iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Zec @markzecwrites.bsky.social · 7h

A similar thing could be said about new cars, many of which are driven by the purchaser for 10-15 years. 2025's global EV adoption rate of 25% (per Our World in Data) sounds great until you look at the flipside: 75% wanted gas/diesel to be as cheap and plentiful as possible for at least a decade.

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Stephanie Striegel is the SETI Institute’s Lead Operations Engineer for the Science Processing Operations Center at NASA Ames Research Center. Her work supports NASA’s TESS mission, helping enable the detection and study of planets beyond our solar system. #NotJustAliens 🧪 🔭 👩‍🔬

Text: #notjustaliens. Stephanie Striegel, Astronomy. Background: Starry night sky. Inset: Photo of Stephanie Striegel.

Text: Stephanie Striegel is the SETI Institute’s Lead Operations Engineer for the Science Processing Operations Center at NASA Ames Research Center. Her work supports NASA’s TESS mission, helping enable the detection and study of planets beyond our solar system. Background: Starry night sky with graphics of a star and exoplanets in front of it.

Text: Stephanie earned her MS in Physics and Astronomy from San Jose State University in 2023. There, she explored how machine learning could identify phases of ultra-cold atoms in optical lattices, bringing together physics and data-driven techniques. Background: Starry night sky with graphics of a star and exoplanets.

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Meade Krosby @meadekrosby.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

If you could use a pick-me-up, check out the Smithsonian’s live cheetah cub cam. The five-day old cubs are beyond adorable, and an important addition to the captive breeding program for this vulnerable species.

nationalzoo.si.edu

Cheetah Cub Cam

The Cheetah Cub Cam streams live from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia.

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NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory @rubinobservatory.org · 08/10/2026

A night at NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory✨ Beneath the Milky Way, Rubin shares the scene with the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds and the faint red Cobold Nebula. 🔭🧪 Over the next decade, Rubin will scan this sky over and over, building an ever-deeper view of the changing Universe🌌

A stunning night sky showcasing the vibrant, colorful Milky Way galaxy arching above a boot-shaped observatory on a hill, with countless stars and cosmic dust visible in the clear atmosphere.

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Micro SF/F by O. Westin @microsff.com · 08/10/2026

"Are you lost, mortal?" a voice whispered. "I just haven't been here before." "You are in the Forest of Perpetual Gloom." "These are oaks." "Er... Their dense canopy-" "It's autumn. The leaves are falling." "But the days grow shorter, so..." "Perpetual gloom except around lunchtime?" "Yes."

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Peter Gleick @petergleick.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Space water! At the heart of the Milky Way, the supermassive black hole (Sagittarius A*) produces intense radiation, powerful winds, & gravitational stress, yet using the #JamesWebb telescope astronomers found clear signatures of #water in the nearby giant star IRS 3. www.sci.news/astronomy/wa...

Sagittarius A* imaged by the Event Horizon Telescope in 2017, released in 2022. Bright red/yellow glow surrounding a dark center.

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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

So sad to hear that the iconic, trailblazing, Apollo 11 moon landing software engineering lead, Margaret Hamilton, is no longer with us. Love this image of her, standing next to a print out of the software that landed Buzz Aldrin and Neil Amstrong on the moon! 👩‍🔬🔭🛰️🧪 ℹ️: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A woman looking very cool in a 70's dress standing next to a massive pile of very thick books

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Eos @eos.org · 07/10/2026

There may be a clue about resilience hidden in these hexagonal fossils, which. . .something. . .has been making for more than 500 million years. 🧪 eos.org/articles/sci...

eos.org

Scientists Finally Think They Know What Made These Geometric Fossils - Eos

Arthropods, with harder bodies and better cognition than some other candidates, seem to be the most likely culprit.

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Mark Zec @markzecwrites.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

For me, it's a pretty simple idea: if people got what they say they want, collective action that results in a rapid elimination of emissions in x years (whether x is 10, 15, or 20), they'd be forced into making individual changes that reflect the new reality.

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EarthSky @earthskyscience.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Behold Saturn and its moons! Roberto Ortu in Cabras, Sardinia, Italy, captured this view of #Saturn and some of its larger #moons in late September. Thank you, Roberto! #astronomy 🪐📸 buff.ly/9ANBnYy Now is a great time to see the ringed planet. Here's how to find it: earthsky.org/astronomy-es...

