Jason Wright
@astrowright.bsky.social
Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Penn State.
Son, father, partner, scientist, teacher, student, human, Earthling.
Mostly posting astronomy. Mostly.
Son, father, partner, scientist, teacher, student, human, Earthling.
Mostly posting astronomy. Mostly.
Pinned
Reposted by Jason Wright
Avi Loeb really is the Dr. Oz of astronomy now. Impressive CV but full of pseudoscience so no one in the field likes him any more. 🔭
I've summarized the truth about Loeb's 10 "anomalies" about 3I/ATLAS in one post.
Thanks to @deschscoveries.bsky.social @michael-w-busch.bsky.social @cometary.org and @marshall-eubanks.bsky.social for contributing their expertise!
Thanks to @deschscoveries.bsky.social @michael-w-busch.bsky.social @cometary.org and @marshall-eubanks.bsky.social for contributing their expertise!
Loeb’s 3I/ATLAS “Anomalies” Explained
Avi Loeb continues to claim that 3I/ATLAS has many anomalous behaviors that lead to the conclusion that it “might” be an alien spacecraft. He carefully hedges the probability that it is a spacecraft ...
sites.psu.edu
November 11, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Avi Loeb really is the Dr. Oz of astronomy now. Impressive CV but full of pseudoscience so no one in the field likes him any more. 🔭
Reposted by Jason Wright
For those who keep asking me about 3I/ATLAS, here's a great writeup by my friend
@astrowright.bsky.social
sites.psu.edu/astrowright/...
@astrowright.bsky.social
sites.psu.edu/astrowright/...
Loeb’s 3I/ATLAS “Anomalies” Explained
Avi Loeb continues to claim that 3I/ATLAS has many anomalous behaviors that lead to the conclusion that it “might” be an alien spacecraft. He carefully hedges the probability that it is a spacecraft ...
sites.psu.edu
November 11, 2025 at 12:03 AM
For those who keep asking me about 3I/ATLAS, here's a great writeup by my friend
@astrowright.bsky.social
sites.psu.edu/astrowright/...
@astrowright.bsky.social
sites.psu.edu/astrowright/...
Reposted by Jason Wright
…and his paranoid fearmongering about the risks of alien invasion? These are pseudoscience-conspiracy theories dressed in the language of science. (4/7)
November 10, 2025 at 11:43 PM
…and his paranoid fearmongering about the risks of alien invasion? These are pseudoscience-conspiracy theories dressed in the language of science. (4/7)
Reposted by Jason Wright
It is conceivable that an object seen entering our solar system could be an alien artifact. But Dr. Loeb’s overt eagerness to interpret all ambiguous or slightly unusual data as promising signs of alien invasion… (3/7)
November 10, 2025 at 11:42 PM
It is conceivable that an object seen entering our solar system could be an alien artifact. But Dr. Loeb’s overt eagerness to interpret all ambiguous or slightly unusual data as promising signs of alien invasion… (3/7)
Reposted by Jason Wright
Why are planetary scientists, astrobiologists and and SETI scientists so negative (pissed off, even) about Avi Loeb’s repeated claims that 3I/Atlas may be an invading alien spaceship?
🧵
🧪🔭🛸
(1/7)
🧵
🧪🔭🛸
(1/7)
November 10, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Why are planetary scientists, astrobiologists and and SETI scientists so negative (pissed off, even) about Avi Loeb’s repeated claims that 3I/Atlas may be an invading alien spaceship?
🧵
🧪🔭🛸
(1/7)
🧵
🧪🔭🛸
(1/7)
Reposted by Jason Wright
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.
I've summarized the truth about Loeb's 10 "anomalies" about 3I/ATLAS in one post.
Thanks to @deschscoveries.bsky.social @michael-w-busch.bsky.social @cometary.org and @marshall-eubanks.bsky.social for contributing their expertise!
Thanks to @deschscoveries.bsky.social @michael-w-busch.bsky.social @cometary.org and @marshall-eubanks.bsky.social for contributing their expertise!
