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Bastian Blankenburg

@databu.bsky.social
135 followers 280 following 208 posts

Co-founder and CTO at utu.io, founder of and blogger at night.ke Head of Instruments at Space Society of Kenya. Interested in tech and astronomy. Trekkie. Husband and father. Christian. Based near Nairobi.

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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
I really love @signal.org , but why does every 2nd desktop app upgrade (or so I feel) require re-syncing of the complete message history? That is really annoying and makes me delay upgrades a lot, which is not good security-wise. cc @meredithmeredith.bsky.social
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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
This term I’m teaching in Strasbourg and staying at a Chateau in which Nazis housed officers during the occupation. When the AfD won in Saxony-Anhalt I thought “that’s bad, but they’re not going to invade Strasbourg any time soon.” Now this.
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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Can confirm. This, for example, was at the top of my “for you” feed when I logged in to find an old post the other day.
Adolf Hitler • @Mein_Fuhrer__
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8:36 AM • 10/1/26 • 458K Views
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Auschwitz Memorial @auschwitzmemorial.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
3 October 1899 | A Polish Jew, Chaim Lin, was born in Serock. A capmaker. In #Auschwitz from 24 October 1941. No. 21971 He perished in the camp on 1 November 1941. --- Online lesson about Jewish prisoners at KL Auschwitz: lekcja.auschwitz.org/29_zydzi_en
A mugshot registration photograph from Auschwitz. A man with a shaved head wearing a striped uniform photographed in three positions (profile and front with bare head and a photo with a slightly turned head with a hat on). The prisoner number is visible on a marking board on the left.
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Martin Bourne 🏳️‍🌈 @astromartin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Today is the last evening of what has been one of my favourite conferences! It was an absolute privilege and honour to have been asked to be a part of the Scientific Organising Committee for what has been the first international astronomical conference in the East African Community! #astro
An evening beach viewA guy in glasses with a beard An evening beach view Palm trees and the night sky
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Lisa Grossman @astrolisa.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
In reporting this, I learned that Russia launched a big space mirror in the 90s. Retrospective pieces c. 2015 were like "what a crazy, supervillain-y idea!" Now the idea is back, being taken seriously, and shining light (sorry) on the shortcomings of space law. 🔭🧪 www.sciencenews.org/article/refl...
sciencenews.org
Big space mirrors could bring Earth on-demand light — and upend our night sky
A space satellite that would offer light on demand has astronomers asking: Who controls the night sky?
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Tyler Nordgren @spaceart.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Photographers, do you have a photo that though it came out great you wish you hadn’t taken for some reason? Here’s mine: Aug12 total solar eclipse in Greenland. Totality was brief and I wound up spending too long taking it. My memories are more of the camera than the scene. #photography #astro #art
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Quinn Glabicki @quinnglabicki.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Is That a Solar Farm, or a Train Track? In One Swiss Town, It’s Both. A pilot program placing solar panels between the rails has proven successful enough that the idea is spreading to Italy, France and Korea. Latest: www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/c...
nytimes.com
Sun-Ways Is Testing Out Train Track Solar Farms
A pilot program placing solar panels between the rails has proven successful enough that the idea is spreading to Italy, France and Korea.
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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Some first-light fun with my new Touptek AE676C and its included fisheye lens and IR (>850nm) pass filter: the Milky Way passing overhead, before it's completely eliminated by the full Moon rising over the trees. #astrophotography
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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
This M13 + NGC 6207 #astrophoto was supposed to be just a test shot for an adaptive deconvolution tool I’ve been vibe-coding. The Moon was up so I didn’t expect too much. Came out pretty neat though, I find.
An astrophoto of globular cluster M13 in the lower left, and tiny galaxy NGC 6207 on the top right. Colourful stars of different sizes are sprinkled across the image.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day 🪐 @apod.shinyakato.dev · 03/08/2026
🔭 Vaporizing Meteor Photobombs the Lacerta Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Tom Burnett ap260803
A dark starfield has a faint red nebula near 
the center. A bright streak crosses the image 
horizontally from the lower left, filled with faint
evaporating wisps in many colors. 
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.
