iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

My short science-fiction story "Slow-time Station" about using the strange behavior of time around a black hole to deal with the heartbreak of betrayal, published a few years ago, is up at: bit.ly/slowtimestory #astronomy #astroed #sciencefiction #scifi #blackholes #relativity #physicsed #timetravel

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The autumnal equinox happens at 5:05 pm PDT today 9/22. Equinoxes are when day and night are nearly equal in length all over the world. It's part of the cycle of the seasons, which occurs predictably each year, unlike what happens in Washington DC. #astronomy #astroed #equinox #science #scienceed

Diagram of the Earth going around the Sun with a tilted axis. We are leaning to one side because billions of years ago a roving miniplanet hit us and, like many accident victims, we can't straighten up.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Remarkable growth of #predictionmarkets is big news: you can bet on just about anything, I wrote (in SciPhi Journal) a scifi story in 2024 about such markets & betting on astronomical events. Now it doesn’t seem as far-fetched. See bit.ly/betcanismajor #astronomy #sciencefiction #astroed #betting

bit.ly

No One Bet On Canis Major - Sci Phi Journal

Tired of sports? Try your luck with a wager on the stars! By Andrew Fraknoi.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Nice almost total #eclipse of the #Moon Thurs. night Aug 27, visible all over North America. For my info sheet with times in each time zone and viewing hints: bit.ly/Auglunarecli... #astronomy #astroed #space #space #eclipses #amateurastronomy #science #photography #scienceed #scienceteaching

A lunar eclipse, when the Earth gets between the Sun and the Moon in the sky and the Earth's shadow darkens and reddens the full Moon.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Admiring the astronomy buffs braving high temperatures in Europe to see the total eclipse of the Sun Aug 12? See my short science-fiction story “Eclipsed,” suggesting our eclipses may interest interstellar tourists: bit.ly/eclipsedsfst... #eclipses #astronomy #astroed #sciencefiction #scifi #sun

Sequence of images by Rick Fienberg showing stages in a total eclipse of the Sun.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Did you know there's a nebula (a glowing cloud of cosmic gas & dust) that looks like the Statue of Liberty? The accompanying long-exposure image is by talented amateur astronomer Logan Carpenter. #astronomy #astroed #space #spacephotography #astrophotography #amateurastronomy #astroimaging

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Sunday is not only #fathersday but also the #summersolstice -- the day with the longest daylight (in the Northern Hemisphere). We have seasons due to an ancient accident. For full story, ee www.fraknoi.com/astronomy/su... #astronomy #astroed #science #sky #amateurastronomy #weather #cosmos #summer

fraknoi.com

Sunday is Both Father's Day and the Summer Solstice

June 21 is not just father's day but the day of the summer solstice

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

My latest sci-fi story, "Elegy," just published in #Penumbric Magazine is at: bit.ly/elegystory It is about love at a time in the far distant future, when even the stars have gone out. #astronomy #astroed #hardsiencefiction #scifi #sciencefiction #cosmology #science #astronomyeducation

The June 2026 issue of Penumbric magazine, where my new story Elegy is published. See: http://bit.ly/elegystory

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

With Spielberg’s film Disclosure Day coming, there'll be lots of UFO questions. I put together a new guide to resources on what skeptics know about UFO claims & cases, including Roswell & recent military photos, at: bit.ly/ufoskeptic #astroed #UFO #UAP #skeptics #astronomy #scienceeducation #UFOs

Anything can be a UFO if you're bad enough at identifying stuff in the sky. New skeptical guide at http://bit.ly/ufoskeptic by astronomer Andrew Fraknoi.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

A real ad I just saw on a bus in San Francisco. I wish it were only science fiction! Is this the way humanity begins its voluntary slide into oblivion? #AI #science #politics #currentevents #sciencefiction

An ad on a bus in San Francisco, saying "Stop Hiring Humans" suggesting that we hire AI instead.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

My new #sciencefiction story "Who Speaks for Earth" was just published in The Worlds Within magazine: bit.ly/speaksforEarth It's about a Congressional hearing to investigate the aftermath of receiving an alien message. #SETI #astronomy #hardSF #space #technosignatures #aliens #scifi #sfbyscientists