Loeb’s 3I/ATLAS “Anomalies” Explained
Avi Loeb continues to claim that 3I/ATLAS has many anomalous behaviors that lead to the conclusion that it “might” be an alien spacecraft. He carefully hedges the probability that it is a spacecraft ...
sites.psu.edu
November 10, 2025 at 6:29 PM
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.
I've summarized the truth about Loeb's 10 "anomalies" about 3I/ATLAS in one post.
Thanks to @deschscoveries.bsky.social @michael-w-busch.bsky.social @cometary.org and @marshall-eubanks.bsky.social for contributing their expertise!
Thanks to @deschscoveries.bsky.social @michael-w-busch.bsky.social @cometary.org and @marshall-eubanks.bsky.social for contributing their expertise!
Loeb’s 3I/ATLAS “Anomalies” Explained
Avi Loeb continues to claim that 3I/ATLAS has many anomalous behaviors that lead to the conclusion that it “might” be an alien spacecraft. He carefully hedges the probability that it is a spacecraft ...
sites.psu.edu
November 10, 2025 at 12:22 AM
I've summarized the truth about Loeb's 10 "anomalies" about 3I/ATLAS in one post.
Thanks to @deschscoveries.bsky.social @michael-w-busch.bsky.social @cometary.org and @marshall-eubanks.bsky.social for contributing their expertise!
Thanks to @deschscoveries.bsky.social @michael-w-busch.bsky.social @cometary.org and @marshall-eubanks.bsky.social for contributing their expertise!
Reposted by Jason Wright
New morphology in the tail of comet 3I/Atlas will inevitably be spun by the quack Avi Loeb as some evidence of alien activity. This is nothing new, we've seen similar behavior in other comes including 17P, C/2016 R2, and C/1961 R1, and others. It's ionized carbon monoxide. #3I #3I/Atlas #Comet 🔭
November 8, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Suddenly feeling very lucky that I plan to drive this holiday season and uncharacteristically have no flights planned until January.
November 7, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Suddenly feeling very lucky that I plan to drive this holiday season and uncharacteristically have no flights planned until January.
Obviously I use my undergraduate STEM classes in my job all them time. But the course I use the *most* in my job was a writing class, and the ones that I think distinguish me as a scientist and enrich my enjoyment of life are all humanities and social sciences.
No opinion about this specific claim, but I do think we need more humanities in our lives and hearts and minds. And more arts. More history, more literature, more painting, more moral philosophy, more poetry. More thinking about and cherishing what makes human life special.
I don’t know about you but I sincerely believe that Zohran Mamdani’s BA Major in Africana Studies enabled him to understand our current conjuncture & its demands of justice. Humanities shape minds & in his case for the better.
I know white tech bros disagree as they continue to collapse our worlds.
I know white tech bros disagree as they continue to collapse our worlds.
November 7, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Obviously I use my undergraduate STEM classes in my job all them time. But the course I use the *most* in my job was a writing class, and the ones that I think distinguish me as a scientist and enrich my enjoyment of life are all humanities and social sciences.
Reposted by Jason Wright
Hey, astronomers. Can you imagine astronomy research without ADS?!?!? No? So, have you filled out the ADS survey yet?
Help archives help you!
(Help archives keep funding!)
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Help archives help you!
(Help archives keep funding!)
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Astrophysics Data System (ADS) User Feedback Survey
Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on the Astrophysics Data System (ADS) digital library. Your insights will help us improve the platform and better serve the scientific community. All ...
docs.google.com
November 5, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Hey, astronomers. Can you imagine astronomy research without ADS?!?!? No? So, have you filled out the ADS survey yet?
Help archives help you!
(Help archives keep funding!)
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Help archives help you!
(Help archives keep funding!)
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Hey Planetary Science BlueSky.
