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Phil PlAIt

@philplait.bsky.social
85K followers 299 following 20K posts

Bad Astronomer (formerly @BadAstronomer), SciCommer, Dork. Crash Course Astronomy guy. He/him. Newsletter: badastronomy.beehiiv.com I'm self-employed so my opinions do in fact represent my company's.

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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 21m
Anti-vax kills.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 12h
:) Someone already answered. Starlink for sure.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 13h
They got pretty decent measurements, looked to me. Enough to get rotation speeds and magnetic field measurements.
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Preeti Chhibber @runwithskizzers.bsky.social · 09/10/2023
oh is it monday
A two panel screenshot from The Good Place where Janet is speaking to Chidi while Michael stands behind her. 

In the first panel she's holding up a finger, grinning, and saying, "Fun fact: Columbus in the Bad Place" 

In the second panel she's saying, "Because of all the raping, slave trade, and genocide."
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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @rami.spaceaustralia.com · 16h
Phil’s got a really nice explanation going over the details of that remarkable Pa 30 supernova remnant! 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 I’m still so in awe of this object — the only one in our Galaxy! This is your astro New Year flyer/poster sorted (just give proper attribution to the team that made this image possible!)
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 15h
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 19h
You're a good guy, Frank.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 19h
Loved this movie when I was a kid. Overall it sticks somewhat close to the book, too.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 20h
I can't wait for the 2029 MAGA freakout and headlines about a partisan DoJ going after them
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Ilhan Omar @ilhanmn.bsky.social · 20h
I’m ok. Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement. For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation. I will not be silenced.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 20h
Yes, this investigation is indeed criminal
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 21h
If they had just built the 8.5-meter version they could cut exposure times by around 50%. Someone should have thought of that.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 22h
This is one of the absolute coolest shots of the expanding debris from a supernova explosion I have ever seen, and I've seen a *lot*. So what the heck's going on here with this thing? Hey, let me explain. badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/an-incredi... 🧪 🔭
badastronomy.beehiiv.com
An incredible image of a celestial fireworks display
A supernova in the year 1181 produced the spectacular Pa 30 nebula
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 22h
"corpus" sounds menacing in this context
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 22h
Happy Columbus day, ahistorical nationalist racists!
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 22h
A City on Mars is a great book, and I'm glad to see this, and assume the reason none of my books are on the shelf is because they sold immediately
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David Gorski, MD, PhD @gorskon.bsky.social · 22h
Last week, RFK Jr. and his minions opened a “vaccine injury clinic” at the NIH. With no budget, structure, or leadership announced, the program appears to be a sham in service of RFK Jr.’s war on vaccines. sciencebasedmedicine.org/rfk-jr-is-de...
sciencebasedmedicine.org
RFK Jr. is definitely coming for your vaccines (part 12): The new NIH vaccine injury clinic is likely a sham
Last week, RFK Jr. and his minions opened a "vaccine injury clinic" at the NIH. With no budget, structure, or leadership announced, the program appears to be a sham in service of RFK Jr.'s war on vacc
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 23h
John asked me for some science support, and I gave him some vague ideas, but I don't know enough hydro to figure out what would happen to the interior of the moon if it turned to cheese. I did say that the water content would turn to steam and that could cause ruptures, so that was fun.
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Nature Astronomy @natastron.nature.com · 12/10/2026
Farewell NASA ADS ☄️
dlvr.it
Farewell NASA ADS
Nature Astronomy, Published online: 12 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-03009-yAfter more than 33 years, NASA’s Astrophysics Data System will close its virtual doors in November 2026 and be replaced by its much-expanded successor, Science Explorer. While the core functionality and astrophysics database will remain the same, SciX will extend its relevance to a broader range of scientists.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
This supposition has merit
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Yeah I've seen a ton of his videos and he's pretty good.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Yeah. Yeah. I'm just a guy writing a newsletter and handling the business end as well, so just talking one on one is way, way better, including for your soul.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Anybody who has ever had herd animals learns this, usually the hard way. Goats are maniacally good at escaping, and I spent many a fun time getting them back in to their pen.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Damn. Sorry, Katie.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
I was verified a while back, jn fact. When you change your handle, I think, it has to reverify.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Something I didn't anticipate when we moved into a forest: raindrops hitting leaves and dripping down from leaf to leaf amplifies the sound of rainfall dramatically, even if the rain is quite light. It's magical, and with everything else quiet outside it's truly lovely to experience.
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Peter Sagal @petersagal.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
This particular slur/insult/trope makes me nuts. In 2012 Warren was running against incumbent GOP Senator Scott Brown, who has won a special election for Ted Kennedy’s seat in 2010 in the Obamacare backlash (also bad Dem candidate and being a former nude model.)
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Type Iax SNe are pretty rare; this is the only one we've seen in the MW and the classification isnt confirmed (just very likely). Getting a leftover compact object after a WD explosion is rare at all.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
That can happen, but as they approach each other over millennia the tides get incredibly strong, and that would slow their spins a lot. I'm not sure how often the spins align or don't when they merge!
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Ian @ianlivingston.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Russia is also supporting Iran against us. This guy is the biggest asshat on the planet.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
And thank you. That means a lot to me.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
:) My newsletter on Monday will lots more about this.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Rami mentioned the Helix and it's similar physics. But this one was a weird supernova all around.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
I imagine the central star is spinning madly given the angular momentum of two merging WDs. Pretty amazing object. And I love the history of it too
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
I'll admit that section confused me some. They give three ideas and I need to parse them more carefully.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Niiiice
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
It's a phenomenal image and I'm writing about it for Monday's newsletter. The central star is really interesting!
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
I read the paper and they seem to lean more to the idea of Rayleigh- Taylor instabilities as the ejecta move though the ISM. I'm gonna read it again to make sure I get their points.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Nice! I thought you meant that one was store bought and I wondered about how good it looked. 😀
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Ha! Half or more are science trade books. Like @zachweinersmith.bsky.social and @weinersmith.bsky.social blame me for their potential mistakes in *two* books.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
I've actually investigated, and like 8 books I'm mentioned in one way or another have either won Hugos or been NYT best sellers. I'm considering going pro.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Coincidence. It's a big universe.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
I'm counting the days for granny smith season here. We've had some good local apples but GSes have always been my favorite for pies.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
I didn't think about the new moon. Yikes. At least it's not at perigee, so it's somewhat weaker than it could be.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
I'm still ticked about 40 Eri Ab
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
This is ABSOLUTELY a Manos easter egg and it appears Flanagan confirms it in the reply below.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Attn @jvancitters.bsky.social This feels up your Jeffries Tube ^h^h^h alley
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
This is a ln insightful thought and really hits home. I've been on that train and it's a great ride. This video will resonate strongly with many people.
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
ergo sum
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Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Ooooo, asperitas undulatus clouds! Super cool! I've never seen them but I've always wanted to. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperit...
en.wikipedia.org
Asperitas (cloud) - Wikipedia
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