Wandering Adventure Party

Did you know astronomers commonly see objects in space moving faster than light? But seeing is not believing: superluminal motion is an illusion!Me, for Scientific American:https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-see-faster-than-light-motion/

@badastro Wait, that's not an artist's impression?God damn, awesome.

@badastro Super Umbrella!

@vu2tum Thanks!

In 2032 there is a small chance that the 60-meter asteroid 2024 YR4 will impact the Moon. If it does, we could get a helluva meteor shower from it. We're safe on Earth's surface, but our satellites may suffer.https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/will-a-lunar-impact-in-2032-cause-a-meteor-storm/

One of my favorite NASA astrophysical missions, Swift — which scans the skies looking for ridiculously powerful gamma-ray bursts — is in danger of burning up as its orbit lowers. NASA is looking into raising the orbit, but is there time?https://badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/extending-the-life-of-nasa-s-swift-mission-by-boosting-its-orbit-aa27b306d03c2ec0

A nearby brown dwarf shows its mass as it orbits a Sun-like star.Plus: Fast Radio Bursts might be space rocks slamming in to neutron stars at 2/3 the speed of light, so, wow.https://badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/a-brown-dwarf-reveals-its-mass-02149746784fd963[Issue for paid subbies only today!]

@badastro Good luck!!!!

Listen, I'm not saying Scientific American has great cosmic powers, but a little over a year after its first issue *astronomers found a whole new solar system planet*.COINCIDENCE?Article by me, for the 180th anniversary of SciAm!https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientific-american-is-older-than-the-discovery-of-neptune/

This is one of the more bananas stories I've written because of the mind-vaporizing energies involved: a star may have exploded *because it ate a black hole*. https://badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/a-star-may-have-exploded-when-it-ate-a-black-hole-8ddcf2003a4e192c[Premium subscribers only]

@badastro could it just be that these planets have large ring systems that are blocking more sunlight than expected?

@wbpeckham I do!https://rss.beehiiv.com/feeds/t0Uscv6JDz.xml

Sure you've heard of sound echoes, but have you heard of…Light ECHOES echoes ᵉᶜʰᵒᵉˢ?https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-are-light-echoes-and-why-do-they-matter/

@badastro send Muck to investigate immediately!

Hot take time!So, about that Sean Duffy claim of wanting NASA to put a nuclear power plant on the Moon...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syLNyBAyHcw

@badastro the universe is pretty cool

Damn. That's a big-mass black hole.https://badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/a-super-supermassive-black-hole-fc7d8ed7b4ca4f89

Zombie stars feed off their children. And it happens a *lot*. [This issue is for paid subscriptions only - sign up to get lots of articles by me on cool astronomy and other topics!]https://badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/white-dwarf-stars-are-dead-but-they-still-feed-on-planets-32242ec791c7d385

Need to take a short break from <everything going on around us> to remember the universe is jaw-droppingly beautiful, amazing, and inspiring?Then take a look at this incredible JWST image of the Cat's Paw Nebula and be amazed and inspired!https://badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/the-nebula-comes-on-little-cat-feet-508007284b7d3206

Did you know we're likley hit EVERY DAY by tiny meteors *from interstellar space*? The problem is detecting these wee alien rocks.https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/interstellar-meteors-hit-earth-all-the-time-but-still-elude-astronomers/