B
My "The Universe" column today in Scientific American is about an extremely weird effect where distant objects actually start to appear *bigger* instead of smaller with distance.
In our topsy-turvy universe, sometimes the farther away an object is, the bigger it seems to be
Scientific American (www.scientificamerican.com)
RE: https://mastodon.social/@badastro/115662667435218036
Hey! You! Yes you! You can get my newsletter at a 20% discount right now! If you're lazy like me and hate shopping you can also give it as a gift to a nerd friend.
badastronomy.beehiiv.com/subscribe
SOHO celebrates 30 years staring at the Sun, and an interesting paper that shows how climate change can cause earthquakes... under *very* specific circumstances.
Three decades of watching the Sun, plus an interesting correlation between climate and quakes
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
Paid subscribers to my newsletter can read about a dinky star with a huge planet, and why that's so weird.
Oh, did I mention that signing up now gives you a 20% discount and that this makes a great gift for a nerdy friend? Well, I just did then.
A red dwarf is sporting a jovian planet, and that’s pretty weird
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
This is a staggering cool JWST image of one of the most terrifying star systems I have ever seen. Apep is a monster… *three* monsters, actually, and blasting out radiation and dust and junk at speeds to freeze the soul.
Read all about it!
Apep consists of three immense and immensely powerful stars blasting out a fierce dusty wind
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
I'm having a sale on my newsletter!
A Premium subscription (3 issues/week) is now 20% off, so it's $4.80 a month or $48 per year (that's 156 issues!). You can also get this as a gift for that space nerd in your life.
A 20% discount off the price, and you can also get this as a gift for someone else
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
P.S. Bonus cool space pic at this link!
Need a minute away from family and cooking and whatnot to destress and experience a moment of wondrous awe?
You know I've got you. With the help of the massive Gemini telescope and Hubble as well… and, of course, the universe.
A heart-shaped nebula, that is. Plus: cookie recipe!
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
Hey you know what helps a healthy star grow?
Magnetism! Literally: we can now see it helping funnel material down to the hungry young protostars.
It helps material spiral down into the protostar
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
Life can be extremely difficult to navigate. I'm lucky enough to have found my way. Maybe I can help you figure out how to find yours.
A big key to getting my life together was trying different stuff until it fit me
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
I was tempted to make this post "Avi Loeb Claims Millions of Spaceships Found" but decided against it.
Comets don’t just orbit our sun. “Exocomets” are common around other stars in the galaxy, too
Scientific American (www.scientificamerican.com)
What happens when you combine the most powerful infrared telescope ever built with the most powerful X-ray telescope ever built?
Absolute, astonishing gorgeousity.
The two great telescopes combine to make amazing science and gorgeous images
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
Have you ever heard of Betty Webster? I hadn't until recently, and she co-discovered the first black hole ever found! Here's her story, to honor her memory and fantastic accomplishment.
Betty Webster is a name to remember. Also: more rogue binary jovians
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
In 1885, after traveling for over two million years, the light from an exploding star swept over caused astronomers to think the universe was way smaller than it really is.
It proved the Universe was bigger than astronomers thought, but they couldn’t believe it
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
We've only known that other galaxies exist as entities unto themselves for a century — we used to think they were small and inside our Milky Way! But the obsolete terminology stuck around a long time after we figured that out.
Centuries before other galaxies were known to exist, astronomers called them “spiral nebulas.” Today the defunct term still sparks confusion
Scientific American (www.scientificamerican.com)
Screw Tatooine: astronomers have found a binary star system where *both* stars have planets!
Well, maybe. But this is a cool story!
A binary star may have planets orbiting both stars
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
Meet what could be our galaxy's next supernova: DFK 52. It's a red supergiant that blew out a COLOSSAL gassy belch, and doesn't thave much longer for this cosmos.
The red supergiant star DFK 52 erupted gas and will soon go supernova
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
If you need a break from Earthly bullshit may I present to you some cosmic gloriousness? I suspect it may help.
Also, it’s a very pretty spiral galaxy
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
Welp, time to fess up: I've been lying to you for years. Years!
I've been saying the Milky Way has a flat disk. And it kinda is, but it also very much isn't. It's warped. And corrugated!
Observations show the disk of our galaxy is not flat but warped and waving. Astronomers are still working out the reasons why
Scientific American (www.scientificamerican.com)
Holy moly did we get a close shave from an asteroid last week: it missed Earth by *230 km*! Barely above the atmosphere.
OTOH it was only about the size of a beachball, so no worries either way. Meet 2025 UC11.
Plus, Rubin is going to find a lot more
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)