Megan Watzke

A single NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory image will reveal thousands of changing objects in the night sky, from supernovae and variable stars to active black holes and wandering asteroids. This infographic shows approximately how many of each type of object scientists expect to find in each Rubin image. Credit: NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA

The sheer volume of data coming from the new Rubin Observatory is staggering. In *one* night it issued 800,000 alerts, indicating something that changed in the sky: a moving asteroid, variable star, supernova, etc.

Rubin will be an astonishing discovery machine. 🔭🧪

noirlab.edu/public/news/...

Well played, ESA.

The boys’ club: How Epstein’s influence shaped the exclusion of women in STEM In one email, an AI researcher suggested it’s “hard to be brilliant if you are worrying if you look fat or why another woman hates you.”

There were so many of us, exactly when these emails were being written, expressly working to undo the harms of sexual harassment and sexual discrimination in science. And so many people refused to believe us that any of it was real. It was all real.

19thnews.org/2026/02/epst...

This graphic contains a composite image of the star HD 61005 in the inset (X-rays from Chandra in purple and white) that have been combined with infrared data (Hubble in blue and white). A view in optical light from a telescope in Chile shows the larger field that HD 61005 is located in. Astronomers recently used Chandra to discover an “astrosphere,” a wind-blown bubble, around HD 61005, the first seen around a star like the Sun. The artist’s illustration depicts this astrosphere in more detail, including a bow shock in blue – akin to a sonic boom in front of a supersonic plane – that is caused by the motion of the star and its astrosphere as it pushes against and flies through gas in interstellar space.

Latest news from Chandra: Astronomers captured a much younger version of our Sun blowing a protective bubble around itself.

chandra.si.edu/press/26_rel...

Cover of the new book, "Why Space Will Freak You Out: The Scariest, Strangest Parts of the Universe". Written by Kimberly K. Arcand and Megan Watzke with illustrations by Robert Ball.

Our new book, "Why Space Will Freak You Out: The Strangest, Scariest Parts of the Universe," goes on sale today (published by @sourcebooks.bsky.social). Learn more about it at www.arcandwatzke.com

Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.

No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.

Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

A series of poster that show the concepts of rotation, speed, distance and acceleration in comparisons between examples in space and those from Olympic athletes.

The Winter Olympics start this week and you can step into Italy and out into space through our AstrOlympics project. Compare the amazing feats of the athletes with the spectacular phenomena across the cosmos.
chandra.si.edu/astrolympics...

Earth is having some issues, so let's enjoy the Webb telescope's new nebula image It's our closest look yet at the Helix Nebula's comet-like knots.

The headline says it all. And the image is pretty spectacular too.

www.engadget.com/science/spac...

It moves! We can watch as the Kepler supernova remnant changes over a quarter of century in X-rays from Chandra. #aas247
chandra.si.edu/photo/2026/k...

This.

Rick Steves buys ‘the most beautiful Christmas present’ for homeless neighbors Five years after the Lynnwood Hygiene Center opened, serving hundreds in poverty, the landlord planned to sell. Steves stepped in to buy it.

"The purchase was a gift, but also a way to protest the 'insatiable greed' behind the homelessness crisis in the U.S. Communities should not have to rely on the whims of wealthy people to have their essential needs met." -- Rick Steves.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Left: A cluster of young stars, nicknamed the Christmas Tree Cluster, shines in X-rays and visible light. It is just a few million years old. Right: Collagen fibers and fat cells appear under a laser microscope. This technique helps researchers explore how tissues grow and repair.

I see your tree of cells and offer another -- plus a star cluster to boot!

More small/big comparisons at our new Chandra X-ray Observatory/Nikon project: chandra.si.edu/micro/pairs_...

Congrats Sera!

John Noble Wilford, Times Reporter Who Covered the Moon Landing, Dies at 92

I met him early in my career in the Press Office at AAS meetings. He was kind and encouraging for a 20-something with little experience like me. I miss the days when the NYT (and others) regularly had long-form sci journalism. I think it benefited all of us.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/s...

The cover of "Why Space Will Freak You Out: The Scariest, Strangest Parts of the Universe".

Our latest book will be coming out on February 10, 2026. We're trying to hook kids into science (space) by using the gross, the scary, and the weird. Look for it from @sourcebooks.bsky.social -- especially at indy bookstores!

everyone who spent the 90s laboriously and lovingly making mixtapes just dissolved into ancient dust

As someone who's written astro press releases for nearly 30 years, I think every paper should have versions like this. Brilliant!

Always grateful to Eileen and the rest of the STS-93 for launching Chandra (and everything else they did for spaceflight and science).

an image of Katie Wilson standing in a button-up shirt and slacks riding the bus in the morning while holding on onto a rail

After much deliberation and a grueling interview process, I’m pleased to announce that I’ve accepted a new job and will not need any financial support from my parents to cover the high costs of childcare going forward. #AmericanDream #ThisIsYourCity

This is such a great write up. I need to find out more about her ...

So Harvard is keeping this guy, but Claudine Gay had to step down over ginned up plagiarism accusations and bad-faith accusations of anti-Semitism.

Got it.

"There are about a thousand of us."

Yes, because the thing about girls is that they don't stay girls for very long. Which makes them disposable. And which means that men like Epstein need a huge supply.

Photos of CMU astronomers Anna O'Grady (left) and Brendan O'Connor (right).

New Chandra blog on the hunt for Betelgeuse's buddy (companion star). Written by Anna O'Grady and Brendan O'Connor, astronomers from @cmu.edu. chandra.si.edu/blog/node/935

Katie Wilson elected Seattle’s next mayor Wilson took a 1,976-vote lead over Bruce Harrell. With a maximum of 1,320 ballots remaining, it is mathematically impossible for Harrell to catch up.

Katie Wilson has been elected Seattle's next mayor
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Almost to 200 signatures!! Way to go! Keep signing and sharing. I am doing a lot of groundwork to see this change through. I just need to let the people I am speaking with know that YOU care about this, too!

Mount Pleasant’s sidewalk astronomer might have to leave his home But Gael Gomez wants people to keep looking up — at the sky and in life.

Gael Gomez and his family are all but certain to leave the country this week, upending the lives they’ve built in D.C.

But Mount Pleasant's 19-year-old sidewalk astronomer wants people to keep looking up — at the sky and in life.

@samdelgado.bsky.social reports:

Open Sesame!

The ELT doors have moved for the first time. This was no small feat, as each door will weigh 650 tonnes once completed.

The ELT dome & its doors will guard the telescope from the harsh conditions of the Atacama Desert.

https://www.eso.org/public/videos/potw2544a/

🔭 🧪
📹 ESO/ACe

I have been looking forward to this stream with @mwatzke.bsky.social for months!

Please come. It's going to be glorious, awesome, and creepy - just like our Universe.

How very 2025.

Just in time for Halloween, here's the trailer for our new book that goes on sale this February from @sourcebooks.bsky.social! @kimberlykowal.bsky.social