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Phil Plait

@philplait.bsky.social

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.

80,334 Followers  |  314 Following  |  15,168 Posts  |  Joined: 02.05.2023  |  3.007

Latest posts by philplait.bsky.social on Bluesky

β€œUnder the present brutal and primitive conditions on this planet, every person you meet should be regarded as one of the walking wounded. we have never seen a man or woman not slightly deranged by either anxiety or grief. we have never seen a totally sane human being."
β€” Robert Anton Wilson

26.11.2025 20:15 β€” πŸ‘ 192    πŸ” 60    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0

It's illegal whether or not they act on it.

26.11.2025 20:52 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

The amount of illegal this is is a lot.

26.11.2025 20:37 β€” πŸ‘ 175    πŸ” 49    πŸ’¬ 6    πŸ“Œ 0

My pleasure!

26.11.2025 18:28 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Why, this is hell, nor are we out of it

26.11.2025 18:24 β€” πŸ‘ 161    πŸ” 36    πŸ’¬ 8    πŸ“Œ 0

Holy wow

26.11.2025 18:19 β€” πŸ‘ 82    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0

It was a shot in the dark

26.11.2025 15:41 β€” πŸ‘ 69    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 0

I'm guessing some eligible folks follow me here.

26.11.2025 15:36 β€” πŸ‘ 31    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Bruna Caroline Ferreira, a Brazil native and the mother of Leavitt's nephew, was arrested near Boston on November 12, her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, told CNN. https://cnn.it/49FElI3

26.11.2025 10:01 β€” πŸ‘ 368    πŸ” 100    πŸ’¬ 52    πŸ“Œ 28

An ouef?

[I listened that album a million times in high school]

25.11.2025 17:48 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Oh! I forgot to add at the time: Rebecca is of course doing all the heavy lifting here in researching and discussing this. I'm just trying to find my own way, and I'm very very glad for those who are doing so much to publicize the problems.

25.11.2025 16:51 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

There are several people in my life with varying degrees of mental health issues, including myself, so I know my experience isn't universal. I hope that you keep making the decision you have been for so long, and that you're also getting the help and support you need.

25.11.2025 16:49 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

though not specifically aimed toward people with mental health issues. In this case, too, I don't mean to trust your gut without reservation, but to understand that experience can build wisdom, or at least something against which to judge decisions. As you point out, that too can go wrong.

25.11.2025 16:46 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Hi- First off, I'm glad you're here (like, at all) and talking about this. Your point is a good one. I don't like giving advice too often because everyone is different, and yeah, my privilege can make advice seem more universal than it really is. That was part of the message I wrote near the bottom…

25.11.2025 16:44 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

"Seek out comfort shows to rewatch"

25.11.2025 16:33 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
How does magnetism help a baby star grow? It helps material spiral down into the protostar

Hey you know what helps a healthy star grow?

Magnetism! Literally: we can now see it helping funnel material down to the hungry young protostars.

badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/how-does-m...

πŸ”­πŸ§ͺ

25.11.2025 16:25 β€” πŸ‘ 160    πŸ” 18    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 1

Very cool indeed.

25.11.2025 15:22 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Which town?

25.11.2025 15:19 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Phosphene - Wikipedia

Those are called phosphenes, BTW.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphene

25.11.2025 15:05 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Phenomenal art by Jenny Johnson depicting showrunner Terry Matalas in the middle, with drawings of characters from shows he ran including 12 Monkeys, Star Trek Picard, and Marvel's Vision (upcoming). The painting was given to Terry by Todd Stashwick, who played Deacon on 12 Monkeys and fan fave Captain Liam Shaw on Picard.

Phenomenal art by Jenny Johnson depicting showrunner Terry Matalas in the middle, with drawings of characters from shows he ran including 12 Monkeys, Star Trek Picard, and Marvel's Vision (upcoming). The painting was given to Terry by Todd Stashwick, who played Deacon on 12 Monkeys and fan fave Captain Liam Shaw on Picard.

Sweet! It's James Cole, Cassie Railly, JosΓ© Ramse, Jennifer Goines, Katarina Jones, and Deacon.

(incredible 12 Monkeys art by @jennyrjohnsonart.bsky.social: bsky.app/profile/jenn...)

25.11.2025 15:01 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

I CAN CHANGE THE VERY PATH OF YOUR LIFE

(seriously this is lovely and it's nice to know that some thoughts I have can affect others so deeply)

25.11.2025 14:42 β€” πŸ‘ 84    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0

Yay!

25.11.2025 13:35 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Oh! I missed that! Im just getting ready for the next big multiple of 100.

25.11.2025 11:26 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Airplane! isn't in the top 10, and Peewee's Big Adventure isn't even on the list? Ironically, this list is a joke.

25.11.2025 04:12 β€” πŸ‘ 131    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 13    πŸ“Œ 0
We’re hiring! Engineering Director – arXiv blog

Related: arXiv is currently hiring an Engineering Director to guide these funds:

blog.arxiv.org/2025/11/24/w...

24.11.2025 21:48 β€” πŸ‘ 18    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Congrats^2!

25.11.2025 01:57 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Buy Beth Johnson a Coffee Become a supporter of Beth Johnson today!

Wow. The Universe is definitely nudging me to change things up... first with stuff at work, and now with @philplait.bsky.social giving advice in today's BAN. So have a teaser:

New projects are coming soon. Want to support me in the process? Buy my cats food at my KoFi: ko-fi.com/planetarypan πŸ§ͺπŸ‘©β€πŸ”¬

25.11.2025 01:52 β€” πŸ‘ 13    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I do have a fairly low Erdos-Bacon-Black Sabbath number thanks in part to Geo.

24.11.2025 23:43 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

πŸ˜†

24.11.2025 23:25 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Sen. Mark Kelly has released a statement.

"If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won't work. I've given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies..."

24.11.2025 18:45 β€” πŸ‘ 6412    πŸ” 2070    πŸ’¬ 198    πŸ“Œ 158

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