This is the cover of The Worlds Within Magazine where my latest story, my 12th published one, appears.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Heads Up: Lunar Eclipse March 3 Total #lunareclipse coming early morning of March 3. Very democratic, everyone in N America can see. My explanatory sheet in everyday language: bit.ly/2026eclipse #astronomy #astroed #science #scienceed #amateurastronomy #sky #eclipses #space #outerspace

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Sunday is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year. Why does our planet have seasons, when other planets like Venus and Jupiter do not? I posted a full explanation at: www.fraknoi.com/.../winter-s... #astronomy #astroed #sky #scienceteaching #scienceeducation #science

fraknoi.com

Winter Solstice Arrives on Sunday Dec 21

We explain the reason for the seasons and what it means to have winter solstice.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

Nice surprise. The editor of Worlds Within magazine nominated my science-fiction story "The Lurker" for a Pushcart Prize. It's about a probe from another civilization waiting on an asteroid; at: theworldswithin.net/the-lurker/ #sciencefiction #SETI #astroedu #science&fiction #science #astronomy

theworldswithin.net

The Lurker - The Worlds Within

By Andrew Fraknoi Janice is asleep when I see the alien artifact. We are circling a small carbon-rich asteroid, evaluating whether its resources would be worth staking a claim, when I glimpse the unus...

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Sat night, the #astrosociety of the Pacific gave the 2025 Fraknoi Award for extraordinary support of the Society's educational work to Connie Walker of #NOIRLab For more on her work see: bit.ly/2025fraknoia... #astronomy #astroedu @conniewalker.bsky.social #lightpollution #scienceawards

The 2025 Andrew Fraknoi Award for Outstanding Support of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and its work on science education goes to Dr. Connie Walker of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories (now known as NOIRLab)

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 20/09/2025

Teaching a fun, illustrated Zoom course on atomic science for poets (meaning everyone.) Tuesdays Oct & Nov through the SF State OLLI program. For details & how to register: bit.ly/atomscourse #science #physics #atomic #scienceeducation #astroedu #onlinecourses #Zoomcourses #sciencefiction #quantum

The course on atomic science is for everyone. It will use historical anecdotes, analogies from everyday life, thought experiments, and touches of humor.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

This wonderful cartoon was sent out today in an email from The New Yorker magazine. All teachers will especially appreciate this. #cartoons #teaching #astroedu #education #teachers #politicalcartoons #humor

In the cartoon, the man says, "I can't believe that summer, and civilization, are almost over."

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

My latest astronomical #sciencefiction story (my 11th) was recently published. It's a new twist on doomsday & advanced #extraterrestrials - "In Conversation with the Downloaded Me." It's at: bit.ly/downloadedme A list of all my published stories: bit.ly/sfbyfraknoi #astroedu #hardsf #space #scifi

This graphic showing a rocket reads "science fiction." I am an astronomer writing scientifically reasonable science fiction stories, with eleven published so far.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

The 136-year old Astronomical Society of the Pacific is holding an exciting one-day nontechnical symposium on the future of #astronomy Aug. 21. Great speakers, time for breakout groups. See: bit.ly/ASP2025SYMP (Early bird pricing ends 7/31) #astroedu #space #telescopes #amateurastronomy #science

bit.ly

ASP2025 Virtual Symposium: Eyes on the Cosmos - Embracing the Future

Join us August 21, 2025 to explore the evolving relationship between humanity and the universe.

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Reposted by Andrew Fraknoi

The Astro Society @astrosociety.org · 23/07/2025

🚀 Register now for #ASP2025 #Virtual #Symposium: Eyes on the Cosmos -- Embracing the Future (Aug 21)! Save with early bird registration by July 31. Explore 4 themes: Questioning, Investigating, Adapting & Connecting. Explore discoveries, strategies & shared sky stories. 🔭🧪 🔗: bit.ly/ASP2025SYMP

bit.ly

ASP2025 Virtual Symposium: Eyes on the Cosmos - Embracing the Future

Join us August 21, 2025 to explore the evolving relationship between humanity and the universe.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

This uncanny image shows LDN43, the cosmic bat nebula -- a region of dark dust & dense gas, where new stars are forming. The nebula is 1400 lightyears away and about 12 lightyears across. #astronomy #astroedu #astrophotos #space #spacephotos #spaceimages #astrophotography #nebula #spacepictures

