latest cartoon for @theguardian.com books

Happy solstice!

This looks to glorious. 🖖 I wish I was in Seattle. latitudetheatre.org/a-klingon-ch...

Nov 9, 1934 — Dec 20, 1996 #starstuff ✨

I don't want gen AI in my browser I don't want gen AI in my pc I don't want gen AI in my art I don't want gen AI in my games I don't want gen AI in my music I don't want gen AI in my movies I don't want gen AI in my books I don't want gen AI in my cart I don't want gen AI in my life

It's the first day of my winter break so, naturally, I was awakened by a dream this morning where I was both unprepared and late for a class that I was supposed to teach.

Cirrus clouds at sunset.

For #ArtAdventCalendar day 19 M74: The Phantom 36x36 91x91 Oil on canvas Based on the JWST image of M74, The Phantom Galaxy

The semester is over. I have finished my grading but still have to post grades and work at the planetarium tonight. After that, I am done for the year. 🎄📆

Time to update my lectures. Again.

My shirt is new, but it is covered with impact craters, which implies that it is very old. Most confusing.

Exoplanets are awesome.

18:13 on Wednesday December 10th, over the South Pacific Ocean

A Christmas cartoon from my new book of science cartoons PHYSICS FOR CATS. In good bookshops and online now: www.tomgauld.com/comic-books-v2

Our Earth, Space and Environmental Sciences department goes all out with the holiday decorations.

While Amazon is investing billions of dollars to expand AI, independent bookstores are hosting community events, personally recommending books to readers, and providing a space that is safe and welcoming during a time when we need them most. Never underestimate the power of a local bookstore.

#ICYMI: On #SETILive, @kosmichh.bsky.social chatted with Manuel Scherf and Helmut Lammer about what makes Earth so special that intelligent life evolved and how those circumstances may lower the chances of similar life on other worlds. Watch the full interview: youtube.com/live/qy8spTZ... 🧪 🔭

SOFIA: a NASA History Office Report This report by historian Lois R. Rosson is the first retrospective look at SOFIA since the mission’s conclusion in 2022. It is compiled from archival records and oral histories with astronomers, project managers, flight crew, and international partners. 🧪🔭 #SOFIA

There isn't a single problem "solved" by edtech that couldn't be fixed with smaller classes led by well-paid teachers given real academic freedom

Me reacting to the news in 2025. Also, two shots from one of my favorite episodes of Star Trek. 🖖

Long days lately as I have been doing some observing with my students. Here’s some them and some of the images they took. 🔭

Sugars, ‘Gum,’ Stardust Found in NASA’s Asteroid Bennu Samples

Someone asked me if the footage of 1,000ft lava fountains on Kīlauea was AI. PLANET EARTH IS INFINITELY SUPERIOR TO ANYTHING THAT SOULLESS ENVIRONMENT-KILLER COULD EVER CONJURE FROM PILLAGING REAL ART. Ahem. No, it's not AI. Volcanoes are just that incredible.

If you're into #astronomy and #LEGO bricks, this is definitely a project worth supporting! 🔭🧪

The news from Oklahoma and Nebraska is so depressing. The US public university system is one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century, created to democratize liberal arts education, and it's being destroyed by greedy people who think only the rich are deserving of such learning.

Some have argued to me strongly that even if Loeb is wrong, he’s getting people interested in 3I/ATLAS and that’s a good thing for science. But Loeb isn't just wrong, he's recklessly following an old playbook that got 39 people killed in 1997. sites.psu.edu/astrowright/...

Christmas ornament selfie. 🎄

Pele demands a sacrifice.

Great action at Kīlauea volcano right now. Check it out here: www.youtube.com/live/BqmpkUd...

Great sunspots today. 🔭

Last full moon of 2025. 🔭

Today is my birthday and one of my astronomy students hand painted this as a gift for me They also wrote a nice note on the back. I LOVE it!

The ESA Juice mission observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS! www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

Here's an image from last spring that I took of the spiral galaxy known as Messier 63. It is located about 29 million light years from our Milky Way galaxy. 🔭

By 2040, ~40% of the images from Hubble Space Telescope, and more than 96% from new and future space telescopes like SPHEREx, ARRAKIHS, and Xuntian will be contaminated by internet satellite constellations. Read our new NASA article in Nature: nature.com/articles/s4158…

Tonight's Moon is very nearly full with 98.9% of the nearside illuminated. 🔭

Looking for a cool present for Xmas? Our @setiinstitute.bsky.social citizen science has now merch available on ChopShop Store for you, your friends and our community. #SupportScience www.chopshopstore.com/collections/...

Tonight's December Moon. 🔭

One of my favorite satellites is back in action!

I spent Thanksgiving with family in Tucson. I brought my telescope and here’s some of what we saw last night. 🔭 1/2

18 asteroids passed closer than the Moon in November. And every one of them was discovered this month. #Astronomy