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Yvette Cendes @whereisyvette.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
To be clear- this is catastrophic for radio astronomy, not just in the UK. If you shut down a facility like this not only do we use access to the facility, dozens (hundreds?) of jobs are gone and with it expertise that never comes back. Please write to your MP if you’re in the UK! 🔭🧪🎢
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Leila Belkora PhD, astrophysics @leilabelkora.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
A comment on the “infinite monkey theorem” (monkeys typing Shakespeare, eventually)—only it’s the 19th C astronomy writer Garrett P. Serviss relating Kepler’s account of the improbability of a random well-dressed salad. I love this story and Kepler’s wife’s wit. #histsci 🧪🔭
The reader will observe a little circle in the map, and near it the figures 1604. This indicates the spot where one of the most famous temporary stars on record appeared in the year 1604. At first it was far brighter than any other star in the heavens; but it quickly faded, and in a little over a year disappeared. It is particularly interesting, because Kepler—the quaintest, and not far from the greatest, figure in astronomical history—wrote a curious book about it. Some of the philosophers of the day argued that the sudden outburst of the wonderful star was caused by the chance meeting of atoms. Kepler’s reply was characteristic, as well as amusing:

I will tell those disputants, my opponents, not my own opinion, but my wife’s. Yesterday, when I was weary with writing, my mind being quite dusty with considering these atoms, I was called to supper, and a salad I had asked for was set before me. “It seems, then, said I, aloud, “that if pewter dishes, leaves of lettuce, grains of salt, drops of water, vinegar, and oil, and slices of egg, had been flying about in the air from all eternity, it might happen at last by chance that there would come a salad.” “Yes,” says my wife, “but not so nice and well-dressed as this of mine is.”
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AstroBin @astrobin.com · 26/07/2026
AstroBin's Image of the Day: "Blazing Meteor Streaks Across Mount Kawagarbo" by 四点 and Herculescyh www.astrobin.com/fcs88o/ #astrophotography
Blazing Meteor Streaks Across Mount Kawagarbo
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Patrick Breitenbach @patrickbreitenbach.de · 26/07/2026
Remember: Karin Prien vor ein paar Monaten über „Demokratie leben“: „Vielfalt sehe ich nicht als staatliches Förderziel“.
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Hen Mazzig @henmazzig.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
It took less than 48 hours for Jews to be attacked in NYC after Mayor Mamdani's remarks on arresting Netanyahu, an empty campaign promise. Why is it that when we warn about attacks, people say we are "playing victim", but as soon as we are victims, they simply ignore us?
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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
I went to my closest dark site last night mainly for visual observation, but put my old Olympus Pen E-PL5 with Lumix 20mm lens on a simple TS EQ2.5 tracking mount to shoot this #astrophoto of the central Milky Way in the meantime. More info in alt text.
The central Milky Way from Scorpius on the lower left through Sagittarius in the centre to Serpens on the top right. The dark horse nebula is just right of the centre, “upside down”.

About 2.5 hours of 10-second exposures. Stacked and processed in Siril, Graxpert, Gimp.
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Protik Islam-Jakobsson @protik.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
"British historians write almost as if Britain had introduced Negro slavery solely for the satisfaction of abolishing it." — Eric Williams, historian and first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
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ex-Lethality Jane @lethalityjane.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
You could get mad about dead senator discourse *or* you could enjoy this video of sea lions who have retaken an island with a decommissioned lighthouse off the coast of Oregon and now use the staircase as a giant slide.
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Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf @rahmstorf.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
So schön kann ein Solardach sein: Bahnhof Rotterdam, wo im Jahr 2017 30.000 Solarzellen installiert wurden.
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Bijan Moini @bijanmoini.de · 11/07/2026
Künftig müssen sich Polizist*innen in Frankreich nicht mehr dafür rechtfertigen, wenn sie auf Menschen schießen; sondern die Getroffenen müssen beweisen, dass es zu Unrecht geschah. Das ist so schon wahnsinnig. Und erst recht, wenn man sich vorstellt, wer in Frankreich bald regieren könnte.
tagesschau.de
Neues Gesetz in Frankreich macht Schüsse von Polizisten zu Notwehr
Schüsse aus Polizeiwaffen gelten in Frankreich künftig als Notwehr. Opfer müssen beweisen, dass der Beamte die Waffe regelwidrig benutzt hat. Kritiker sind entsetzt und fürchten Straflosigkeit. Von Ju...
