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Peter Edmonds

@peterdedmonds.bsky.social

Australian-American husband, father, professional nerd, astronomy communicator, dog spoiler, cricket fan. Opinions mine. He/him.

828 Followers  |  239 Following  |  115 Posts  |  Joined: 21.12.2023
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Posts by Peter Edmonds (@peterdedmonds.bsky.social)

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The science behind why some auroras have such stunning wave patterns Auroras, shimmering bands of light that shoot through the night sky near the Earthโ€™s poles, can follow patterns known as arcs

The science behind why some auroras have such stunning wave patterns www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...

08.02.2026 15:16 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 69    ๐Ÿ” 12    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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AAS Press Office The YouTube channel of the American Astronomical Society's Press Office, managed by AAS Press Officer Dr. Susanna Kohler.

The second press briefing of #AAS247 here in Phoenix, AZ is almost in the Q&A phase. You can watch the briefing here & also watch replays of previous briefings: www.youtube.com/c/AASPressOf... The press kit with the full schedule is here: aas.org/meetings/aas... - press releases should appear soon.

07.01.2026 21:47 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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I'm at the first press briefing of the 3rd full day of #AAS247. You can watch live - it JUST started: www.youtube.com/c/AASPressOf... and here is the program aas.org/meetings/aas... Press releases will be posted soon.

07.01.2026 17:20 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Here's the Chandra press release for this cool - and also hot - new movie. chandra.si.edu/photo/2026/k... #AAS247

06.01.2026 21:31 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Watch along to see a really cool movie showing Kepler's Supernova Remnant expanding, taken by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, over 25 years.

06.01.2026 21:16 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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AAS Press Office The YouTube channel of the American Astronomical Society's Press Office, managed by AAS Press Officer Dr. Susanna Kohler.

I'm at the second press briefing of today's #AAS247 meeting. Watch live here, starting in 2 mins: www.youtube.com/c/AASPressOf... and the program is here aas.org/meetings/aas..., which is where press releases will soon be posted.

06.01.2026 21:14 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
A conference room with a panel of speakers in front and high-def TV screens

A conference room with a panel of speakers in front and high-def TV screens

I'm at the first press briefing of the second day of #AAS247. Some very cool results about "News from the High-Redshift Universe and Local Analogs". Watch here: www.youtube.com/c/AASPressOf... and the program is here: aas.org/meetings/aas...

06.01.2026 17:21 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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AAS Press Office The YouTube channel of the American Astronomical Society's Press Office, managed by AAS Press Officer Dr. Susanna Kohler.

Check out the 2nd press briefing at #AAS247 about to start any second. Watch live here: www.youtube.com/c/AASPressOf... and the program is here: aas.org/meetings/aas... That last URL will include links to press releases as they become available shortly, as with this morning's briefing.

05.01.2026 21:16 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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NASA's Hubble Examines Cloud-9, First of New Type of Object - NASA Science A team using Hubble uncovered a new type of astronomical object โ€” a starless, gas-rich, dark-matter cloud, a remnant of early galaxy formation.

#AAS247 Space Telescope Science Institute: NASAโ€™s Hubble Examines Cloud-9, First of New Type of Object science.nasa.gov/missions/hub...

05.01.2026 17:25 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 4    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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NSF NRAO Radio Telescopes Help Reveal Cloud-9, a Starless Dark-Matter โ€œFailed Galaxyโ€ Near M94 - National Radio Astronomy Observatory Astronomers using NSFโ€™s VLA and GBT, along with NASAโ€™s Hubble Space Telescope, have confirmed Cloud-9 near M94 as a starless, dark-matterโ€“dominated gas cloudโ€”offering rare evidence for long-predicted ...

NEW from #AAS247: NSF NRAO Radio Telescopes Help Reveal Cloud-9, a Starless Dark-Matter โ€œFailed Galaxyโ€ Near M94

https://public.nrao.edu/news/starless-dark-matter-failed-galaxy-near-m94/

#AAS #Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #VeryLargeArray #GreenBankTelescope

05.01.2026 18:10 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 7    ๐Ÿ” 5    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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AAS Press Office The YouTube channel of the American Astronomical Society's Press Office, managed by AAS Press Officer Dr. Susanna Kohler.

Iโ€™m at the 247th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Phoenix Arizona. To watch the press briefing about to start watch here www.youtube.com/c/AASPressOf... The briefing schedule is here aas.org/meetings/aas... #aas247

05.01.2026 17:15 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

So cool!

16.12.2025 01:17 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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3I/ATLAS is Still a Single Body with a Sunward Anti-Tail After Perihelion! Breaking News: The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS did not break up near the Sun.

Any planetary scientists want to help me out with Avi's latest?

avi-loeb.medium.com/3i-atlas-is-...

3I/ATLAS has apparently passed his new totally-made-up test for being a spacecraft. I don't think anyone is surprised it's still in one piece but we're way outside my (and his) expertise here.

๐Ÿ”ญ๐Ÿงช

13.11.2025 02:59 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 72    ๐Ÿ” 17    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 17    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was born with different and more ancient chemistry, has been more irradiated, and is speeding toward the Sun faster compared to Solar System comets. It's got a unique personality. But since literally Day 1 it was recognized as a comet and has only ever done comety things.

