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tsjackson.bsky.social

@tsjackson.bsky.social
481 followers 332 following 39 posts
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Paul Voosen @voosen.me · 28/09/2026
New Horizons is now *three days away* from shutting off its two heliophysics instruments, simply because NASA has not provided the $2M in funding it had promised to the mission last year or this year. There is no science basis for shutting these off. Our earlier coverage:
science.org
NASA’s New Horizons mission may shut down two instruments over lack of funding
Decision risks “incalculable loss” of data from the edge of the Sun’s influence, scientists say
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 28/09/2026
This is a photo of our home planet taken only a few hours ago! So what? We have photos of Earth taken from space every day. Ah, but *this* photo was taken by a spacecraft ON ITS WAY TO JUPITER.
From the source: "Mostly black space, most of Earth visible at the top right of the image. Part of a spacecraft visible on the left."
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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
One thing I’ve noticed in 6 years of Trump: when he tries to cheat, he bumblefucks it spectacularly. Martial law doesn’t provide a mechanism for cancelling elections. I think it would have the exact opposite effect - turnout is already going to be high, that would send it to the stratosphere.
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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
He could absolutely *try* to declare martial law. It’s been telegraphed so much, and there’s clearly no national emergency. It would be knocked down by a court almost immediately.
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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Nah, she hates Trump. I guess my favorite 3 Trump accomplishments: 1. More people are paying attention to signs of Dementia than ever before 2. Trump is making math great again - lots of robust debates about his lie about reducing drug prices by 600% 3. He single-handedly revived fact checking
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Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 22/09/2026
Call me crazy, but it seems like the administrator of Medicare and Medicaid should.... know how fucking insurance works?
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DevinCow @devincow.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Oh, my heart
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shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
i mean on the one hand fuck politico but on the other, lmaooo (via @status.news)
via Status: 
The Source Behind The Ban
The anonymous source behind one of the stories the White House cited to justify banning POLITICO was none other than Vice President JD Vance, Status has learned.
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 21/09/2026
Shadows on Saturn.
Half of the planet is illuminated by the Sun; its ring system arcs through the scene, casting shadows across the lower hemisphere.
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 21/09/2026
This isn't the diseased skin of some alien—this is Mars! Taken by ESA's Mars Express spacecraft, this colour scene shows a portion of the planet's high southern latitudes where frost, dust, and sunlight combine to produce these pink and purple tones.
From the source: "A purple–pink–coloured patch of Mars, which is lighter on the left and darker on the right. A dark line runs from the top centre towards the bottom right, dividing the light and dark areas. At the centre of the image is a sharp light-coloured crater. Less sharp craters are scattered over the rest of the image. At the bottom left is a bright white-blue triangular patch; it looks icy."
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 22/09/2026
Interesting tidbit from today's briefing at the Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG) meeting by NASA planetary leadership: NASA is considering *two* flagships for flight—one to Uranus, the other to orbit and land on Enceladus. Both were Decadal priorities—but in series, not one over the other.
How does one do alt text for a graphic with loads of text?
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 23/09/2026
This is the Dragonfly spacecraft, ultimately destined for Titan, photographed in July during early construction at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The mission PI, Zibi Turtle, shared this image at the OPAG meeting today. Credit: NASA/JHU APL/Zibi Turtle
The Dragonfly spacecraft structure, showing the main chassis, the four struts to which the propellers will be attached, and various electrical and avionics boxes.
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 23/09/2026
I said I'd do a thread about my new Space Science Reviews paper, so here it is! This is part of a collection of papers arising from a meeting at the International Space Science Institute in Bern in 2024: a workshop to better understand rocky extrasolar planets. A 🧵:
Interior structure models of Earth, Venus, Mercury, Mars, the Moon, and Io, all shown to scale and key elements labelled.
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Jonathan Slater @jonathanslater.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Putting fake signs on empty stores. Lol
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Phil Plait @philplait.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This is a cool mission (literally). Cooled to 4.5 degrees above absolute zero, it'll scan the skies in infrared *starting* at the longest wavelength JWST can see, and going out to 200+ microns.
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Vincent Ledvina @vincentledvina.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
An incredible auroral display in Beaver, Alaska, filmed in real-time (NOT sped up) and NOT AI (never will post AI aurora content on my pages). This display occured when I was helping with a NASA sounding rocket mission earlier this year.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
One more example of how a personalist regime they cannot conceive of a bipartisan institution to the point they would prefer to destroy it if they cannot repurpose it to their ends. See, also, much of the rest of the federal government, our military, science, higher education etc.
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MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 19/09/2026
🚨 SCOOP: California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a sweeping package of new election laws aimed at protecting ballots, voting equipment, vote-by-mail and the chain of custody ahead of the November election, including new felony penalties for interference.
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shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
congrats to truckers for trump, who are getting exactly what they voted for
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 17/09/2026
HOLY SHIT NEW IMPACT CRATER ON THE MOON This crater is 222 m (728 ft) across, and formed in spring 2024. Statistical modelling tells us this is a 1-in-132 year event. So the last time a crater this big formed on the Moon was 1894.
A large crater with bright rays is situated in the centre of this image. The dark, pockmarked lunar surface makes up the background.
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shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
“give me what i want or i’ll shoot myself” really only works if anyone cares about you shooting yourself
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shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
literal definition of an unholy alliance
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Schooley @schooley.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Do you think felons should be knocking down the White House, Jesse? Do you think presidents should nap on live television? Do you think congress should come off vacation once in a while? Answer, Jesse! These are real questions!
