iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 02/10/2026

This will never stop blowing my mind. A 12-year sequence of real telescope images of a star 133 lightyears away. And around it, four planets slowly orbiting. Four real exoplanets, each more massive than Jupiter, imaged as they move around their host star.

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HLK @hlkfotos.com · 01/10/2026

Grey on gray. #BirdOfTheDay #eck 📷🌿🪶

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Daryll Marie @daryllmarie.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Research Cruise AR103 Thread: Views & Critters Yesterday’s Wilson’s storm-petrel extravaganza off the back deck! 🪶🌿🦑

A wilson’s storm petrel flying over the ocean’s surface

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Lecia Michelle @leciamichelle.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

On its way to terrorize some park goers.😂 #birds #photography #birdsofbluesky

Red-winged blackbird with black feathers and red and yellow feathers on its wing flies with wings tucked.

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Pé 🍺🧿 @forevernever.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

It's weird how the federal government is constantly being hacked after DOGE gutted the government's cybersecurity agencies.

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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 30/09/2026

This is a photograph of the edge of one of Saturn's rings, looking down from above. Those spiky dark shapes are shadows. Shadows of giant towers of ice and dust grains clumped together that rise up to three *kilometres* above the 10-m thick rings.

A series of bands cross the image from left to right, brighter at the bottom and darkening towards the top. A band of empty space is at the top of the image. About a quarter down from the top is a complex pattern of jagged, spiky shadows cast onto the rings. The icy towers casting the shadows are seen here at a highly oblique angle.

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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 30/09/2026

Oh my. The aurora borealis, seen in ultraviolet light from space. Our planet, putting on a show ✨

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shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

i thought about this old tweet tonight and how nothing has ever aged better

@Merman_Melville • Jan 24, 2019
Being a billionaire must be insane. You can buy new teeth, new skin. All your chairs cost 20,000 dollars and weigh 2,000 pounds. Your life is just a series of your own preferences. In terms of cognitive impairment it's probably like being kicked in the head by a horse every day

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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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