The dark nebula with catalog number LDN43 resembles a flying bat. It is a cloud of dense gas and dust inside which new stars are forming, accounting for the lighter regions that paint the features of the bat. Image credit: Mark Hanson and Mike Selby.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

Beautiful image from Gemini Observatory: the dome of their telescope on Maunkea peak, Hawaii. In this time exposure, see the stars circle the north pole of the sky as our planet rotates. Laser beams that probe atmospheric distortion add interest. #astronomy #astroedu #astrophotos #spacephotos #sky

This long time-exposure of the Gemini North Telescope dome on the 14,000 foot peak of Maunakea in Hawaii show the stars making circular trails around the north pole of the sky and the Pole Star Polaris. Some of the guide-star laser beams that help astronomers keep track of dancing of the Earth's atmosphere are also seen coming from the dome.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

Friday will be the #summersolstice -- the longest day and shortest night for the Northern Hemisphere. For the full story of how an ancient cosmic accident is responsible for our seasons, see: www.fraknoi.com/seasons/frid... #astronomy #astroedu #space #science #seasons #sky #solstice

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

Amazing star-forming region, the Tarantula #Nebula, 160,000 lightyears away & 600 lightyears wide. Another great composite image produced by noted amateur astronomer #RobGendler. Massive, luminous baby stars help it to glow. #astronomy #astroedu #space #spacephotos #astroimaging #sciencephotos

The Tarantula Nebula: a composite image produced by Rob Gendler from data provided by the European Southern Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope. It is a star-forming nebula -- a region of gas and dust, lit up by the light of newly-born stars inside.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

This coming weekend the summer meeting of the American Astronomical Society #AAS starts. If the administration's budget is passed by Congress, the science of #astronomy will be decimated in the U.S. #astroedu #sciencefunding #UFOs #extraterrestrials #cartoons #sciencecartoons #astronomycartoons

Cartoon from an old New Yorker magazine shows two aliens in a flying saucer. One says to the other: "I hope my address to the American Astronomical Society will bring us the credibility we've been seeking." The American Astronomical Society is the professional organization of astronomer in the U.S.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

My latest #sciencefiction story "The Lurker" is just out in "The Worlds Within" online magazine: theworldswithin.net/the-lurker/ Just as we send probes to other planets, might advanced aliens not send AI probes to our system? Please check it out. #astronomy #astroedu #SETI #scifi #extraterrestrials

This is the illustration for my science-fiction story the Lurker. It’s about the possibility that advanced civilizations among the stars might send automated probes to our solar system (and others); probes that wait - lurking quietly – to detect some sign of intelligent life. I tried to imagine how some hapless explorers in the future might accidentally trigger one of these probes.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

My latest (short) science-fiction story "Eclipsed" was published today. It's about how rare total eclipses might be, not just in the solar system, but the universe. See: bit.ly/eclipsedsfst... #astronomy #astroedu #scifi #sciencefiction #hardsf #hardsciencefiction #eclipses #eclipsechasing

Eclipse sequence, showing how a total eclipse of the Sun happens, by Rick Fienberg (astronomer, astro-photographer, and veteran eclipse chaser.) Here the Moon exactly covers the Sun, blotting out its entire body, and allowing its faint atmosphere to become visible.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

For those who enjoy #StarTrek and fine art, this is a T-shirt you can buy. (I am not involved with the company, just amused.) #astronomy #astroedu #sciencefiction #art #scifi #VanGogh #sciencehumor #astroart #scienceandart

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

We see the Veil Nebula, a small part of a vast ancient remnant of an exploded star, still glowing with colorful emissions from hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur atoms. #astronomy #astroedu #astrophotography #space #spaceimages #spacephotos #astroimages #NASA #sciencephotos

This colorful region of glowing gas, often called the Veil Nebula, is part of the large, old supernova remnant called the Cygnus Loop. A massive star exploded some 10-20 thousand years ago and the remnant is still glowing in places. Astronomers have determined that oxygen, sulfur, and hydrogen atoms are contributing to the glow.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Today is the birthday (in 1900) of Cecilia Payne, the astronomer who wrote what some historians call the most important PhD thesis in astronomy -- showing that stars were made mostly of hydrogen and helium. #astronomy #astroedu #astronomyhistory #historyofscience #womenastronomers #womeninscience