10.11.2025 18:29 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 70    ๐Ÿ” 21    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Image of wooden bookshelf packed with space books. Three shelves are visiible with yellow and blue post-it notes on them.

Image of wooden bookshelf packed with space books. Three shelves are visiible with yellow and blue post-it notes on them.

Hi Bluesky friends! I've been MIA for a while, but I'm coming back because I have some fun news...

I'm helping the Astronomical Society of the Pacific sell/rehome their library because they are downsizing their office space. There are sooooooo many cool finds. I'm going to share as many as I can! ๐Ÿ”ญ

11.11.2025 20:45 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 182    ๐Ÿ” 46    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 12    ๐Ÿ“Œ 10
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The Harvard Scientist, Kim Kardashian and the Comet That Probably Isnโ€™t an Alien Spaceship

A fascinating read: โ€œThe Harvard Scientist, Kim Kardashian and the Comet That Probably Isnโ€™t an Alien Spaceshipโ€ www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/s...

08.11.2025 14:49 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

I expect it already has!

04.10.2025 22:14 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Her broad science communication, which includes a strong Chandra component.

04.10.2025 18:45 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Preach!

29.09.2025 22:33 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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A Decade of Gravitationalย Waves This is just a quick post to mark the fact that it is now ten years to the day since the first detection of gravitational waves by Advanced LIGO. The acronym LIGO stands for Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory. It wasn't until February 11th 2016 that the result was announced at a press conference (which I blogged about here), but the signal itself arrived on 14th September 2015, exactly a decade ago; the name given to the event was GW150914.

A Decade of Gravitationalย Waves

This is just a quick post to mark the fact that it is now ten years to the day since the first detection of gravitational waves by Advanced LIGO. The acronym LIGO stands for Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory. It wasn't until February 11th 2016 thatโ€ฆ

14.09.2025 11:08 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 44    ๐Ÿ” 20    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
Chandra Press Room :: 2025 Klumpke-Roberts Award is given to Dr. Kimberly Arcand :: 10 September 2025

Congrats to my brilliant colleague @kimberlykowal.bsky.social for this well-deserved award: โ€œ2025 Klumpke-Roberts Award is given to Dr. Kimberly Arcandโ€
chandra.si.edu/press/25_rel...

12.09.2025 13:41 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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NASA discovers โ€˜clearest sign of life that weโ€™ve ever found on Marsโ€™ Detailed analysis of images of speckled rocks found by NASAโ€™s Perseverance rover has found a โ€œpotential biosignature.โ€

LIFE ON MARS??!!
I know youโ€™re wary of overhyped claims of ET life. & we need to be cautious. As Sagan used to remind us, life should be the hypothesis of last resort. But this is one to watch. Legitimately a โ€œpotential biosignatureโ€ which demands follow up.
๐Ÿงช
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

10.09.2025 23:47 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 83    ๐Ÿ” 27    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

Thanks and good! Iโ€™ve heard of one or two LinkedIn posts by astronomers about astro news but I havenโ€™t properly checked.

30.08.2025 21:15 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Bluesky now platform of choice for science community Itโ€™s not just you. Survey says: โ€œTwitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Blueskyโ€โ€ฆ

โ€œBluesky now platform of choice for science communityโ€ by @jenlucpiquant.bsky.social
My question: is that the case for astronomers now? arstechnica.com/science/2025...

30.08.2025 21:04 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 22    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Live updates: Tsunami alerts issued for Japan, Alaska, Hawaii and US West Coast after a major earthquake strikes Russiaโ€™s remote Far East | CNN Tsunami warnings have been issued for parts of Russia and Japan after a massive 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck Wednesday off Russiaโ€™s remote and sparsely populated far eastern coast. Follow for live ...

BREAKING: Tsunami alerts issued for Alaska, Hawaii and all of the US West Coast after a major earthquake struck Russia's remote Far East.

Follow live updates.

30.07.2025 01:26 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 142    ๐Ÿ” 111    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 7    ๐Ÿ“Œ 9

Brilliant

19.07.2025 01:18 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 47    ๐Ÿ” 10    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

What a thumping signal!

15.07.2025 00:23 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 10    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

This is exciting. The most massive black hole merger seen to date: #GW231123 #gravitationalwaves ligo.org/ligo-virgo-k...

14.07.2025 16:05 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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As NASA's budget shrinks, Europe doubles down on Earth science: 'Climate change is the defining challenge of our generation' If NASA must pull back, Europe is ready to step up โ€” and do so with open arms.

As NASA's budget shrinks, Europe doubles down on Earth science

13.07.2025 06:43 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 91    ๐Ÿ” 31    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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The Biggest-Ever Digital Camera Is This Cosmologistโ€™s Magnum Opus | Quanta Magazine Tony Tysonโ€™s cameras revealed the universeโ€™s dark contents. Now, with the Rubin Observatoryโ€™s 3.2-billion-pixel camera, heโ€™s ready to study dark matter and dark energy in unprecedented detail.

I think the only thing more breathtaking than Rubinโ€™s first images was hearing their lengthy backstory from Tony Tyson. If youโ€™re interested in how it took 30 years to create these snapshots, my story below:

12.07.2025 01:01 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 57    ๐Ÿ” 15    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2