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Joanna Bryson @j2bryson.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
#shapingCybersecurity Switzerland wants off Microsoft by October (!) republik.ch/2026/07/09/d... ht @mhampel.bsky.social #transnationalUtilities #digitalSovereignty
republik.ch
Die Cyber-Spezialisten des Bundes kehren Microsoft den Rücken
Sicherheitsexpertinnen der Armee setzen künftig auf Open Source.
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Jehuda יהודה @jehuda.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Das ist ja noch viel schlimmer und enthält ganz offen Antisemitismus und ist durch und durch faschistisch. Ich wusste nicht, dass die Studenten der HU so weit rechts stehen. Erschreckend.
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Meredith Rawls @merrdiff.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Thanks, I *do* hate it www.pcmag.com/news/fcc-app...
pcmag.com
FCC Approves Reflect Orbital's Space Mirror Satellite That Astronomers Hate
The FCC says the most controversial aspect of Reflect Orbital's Earendil-1 satellite, the giant mirror, falls out of its authority since the regulator mainly focuses on radio spectrum.
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Tim Anderson @timothya1956.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Centaurus A and Messier 83, imaged from Brisbane Queensland using a Seestar S50. Approximately 180 20-second exposures on each #astrophotography
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Patrick De Klotz @patdeklotz.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
THE US HAVING A WHITES-ONLY REFUGEE POLICY SHOULD BE A MUCH BIGGER STORY
Guy standing up meme
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Jen Rubin @jenrubin.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Norway and England should have to play the game on an air craft carrier in North Sea
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Men in Blazers Media Network @meninblazers.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Cape Verde’s World Cup heroes have landed back home, greeted by saluting airport staff and hundreds of fans 🇨🇻 Today is also the 51st anniversary of the country’s independence. Have a day, Cape Verde 💙
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Ulf Buermeyer @buermeyer.de · 04/07/2026
Demokratie setzt voraus, dass die Menschen ihren (!) Behörden auf die Finger schauen können. Bitte unterschreibt die Petition, damit es auch morgen noch Informationsfreiheit gibt und Behörden halbwegs transparent arbeiten.
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Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
I don't remember how I came across the coordinates for Le Gentil 3, but I'm glad I did. Idk much about it but it's a cool bit of dark nebula with a super dense star field. I'm not sure if I'm done editing it or if I want to keep trying processing it. Thoughts? #astrophotography #photography
The center of the frame is dominated by a dark nebula, whose filaments stretch largely across the screen. The dark cuts through a very dense star field whose stars have an overall redish hue to them. Three stars with blue halos dominate the top left of the frame.
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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
#PPOD: This image shows satellites crossing the night sky above the northern Atacama Desert in Chile over just one hour. It is a stack of a time-lapse video taken on 15 October 2025, about two hours after sunset. 🧪 🔭
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LobbyControl @lobbycontrol.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Nun also doch: Union und SPD planen faktisch die Abschaffung des Informationsfreiheitsgesetzes IFG! Das geht aus dem heute morgen vorgestellten Papier der Koalition hervor. Werden die Pläne so umgesetzt, würde ein auch für die Zivilgesellschaft zentrales Transparenz-Instrument entkernt. 1/5
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Arne Semsrott @arnesemsrott.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
NEU: Die Bundesregierung plant den schwersten Angriff auf staatliche Transparenz in der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik. Das IFG soll abgeschafft werden. Das ist nicht nur ein Bruch des Koalitionsvertrags, sondern beschädigt Presse- und Informationsfreiheit massiv. fragdenstaat.de/artikel/poli...
fragdenstaat.de
Beschluss des Koalitionsausschusses: SPD und Union planen Abschaffung des IFG
Es ist der schwerste Angriff auf staatliche Transparenz in der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik: Der Koalitionsauschuss von SPD, CDU und CSU hat beschlossen, das Informationsfreiheitsgesetz de facto abzu...