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 13/09/2026
See that small bright object in the middle right of this image? That's the small icy moon Mimas. Floating in space against a backdrop of giant Saturn, the planet crossed by shadows from its rings.
A black swath of shadow crosses the scene from top left to bottom right. The background is various shades of blue and grey. A small, illuminated crescent is at upper right. The lower portion of the image is lighter grey/brown.
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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
If Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, and Elon Musk all agree that we have to slow down - and now - something serious clearly happened with a frontier AI model. Journalists should be digging in to this. We aren’t getting the whole story here.
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shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
trump disdains no one more than his own supporters
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Ezra Levin ❌👑 @ezralevin.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Fun fact: in our polling of battleground states, about 60% of voters said it is a “top” or “high” priority for Congress to investigate and hold Musk accountable. Lean into it Dems. He’s a cartoon villain - treat him like one.
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 09/09/2026
Astrophotographer Adam (AJ) Smadi caught this image a few hours ago from Washington state. A thin crescent Moon, sunlight illuminating the rugged lunar surface. And 2,400 times farther away—and on the other side of the Sun—mighty Jupiter, and its moons Io (left) and Ganymede (right).
A crescent Moon seen during the day, arcing from upper left to lower right of the frame. At lower centre is the full disk of Jupiter; the small dots to its upper left and lower right and Io and Ganymede, respectively.
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pulsarcube.bsky.social @pulsarcube.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Timeline for coming events:
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 04/09/2026
That small black circle is the planet Mercury, seen crossing the face of the Sun by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on 9 May 2016.
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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
No, not irreversible. But it will almost certainly take more than one Democratic term to fix. Which is why I’ve been so insistent that folks stop the goddamn purity tests and vote responsibly in November. We aren’t looking for perfect candidates. We’re looking for better than Republicans.
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The Clear Cider @theclearcider.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Have you ever left a hot dog in the microwave too long?
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shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
yall are gonna hear me say this a lot so here goes again: make plans to vote in person, and do it as early as possible. literally make turnout this election too big to steal.
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 30/08/2026
Watch what it's like to sample an asteroid. On 20 October 2020, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft positioned itself above asteroid Bennu and used its sampling system to grab material for return to Earth. Rather than being a solid chunk of rock, Bennu turned out to have the cohesion of a ball pit.
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 30/08/2026
Learn more about the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: science.nasa.gov/mission/roma... Image credit: NASA/John Kraus
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 30/08/2026
A remarkable shot by John Kraus of the launch this morning of NASA's new Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Liftoff was at 7:26 am Eastern; the spacecraft will take about three months to climb up to the second Sun–Earth Lagrange point. Roman will search for dark matter, dark energy, and exoplanets.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket transits the Sun. The hot gasses from the liquid-fuelled boosters create complex refraction patterns that distort sunlight at lower left. Shockwaves from the rocket's 27 engines emanate in arcs that break up the Sun's outline.
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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
People are falling for the DSA vs Establishment trap again. Didn’t we learn our lesson in 2016 and 2024? It’s the establishment’s job to build a coalition that can win EVERYWHERE. In some places, that means ultra-progressive. In others, it means establishment. The tent is big enough for all of us.
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Evan Sutton @evansutton.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Another big day for the "eLon iS dOne wiTh pOliTics, tHere's noThiNg wRonG wiTH BuYinG a tEsLa" crowd www.politico.com/news/2026/08...
politico.com
Mike Johnson planning to meet with Elon Musk in Texas
The planned meeting Friday comes as Musk is reportedly considering spending at least $100 million to boost the GOP this fall.
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shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
but if kids are vaccinated it wouldn’t matter if immigrants have it [dies from acute logic]
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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
There’s talk of Bahrain hearings if/when the Dems take the House. I think the plan is to Benghazi the hell out of it, yes. But yes, it’s much worse than the administration is admitting.
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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
I’d love to have coffee with Pete, but I promise that smarter people than me are already working on a Project 2027/2029 blueprint to un-fuck as much of this as possible.
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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
We can, and we will. One he’s gone, I suspect a lot of folks are going to pretend like they never supported him. Eventually, this is going to get really embarrassing for them. The issue for us is that we have to STAY focused. We can’t treat this like ‘we won in 2026 and 2028, we’re good now’
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shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
nationalize this
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shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
never been more glad i don’t eat beef
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shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
but but but i was told we can’t tax billionaires or they’ll leave
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shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
re-up for two more years under a lunatic commander-in-chief and his fox news lackey (neither of whom give a single shit about you) and we’ll let you … play video games for a few days! what are we even doing.
tmz.com
U.S. Army Offering Soldiers Time Off to Play 'GTA 6' if They Enlist for 2 More Years
The U.S. Army is preparing to invade Vice City, apparently ... promising soldiers who re-enlist multiple days off to play "Grand Theft Auto 6."
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shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
the prim tut-tutting over something so incredibly benign tells me they’re spending too much time with insulated consultants and not enough time with people in the real world
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 18/08/2026
Almost everyone knows he's not (mentally) fit to serve. He's not fit to serve in a fucking McDonalds. So why doesn't anyone do anything? Because it suits the Republicans to keep him there as long as possible.
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 18/08/2026
THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WHEN YOU SLAM A ROCKET INTO THE MOON New images just dropped from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, showing the crater formed by a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage when it hit the Moon on 5 August 2026. The new crater is 18 m across and 3 m deep.
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 19/08/2026
Solar eclipse (let's be honest, it's more of a transit) last Thursday, 13 August 2026, photographed from the surface of Mars.
The Sun's disk, with a Phobos-shaped hole in it.
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