Cecilia Payne, born in England, got her PhD in the U.S., showing the then controversial result that the vast majority of each star is composed of the simplest elements hydrogen and helium. This contradicted the widely held notion that the Sun and the Earth should have roughly the same composition. As a woman, she was not allowed to hold a professorship at Harvard for many year during her long career there.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

#Astro4Earth and #debrafischer just posted a 1-min public video: huge cuts in proposed US budget for #NSF and #NASA & about the beauty and value of astronomy, at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZsQ... Please share if you resonate with it. #astronomy #astroedu #space #science #sciencebudget #budgetcuts

youtube.com

Support U.S. Science!

YouTube video by Astronomers for Planet Earth

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

Beautiful image by Robert Fesen & collaborators showing a Wolf-Rayet star (WR8) -- a massive star violently letting go its outer layer (blue) against a background of glowing gas. #astronomy #astroedu #astrophotography #space #spacephotography #astroimages #sciencephotos #spacephotos #astrophotos

WR8, a Wolf-Rayet Star. These are massive stars losing their outer layers forcefully toward the end of their lives. The blue is the ejected material, the reddish glow comes from glowing gas and dust lying behind or front of the star, but not connected with it.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Complex, beautiful image, assembled by Rob Gendler, from several visible-light & Infrared telescopes, shows the Ring Nebula, with its many shells of material emitted by a dying star. #astronomy #astroedu #space #spacephotos #astroimaging #stars #sciencephotos #astrophotography #spaceimages

The Ring Nebula, a "planetary" nebula (misnomer), probably better called a death-shroud nebula. This material, shown in a photo that combines visible-light and infrared images, is emitted in several steps from a dying star, in the process of becoming a dense white dwarf. The hot star excites that material that "lifted off" and makes it glow.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

Beautiful new #HubbleTelescope image of the "death-shroud nebula" with catalog designation #NGC2899. The central star is giving off its outer layers in dying. What does the cavity in the gas look like to you? #astronomy #astroedu #space #spacephotos #astroimaging #astronomyphotos #sciencephotos

Planetary nebula NGC 2899 glows from the energy of the hot white dwarf star in the center. The cavity in the expelled gas resembles the shape of a moth. The shape may be the result of the fact that the dying star that gave rise to the nebula orbits around a companion star in the center. The whole nebula is more than 2 lightyears across.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Sign in a bookstore window, appropriate for the day after Earth Day. (Now that I am a published science-fiction writer, I pay special attention to such signs.) #climatechange #science #sciencehumor #apocalypse #globalwarming #sciencefiction #bookstores

Sign in the window of a book store indicating that stories about what it's like after the apocalypse have been moved to "current affairs."

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Tonight and tomorrow night are peak times to see the #Lyrids #meteorshower -- a time when more shooting stars are visible if you go to a dark, open site and are patient. The chart shows you the main showers of 2025 and rates them. #astronomy #astroedu #sky #amateurastronomy #darksky #space #meteors

Listing of the meteor showers of 2025. ZHR tell you how many meteors you might see under IDEAL conditions. The star ratings are based on whether moonlight is likely to interfere with your viewing faint meteors.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

Beautiful composite image by #RobertGendler of galaxy M83, 12 million lightyears away. The red regions are nebulae, where gas clouds are glowing with the energy of recently-formed baby stars within them. #astronomy #astroedu #space #spacehotos #astroimages #spacephotography #astrophotos #galaxies

The spiral galaxy M83 highlighting red regions of glowing gas and dust, where new stars and planets are forming. It's been called the galaxy of a thousand rubies. Image composed by Robert Gendler from Hubble and other telescope data.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Beautiful new infrared image of "star-death" nebula NGC1514 with the #JamesWebb telescope. The dying star in the center is actually a pair of stars that orbit each other in 9 years; the #nebula is hourglass shaped. #astronomy #astroedu #NASA #JWST #space #spacephotography #astroimages #spaceimages

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

128 new moons have recently been identified around Saturn, bringing its total number of moons to a record-breaking 274. Some of the new moons orbit Saturn backward, indicating they're captured and not original. #astronomy #astroedu #planetaryscience #NASA #space #Saturn #spacephotos #spacenews