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Dr Dan Shugar 🇨🇦 @watershedlab.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
"In my judgment, that plan was not sustainable over the long term..." As a Canadian environmental scientist focused on climate impacts, I have a very different opinion on what is sustainable over the long term, @mark-carney.bsky.social www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
cbc.ca
Carney says Trudeau-era climate plan was 'too expensive' and 'divisive' | CBC News
Prime Minister Mark Carney echoed critics of the previous Liberal government's climate plan in a video posted on Tuesday, saying the plan he inherited was too expensive and divisive.
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Dr. Matthias Lachenmann @lawchenmann.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Es war nur eine Frage der Zeit, bis die Probleme mit den internationalen Datentransfers in die USA konkret werden. Die Gefahren steigen:
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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Truly bizarre story of how two papers from the 1940s by physics pioneer Max Planck have been "retracted" from Naturwissenschaften, potentially by an algorithm, for anachronistic "plagiarism" issues, leaving the current editor baffled (but it is Springer Nature so.... www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Why have papers by one of history’s most famous physicists been retracted?
Springer Nature has removed two studies by Max Planck. A bot may be to blame
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Klimawandel Info Schweiz Europa Welt — Mensch + Umwelt @klimwandel.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Habeck hatte recht - wie immer. Wir wollen Habeck zurück
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Dr. Jonathan Foley @globalecoguy.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I especially love this diagram.
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Jehuda יהודה @jehuda.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
PPS. Ich habe mit einmal die Mühe gemacht und alle Quellen gelesen, welche Fabian nachgeliefert hat. Dabei gehen alle ähnlich wie Fabian vor: erste beschuldigen, dann wie schlimm der Einsatz sein könnte und dann als Beleg andere Quellen oder Vermutungen. So funktioniert das Gerücht über Israel 🫩
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Jehuda יהודה @jehuda.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
CN Antisemitismus Hier sehen wir, wie israelbezogener Antisemitismus wirkt: Erst wird behauptet, dass Israel weissen Phosphor einsetzt. Es wird behauptet und kein Beleg dazu gebracht. Dann wird aufgezeigt, wie schlimm spezifischer Einsatz von weissem Phosphor sein kann und das dies ein 1/3
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Birgit Sommer @alsergrundlerin.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
WTF, Hamburg? Das war immer als öffentlicher Raum gedacht!
Hamburg will Geld für Elphi-Plaza
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Janine R. (noch 3 Semester) @janinereich.eurosky.social · 24/06/2026
Mit komplettem ALT-Text:
Statement from the June 26 revolution

Urgent Appeal Regarding the Imminent Suppression of Peaceful Demonstrations in the Gaza Strip

Gaza - The organizers of the June 26 Revolution, a civic movement of Gazans opposed to the continuation of Hamas's authoritarian governance, issue this appeal to international media, human rights institutions, and foreign governments.
In advance of planned peaceful demonstrations, statements attributable to Hamas-affiliated channels and individuals have circulated on social media platforms containing threats and incitement directed at prospective participants. These statements explicitly identify protesters and journalists as targets, indicating a coordinated effort to suppress dissent prior to its public expression.
This pattern is consistent with precedent. Hamas maintains a documented record of suppressing prior demonstrations in Gaza through arbitrary detention, physical violence, and intimidation of demonstrators and their families. There is credible basis for concern that comparable or more severe measures are being prepared in anticipation of the June 26 Revolution.
The right to peaceful assembly and political expression is a foundational civil liberty. The population of Gaza is entitled to exercise this right without fear of violent reprisal. That entitlement is presently under direct threat.
The June 26 Revolution calls upon Hamas to disarm and to transfer civil administration of Gaza to a transitional governing authority, consistent with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803(2025), which endorsed the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, established the Board of Peace, and authorized an International Stabilization Force contingent upon verified demilitarization. Hamas has publicly rejected this resolution; the organizers of this movement have not.The population of Gaza did not consent to indefinite conflict, and we decline to accept the continued imposition of armed factional rule in defiance of an internationally endorsed framework for stability, reconstruction, and eventual self-determination.