A tan-colored planet with rings around it. Five moons are also visible around it as dots.

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Physghoul 👻 🎃 @physgal.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Rosalind Franklin knew what she was looking at. 👩🏻‍🔬 🧪 ⚛️

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EarthSky @earthskyscience.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

EarthSky's Marcy Curran in Cheyenne, Wyoming, captured this beautiful image of a galaxy not so far, far away ... the #AndromedaGalaxy! It's only about 2 million light-years away. Thank you, Marcy! 📸🌌 #astronomy buff.ly/nu79cYU See more great photos and submit yours: buff.ly/2AfQjvs

Huge spiral galaxy that looks oval from this viewing angle. Two smaller bright patches of light are on the lower edge and just above the galaxy. A teddy bear is in the lower right corner.

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Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 05/10/2026

NEW: A surprising chemical clue has broken open a Hubble cold case from 1999. Astronomers now suspect the mystery signatures in the data are from a second-generation planet that formed from gas and dust ejected by a dying star: news.stsci.edu/46WpciV 🔭

Illustration labeled Artist’s Concept at bottom right. A gaseous planet in the right foreground, seen mostly in silhouette, orbits a small, white star in the background at left. The star is surrounded by a thin, bright white disk tilted from lower left to upper right. A semi-transparent tail of material comes off the planet toward upper right. Distant stars dot the black background of space.

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SFF Addicts Podcast @sffaddictspod.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

PROPHECIES and the POWER OF WORDS 📖 Ep. 223 airs tomorrow, with guest V.E. Schwab telling co-hosts @adrianmgibson.bsky.social & Greta Kelly about her personal prophecy and the power words can have over readers. Available Oct. 6: linktr.ee/SFFAddicts youtube.com/@fanfiaddict @torbooks.bsky.social

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Nicole BOO-liucci 🎃 @noisyastronomer.com · 05/10/2026

STUNNING radio picture. WOW. #RadioAstronomy

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Mark Zec @markzecwrites.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

1963's The Haunting, based on Shirley Jackson's Haunting of Hill House. Saw it on one of the late night movie shows in the 70s, and because it showed you pretty much nothing, it left the terror up to your imagination.

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Micro SF/F by O. Westin @microsff.com · 04/10/2026

The dragon watched the girl climb up to its mountain lair. She stopped to catch her breath, then shouted: "Oi! I've got some questions." "Ask." "Princesses, why?" "They're educated and smell nice." "No noble blood?" "All humans are humans." "Yes! The revolution is go! Cheers!" "Good luck."

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Dr. Jeff Masters @drjeffmasters.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Impressive fall color at Pictured Rocks on Lake Superior this weekend! Enjoyed a great paddle at Miners Castle yesterday before the winds started cranking.

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EarthSky @earthskyscience.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Big day for #Saturn! It's at opposition — opposite the sun — today. How can you identify it? It's brighter than any star in the east after sunset now. Look east after sunset! A fainter star, #Fomalhaut, is nearby. Charts and more here: buff.ly/p8IvbA5 📸 Stellarium.

Star chart with Saturn along slanted line of ecliptic near bright star Fomalhaut.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Welcome to Fabulous Fen in the high country of Colorado. Rich fens like this are named after their incredibly rich biodiversity. Please help spread awareness that these wetlands are far from wastelands, but complex and beautiful.

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EarthSky @earthskyscience.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Martin Curran in Cheyenne, Wyoming, captured this image of IC1396 (the Elephant's Trunk Nebula), a huge gas and dust #nebula in Cepheus. Thank you, Martin! buff.ly/ikg99mQ Have a photo of your own to share? Submit it here! buff.ly/aCnqZq1

Colorful nebula with dark dust clouds and scattered stars.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Un-optimized. Moss-covered. Decaying but deeply alive. Reject efficiency, embrace the peat. #BogLife

Image of a sundew plant in Sphagnnum moss.

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EarthSky @earthskyscience.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The night sky is for everybody. 🗺️ You don’t need a telescope or an astronomy degree to start stargazing ... Our 10 tips for beginners will help you start noticing the #moon, #planets, #stars and patterns overhead — and, most importantly, enjoy the journey. 🌙✨ More: buff.ly/lSJzUwn 📸 Thomas Frazier

Kid sitting on a rail fence and looking at the glowing Milky Way in a very starry sky.