Saturn casts a shadow on its magnificent ring system in this image taken from NASA's Cassini orbiter in 2016.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

Nonprofit #OpenStax announced that the free, online book #Astronomy has now been used by 1.3 million students at 2100 colleges, saving them $92 million in textbook costs. Anyone can read it at: bit.ly/astronomytex... #astroedu #textbooks #freeontheweb #sciencebooks #opensource #openeducation

The free online textbook Astronomy, written by Andrew Fraknoi, David Morrison, and Sidney Wolff, is now the most frequently used intro astronomy textbook in North America.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

Apr. 9 UC Professor #JonathanFortney will give a free, public, nontechnical talk on latest #JamesWebbTelescope results on #exoplanet atmospheres. #FoothillCollege in Los Altos, CA, 7 pm in Smithwick Theater. If you can't go, it will be on the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures #YouTube channel later.

Artist's conception of a planet orbiting a star with catalog name WASP 80, in whose atmosphere astronomers have discovered the presence of the molecule methane. On Earth, much of our methane is produced by the action of living things.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

#Hubble telescope image: NGC3350, a spiral galaxy, 40 million lightyears away. The bright central star is actually in our own Milky Way, just 10,000 LY away. It's a chance superposition. #astronomy #astroedu #space #spacephotography #scienceimages #spacephotos #astrophotography #HST #astronomyimages

Spiral Galaxy NGC 5330, with clear spiral arms. It seems to have a bright star near its center, but that star is actually in our own Milky Way, much closer to us. It's a chance alignment.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

#Nvidia announced they'll be naming an advanced chip for doing AI after astronomer #VeraRubin, whose work led to our understanding that a major part of the universe is made of #darkmatter, whose nature we don't understand. #astronomy #astroedu #womeninastronomy #space #astronomyhistory #scientists

Vera Rubin in 1991 (Photo by Andrew Fraknoi)

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Brand new #JamesWebbTelescope image of the outflow from a young star, with a #galaxy far, far away, at its upper left tip. In this infrared view, heated dust regions glow reddish. #astronomy #astroedu #space #spacephotos #astronomyimages #science #sciencephotography #astrophotos #spaceimages #JWST

Infrared image of a Herbig-Haro object -- the outflow from a young star just settling down from its formation process. At its tip in the upper left, resembling a crown, is a much more distant spiral galaxy, which we see face-on. There are also galaxies visible in other parts of this wonderful James Webb Space Telescope image.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

In this remarkable image, Rob Gendler combines #Hubble telescope and ESO infrared data to show the dark Horsehead Nebula in Orion and a bright region of glowing gas that reminds me of a bulldog face. #astronomy #astroedu #space #spacephotos #astronomyimages #sciencephotos #spacephotography #science

This color image shows the Horsehead Nebula, a pillar of dark dust that resembles a horse's head, in the context of the neighborhood it is found in -- a region full of cosmic "raw material" -- gas and dust.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Spring #equinox coming: morning of Thu 3/20. Day & night will be equal. See diagram: we have seasons because Earth's axis is tilted - due to a cosmic accident. Something hit us billions of years ago. Like many accident victims, we could never stand up straight. #astroedu #astronomy #space #science

A diagram of a tilted Earth orbiting the Sun, showing the seasons of the year.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

This beautiful image of the Trifid Nebula, assembled by Rob Gendler, shows lanes of dark dust trisecting the glowing gas. This is a region of new star formation some 9000 lightyears away. #astronomy #astroedu #space #spacephotos #spacephotography #scienceimages #astronomyphotos #nebulas #science

In this glowing star-forming nebula, three lanes of dust seen to divide it into thirds. The gas is set to glow by energetic young stars within.

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Andrew Fraknoi @fraknoi.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

This #Hubble telescope image shows the Trumpler 14 star cluster some 8000 lightyears away. The stars are extremely young, only half a million years old. Many will end their lives in a few million years in great explosions. #astronomy #astroedu #space #spacephotography #astronomyimages #sciencephotos

This image shows some of the hot, blue, young stars in the Trumpler 14 star cluster, as seen with the Hubble Space Telescope

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