Nicole Mortillaro

I vividly remember sitting at the kitchen table reading about the first exoplanet discovery in 1992. Will never forget it. And look at us now!

Article, please.

A galaxy seen face-on, with a slightly elliptical disk that appears to have a hole in the center like a doughnut. In the hole, the core is a brightly glowing point that shines light out beyond the edge of the disk. Around the hole is an inner ring of dust, and at the galaxy’s edge is a thicker outer ring of dust, with a swirling web of dust strands in between. Blue stars and red nebulae are visible behind the dust.

THIS NEW HUBBLE IMAGE LOOKS LIKE A GALACTIC PORTAL!!! 🌌

"Every kid starts out as a natural-born scientist, and then we beat it out of them. A few trickle through the system with their wonder and enthusiasm for science intact."
-Carl Sagan

This fact always amazes me. How new our understanding really is, yet how far we've come to study these galaxies in such remarkable detail.

Colliding black holes 'ringing' across space and time prove Hawking, Einstein theories right | CBC News Two black holes collided 1.3 billion light years from Earth, creating a 'ringing,' which in turn allowed astrophysicists to test some theories. And it turns out, they were all correct.

I kinda dig gravitational waves.

www.cbc.ca/news/science...

T. Ocellus is an agent of chaos.

NASA's Perseverance finds its first possible hint of ancient Mars life The NASA Mars rover examined a rock containing organic compounds and “leopard spots” that, on Earth, are associated with microbial life.

There's a NASA presser happening now in which acting admin Duffy said "This very well could be the clearest sign of life that we’ve ever found on Mars." That doesn't mean it is a sign of life. We covered this cool rock in 2024, paper in Nature is out today: 🧪🔭
www.sciencenews.org/article/nasa...

Woot! Got my advances! New title but same great content. Use it to plan for your 2026 night sky planning! @fireflybooks.bsky.social

And that’s what I saw last night! Was absolutely amazing! @billlongo.com

So sorry. Just saw this now. 10:35 pm

There were a couple of launches today, but I'd need to know what direction you saw itmand what direction it's moving. I see other posts about it here too; it was seen from South Dakota.

Jonathan thinks it’s the Ariana launch, which makes sense.

From Canada I think it's much more likely to be the Ariane 6 launch which was polar, rather that the Vulcan launch which was at 28 deg inclination and which is still on it way to GEO altitude.

I believe so.

Was it ULA’s Vulcan?

Okay. Was looking for Perseids, but caught this instead! From Toronto. Amazing! What rocket launch is this from? It’s going the wrong way! @philplait.bsky.social @planet4589.bsky.social

An incredible JWST image of an immense city of galaxies Abell S1063 is a jaw-dropping example of the power of the big telescope

I bet it's been a while since you've had your mind vaporized by a JWST image so here's one of a cluster of galaxies so immense it's visibly warping space.

Bonus: I explain what you're seeing! Because that's kinda my thing!

badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/an-incredi...

🔭🧪

Meow.

At the centre of the image is a comet that appears as a teardrop-shaped bluish cocoon of dust coming off the comet’s solid, icy nucleus and seen against a black background. The comet appears to be heading to the bottom left corner of the image. About a dozen short, light blue diagonal streaks are seen scattered across the image, which are from background stars that appeared to move during the exposure because the telescope was tracking the moving comet.

🚨 Interstellar news!

☄️ The unexpected comet 3I/ATLAS has been captured in the sharpest picture yet by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

Discover more about this visitor from outside our Solar System 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed... 🔭 🧪

A planet for Alpha Centauri A? JWST spots what might be a Jupiter-sized world around the nearest Sun-like star

WHOA.

Astronomers may have found a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri A, the closest sun-like star to the Sun! It's a binary system, too, so if this is confirmed it'll be an AMAZING discovery!

badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/a-planet-f...

🔭🧪

☄️ Say hello to Comet 3I/ATLAS as seen by NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory! Comet 3I/ATLAS is just the third interstellar object ever spotted in our Solar System. Rubin Observatory didn’t discover it, but… Interstellar Object Comet 3I/ATLAS as seen by NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory!

☄️ Say hello to Comet 3I/ATLAS, just the third interstellar object ever seen in our Solar System!

NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory didn’t discover the comet, but even during testing, it caught a glimpse. Imagine what we'll find once full science operations begin later this year! 🔭🧪

Promotional graphic for the Rubin Observatory coloring book. The background is primarily teal with accents of yellow. On the right are some of the coloring book pages. On the left, text reads "NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory invites you to enjoy our free downloadable coloring book!"

Going stir crazy and need a screen-free activity?

Introducing the NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory coloring book! 🎨🌌

No screens, and no assembly required (unless you count crayons). Print one page or the whole book, and get coloring! 🖍️

🔗: ls.st/coloring-book 🔭🧪

OMG I love this so much!

NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory Observations of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1) We report on the observation and measurement of astrometry, photometry, morphology, and activity of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, also designated C/2025 N1 (ATLAS), with the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin ...

It's paper day! The first science paper with data from @vrubinobs.bsky.social's survey camera, the mighty LSSTCam, is a VERY quick turnaround of Rubin's observations thus far of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. ☄️
Chandler et al., submitted 🔭
A 🧵

Gemini North Discovers Long-Predicted Stellar Companion of Betelgeuse - Gemini North telescope in Hawai‘i reveals never-before-seen companion to Betelgeuse, solving millennia-old mystery Astronomers have discovered a companion star in an incredibly tight orbit around Betelgeuse using the NASA and U.S. National Science Foundation-funded ‘Alopeke instrument on Gemini North, one half of ...

From @noirlabastro.bsky.social: Astronomers using
Gemini North found a hidden companion star orbiting inside Betelgeuse’s atmosphere, the first close-in companion ever seen around a supergiant star.
🔗 noirlab.edu/public/news/...
📷GeminiObs/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA #astronomy

The star field in the Orion Constellation. An inset shows Betelgeuse and Its stellar companion.

Gemini North telescope in Hawai‘i reveals never-before-seen companion to Betelgeuse, solving millennia-old mystery

noirlab.edu/public/news/... 🧪🔭

Credit image :International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA; Image Processing: M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)

#PPOD: This video, made from images taken by Parker Solar Probe’s WISPR instrument during its record-breaking flyby of the Sun on Dec. 25, 2024, shows the solar wind racing out from the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Naval Research Lab 🧪 🔭

The hardest disbelief to suspend about the show.

Honestly, I could watch these underwater videos all day. I love our oceans.