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Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 01/10/2026

#NASAWebb data is helping scientists identify the types of collisions—high or lower energy—occurring between Moon- and Mars-sized objects in young stellar environments. Our solar system is thought to have undergone similar events to form the Moon: news.stsci.edu/47mLryB

Artist’s concept of a star and its debris disk against the black background of space. The star is in the background, right of center, and depicted as a small, luminous sphere. The debris disk is a large blue ring that encircles the star. The debris disk is angled toward the viewer, so that the portion nearest to the viewer extends beyond the bottom frame of the illustration. Many dark, rocky fragments are scattered throughout the debris disk. In the foreground, toward the left, is a small planetary body colliding with a larger spherical object on its right. The impact site glows bright yellow and orange and has a lava-like appearance, as though chunks of both colliding bodies are breaking up and being destroyed. Orange-yellow streams of vapor extend outward from the collision area. Behind the debris disk and its star are many small stars in the background. A label in the bottom right corner reads “Artist’s Concept.”

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Mark Zec @markzecwrites.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Especially since there's a certain politician who's associated with the color orange.

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Micro SF/F by O. Westin @microsff.com · 30/09/2026

The princess took an earring off and held it out. The raven looked at it. "Whatever for?" "You are wise and clever. Many princesses have dragons, but none has a raven friend." The raven picked up the earring. "Say no more." "Friends?" she asked when it returned the next day. "Forevermore."

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Mark Zec @markzecwrites.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Shows me Australia while accessing it from Virginia.

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Mark Zec @markzecwrites.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

If we didn't have predators in our immediate area (foxes, raccoons, chicken hawks), we'd let our chickens have the run of the yard to keep the tick population down.

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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

It's been 7 months since I gave evidence at the UKGov select committee hearing, on the policy changes at UKRI which have had a catastrophic impact on funding for UK astronomy and particle physics. When asked if we thought we were the "canary in the coal mine", we said yes..... we weren't wrong. 🧪🔭⚛️

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Micro SF/F by O. Westin @microsff.com · 29/09/2026

Her son carefully lifted his ochre-stained hand from the cave wall and studied the outline. "That's me. My hand." He looked at the other hands. "Do you know all?" "Some are older than me." "That old?" "Hush you," she laughed. "We don't make these to be seen tomorrow, but because today, we live."

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EarthSky @earthskyscience.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Look up, skywatchers! Late tonight, the waning gibbous #moon will visit the #Pleiades star cluster. Orange star #Aldebaran - the fiery eye of #Taurus the Bull - will shine nearby, too. Don't miss them! 🌖🌌 For more sky events, visit EarthSky’s night sky guide: buff.ly/wO2IARe 📸 Chart via EarthSky.

The moon passes 5 small dots, the Pleiades, on September 29 and 30. They are above a red dot, the star Aldebaran.

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Mark Zec @markzecwrites.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

And needing to have that conversation with your daughter as she's going off to the college for the first time sucks.

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EarthSky @earthskyscience.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The magnificent #MilkyWay view — sideways view into our home galaxy — caught by Iván Cárdenes Muñoz in Gran Canaria, Spain, earlier this month. Thank you, Iván! buff.ly/ejr2TTI Where's your best place for seeing the Milky Way? Tell us in the comments!

A breathtaking Milky Way stretches over a rugged mountain landscape.
Warm village lights glow below, contrasting beautifully with the dark, star-filled sky.

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Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 28/09/2026

#NASAWebb observed galaxy Messier 51 to uncover how star clusters form. This close-up of one of its spiral arms reveals white star clusters among red and orange gas clumps. Credit: ESA, NASA, CSA, A. Pedrini, A. Adamo (Stockholm University), FEAST JWST team.

A large, long portion of one of the spiral arms in spiral galaxy Messier 51. Red-orange, clumpy filaments of gas and dust stretch in a chain from left to right to comprise the arm. Shining cyan bubbles light up parts of the gas clouds from within, and gaps expose bright star clusters in these bubbles as glowing white dots. The whole image is dotted with small, point-like stars. A faint blue glow around the arm illuminates the otherwise dark background.

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EarthSky @earthskyscience.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Equinox sunset from the Oregon Coast from our friend Cecille Kennedy. Thank you, Cecille! buff.ly/x1cjPJi Have photos of your own? Share them with us here! buff.ly/gNmP2ZK

Large orange sun sets behind dark bands of clouds, filling the sky with fiery red and orange hues.