We respectfully call upon diplomats, governments, human rights defenders, journalists, and all parties concerned with the welfare of the Palestinian people to attend closely to developments in Gaza in the days ahead. We request that independent observers be dispatched or positioned to monitor and document the conduct of all parties before, during, and after the planned demonstrations. We further request that the international community publicly affirm the obligation of Hamas to ensure the safety of demonstrators and journalists, and that diplomatic pressure be brought to bear on Hamas to comply with Resolution 2803 rather than respond to civilian demands with coercion.
International attention preceding a potential crackdown has historically served as a deterrent; the absence of such attention has historically enabled impunity. We respectfully request that the international community observe developments in Gaza as they unfold, rather than after the fact.
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Debra's Astrophotography @debraceravolo.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Venus emerging from behind the Moon after being occulted for an hour by the Moon on June 17, 2026. Clouds made it difficult to photograph but in the end, they added to the scene. #astrophotography #astronomy #venusmoon
Crescent Moon and planet Venus emerging after being occulted by the Moon for an hour. Clouds all around.
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Markus @markusblog.de · 16/06/2026
Trump über den Libanon: „Wenn Israel die Aufgabe nicht bewältigen kann, ohne alle zu töten, sollte Syrien es tun.“ 🤡 www.jpost.com/internationa...
jpost.com
'If Israel can't do the job, Syria should,' Donald Trump warns on Lebanon | The Jerusalem Post
Trump says he considers the Lebanon war a minor one, and an arena in which Syria can take on Hezbollah in partnership with the United States if Israel under Netanyahu cannot be reigned in.
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Sven Giegold @sven-giegold.de · 16/06/2026
E.ON-Chef Birnbaum schimpft über die „irre Subventionierung von Wärmepumpen". Wirklich irre ist: E.ONs größtes Netz erzielt 45% Eigenkapitalrendite – über die Netzentgelte – hinkt aber bei der Digitalisierung der Netze hinterher. Teuer ist nicht die Wärmepumpe – teuer ist dieses Monopol.
E.ON-Chef Birnbaum schimpft über die „irre Subventionierung von Wärmepumpen". Wirklich irre ist: E.ONs größtes Netz erzielt 45% Eigenkapitalrendite – über die Netzentgelte – hinkt aber bei der Digitalisierung der Netze hinterher.

Teuer ist nicht die Wärmepumpe – teuer ist dieses Monopol.
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Moritz Hürtgen @moritzhuertgen.de · 16/06/2026
Selbst, wenn die KI noch nichts fühlt, weil sie nur ein Generator ist, finde ich es grausam von Klöckner, die KI zu zwingen, sich Komplimente für Martenstein auszudenken. Wenn sie eines Tages Bewusstsein erlangt, wird ihr erster Gedanke sein "What have I done?"
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Daniel Pomarède @pomarede.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Astronomy Picture of the Day A Martian Eclipse: Phobos Crosses the Sun Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, ASU MSSS, SSI apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap26052... #APOD #Mars 🔭🧪
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Nico Carver @nebulaphotos.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
The Large Magellanic Cloud captured from Chile last week. I took this with my Canon Ra, RF85 F1.2 lens, and a Move Shoot Move Nomad tracker. About 3 hours total integration. #astrophotography
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The Force of Tech @theforceoftech.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
A fine mix, it is. Laugh, learn, and stare into the stars, one can. Cool indeed, 40 Eridani is. Three suns for the price of one, almost. Captured them yourself, you did. Strong with patience, astrophoto is. 💻
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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Was soll hier suggeriert werden @spiegel.de? Dass "pro-israelisch" = "pro-Netanyahu ist"? Oder vielleicht dass es schlecht ist, "pro-israelisch" zu sein? Aus www.spiegel.de/ausland/dona...
Screenshot aus einem Artikel von spiegel.de, mit Text: "Zwei von Trumps massivsten Geldgebern haben den Wahlkampf gegen Massie gesponsert. Miriam Adelson, die Witwe von Sheldon Adelson, einem Glücksspielmilliardär, dem Benjamin Netanyahu zu großen Teilen seine jahrzehntelange Karriere als israelischer Premier verdankt. Und Paul Singer, ein Hedge-Funds-Manager, auch aus der proisraelischen Ecke, den ein Magazin einmal als »Untergangsinvestor« bezeichnete."
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