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Mark Zec @markzecwrites.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

When you look at the vehicles Americans are buying this year, it would seem that most (if not all) of them could have bought one of those $30k EVs instead, in some cases for a lot less money than they spent for ICE. cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/...

cars.usnews.com

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EarthSky @earthskyscience.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Our friend Mandy Daniels captured the waxing gibbous #moon last night. Did it look full to you? It did to us! But it wasn't quite full. See Mandy's comment here: buff.ly/Prnp1QZ The Harvest Moon is tonight. Watch a video: buff.ly/nfDd9I4

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

⭐ Did this star eat its planets? Astronomers have found a new way to uncover evidence of stars swallowing rocky worlds. Lead author Anne Rathsam joins @goastromo.bsky.social on #SETILive to explain the cosmic detective work. 📅 Oct. 1 | 11 am PDT 🧪 🔭

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Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 25/09/2026

Astronomers estimate that there are 500,000 stars within this #NASAWebb image of Sagittarius C. One of the most densely packed areas lies within the dark, U-shaped region at the top left of the cyan-colored cloud of ionized hydrogen: bit.ly/4zeme64

A funnel-shaped region of space appears darker than its surroundings with fewer stars. It is wider at the top edge of the image, narrowing toward the bottom. At the bottom, a small clump of red and white appears to shoot out streamers upward and left. A large, bright, cyan-colored area surrounds the lower portion of the funnel-shaped dark area, forming a rough U shape. The cyan-colored area has needle-like, linear structures and becomes more diffuse in the center. The right side is dominated by clouds of orange and red, with a purple haze. There are thousands of pinpoints of light, a multitude of stars, throughout the view.

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Project Gutenberg @gutenberg.org · 25/09/2026

Why Did Claude Monet Paint the Same Scenes Over and Over Again? The Impressionist Artist Was Obsessed With Capturing the Fleeting Nature of Time by Ellen Wexler www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/w... The Seven Lamps of Architecture by John Ruskin at PG: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35898 #books #art

Rouen Cathedral: Setting Sun (Symphony in Pink and Grey).

The Gothic façade dissolves into soft blues, pinks, and lavenders, capturing shifting light rather than architectural detail.

Rouen Cathedral Series. In the evening.

It was painted here in warm reds and oranges against a blue sky—capturing the façade at a different time of day than the pink/grey version, with light dissolving architectural form into color and texture.

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Micro SF/F by O. Westin @microsff.com · 24/09/2026

Dr. Dastard pressed the button. Nothing happened. "I cut the wires," Captain Clever said, "you won't rain death and destruction on the world today." "What? My rockets were going to fetch ice asteroids to crash them into the moon." "Why?" "To make an ocean, to let the moon experience tides too."

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EarthSky @earthskyscience.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

At 2.5 million light-years away, the #Andromeda Galaxy is the most distant thing you can easily see with the unaided eye. And right now is a great time to spot it! 🤩 Here's how: buff.ly/J3FL0im 📸 Andy Dungan.

A huge, glowing spiral with 2 small fuzzy patches nearby, among thousands of foreground stars.

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Mark Zec @markzecwrites.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Did a complete rewatch recently and a lot of them still pack a punch. My college-age daughter watched this one with me and said it made her really uncomfortable. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mon...

en.wikipedia.org

The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street - Wikipedia

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Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 23/09/2026

One of the most transformational telescopes of modern time has reached another major milestone—200,000 orbits around Earth. Hubble’s observation from that day is a part of its defining legacy, measuring the expansion rate of the universe: go.nasa.gov/4h812b9 🔭

Dozens of galaxies on the black background of space observed by Hubble. Most of the galaxies are small white splotches. Some galaxies are more oval shaped, others are circular. Toward the center-left is a larger, fuzzy white oval.

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EarthSky @earthskyscience.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Wow! Researchers have found the youngest-known #exoplanet so far. The baby planet — called Elias 2-24 b — is less than a million years old. It is about twice as massive as Jupiter and 450 light-years from Earth. #Elias224b buff.ly/5E7KzqR 📸 W. M. Keck Observatory/ Adam Makarenko/ NASA.

Reddish sphere with bright white center. A set of blue rings is around the sphere, with a small white oval object between them.

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