Loeb is making a claim that the outgassing that has produced the (statistically marginal) NGAs measured for 3I/ATLAS to date will necessarily need to be detected as a large coma/tail soon, or else the comet explanation will be disproven.
1/2 🔭🧪
Loeb is making a claim that the outgassing that has produced the (statistically marginal) NGAs measured for 3I/ATLAS to date will necessarily need to be detected as a large coma/tail soon, or else the comet explanation will be disproven.
1/2 🔭🧪
November 5, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Hey Planetary Science BlueSky.
Loeb is making a claim that the outgassing that has produced the (statistically marginal) NGAs measured for 3I/ATLAS to date will necessarily need to be detected as a large coma/tail soon, or else the comet explanation will be disproven.
1/2 🔭🧪
Loeb is making a claim that the outgassing that has produced the (statistically marginal) NGAs measured for 3I/ATLAS to date will necessarily need to be detected as a large coma/tail soon, or else the comet explanation will be disproven.
1/2 🔭🧪
Reposted by Jason Wright
If comets are like cats, and planetary scientists have been studying domestic cats, tigers, leopards, jaguars, etc., of our solar system for many years, then comet 3I/ATLAS barges in like a serval or ocelot on an unbound e=6 orbit from somewhere else 😂. But it still purrs and scratches
#3IATLAS
#3IATLAS
October 31, 2025 at 8:54 PM
If comets are like cats, and planetary scientists have been studying domestic cats, tigers, leopards, jaguars, etc., of our solar system for many years, then comet 3I/ATLAS barges in like a serval or ocelot on an unbound e=6 orbit from somewhere else 😂. But it still purrs and scratches
#3IATLAS
#3IATLAS
My BlueSky feed is filled with hot takes on the up-to-the-minute results of tonight’s elections and people sharing their wins, while my X feed is full of furious arguments about superhero movies, promoted posts, clickbait, and ragebait.
November 5, 2025 at 2:45 AM
My BlueSky feed is filled with hot takes on the up-to-the-minute results of tonight’s elections and people sharing their wins, while my X feed is full of furious arguments about superhero movies, promoted posts, clickbait, and ragebait.
Reposted by Jason Wright
Hey 🔭 friends: teaching a graduate level time domain course, I've shown a bunch of classic light curve from MACHO... but I haven't been able to find a good source for the MACHO data! There should be light curves for +70 million stars over 8yrs. Anyone have a lead on where the data is these days?
November 4, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Hey 🔭 friends: teaching a graduate level time domain course, I've shown a bunch of classic light curve from MACHO... but I haven't been able to find a good source for the MACHO data! There should be light curves for +70 million stars over 8yrs. Anyone have a lead on where the data is these days?
November 3, 2025 at 1:14 PM
I did a fun podcast!
Sorry to be a party pooper, but humanity will not build a Dyson Sphere around the Sun in our lifetimes.
sites.psu.edu/astrowright/...
Sorry to be a party pooper, but humanity will not build a Dyson Sphere around the Sun in our lifetimes.
sites.psu.edu/astrowright/...
Will We Build a Dyson Sphere in 15 years?
I did a fun podcast interview here with Prakash Narayanan (@8teAPi) about Dyson Spheres: The framing is that some commentators had suggested humanity might build a Dyson sphere at some point in our li...
sites.psu.edu
November 3, 2025 at 1:08 PM
I did a fun podcast!
Sorry to be a party pooper, but humanity will not build a Dyson Sphere around the Sun in our lifetimes.
sites.psu.edu/astrowright/...
Sorry to be a party pooper, but humanity will not build a Dyson Sphere around the Sun in our lifetimes.
sites.psu.edu/astrowright/...
Reposted by Jason Wright
Let me say this in plain English: a comet can just be a comet
November 1, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Let me say this in plain English: a comet can just be a comet
Reposted by Jason Wright
I recommend this article by @meghanbartels.bsky.social and @leebillings.bsky.social for folks who are looking for *factual* information about why 3I/ATLAS is of interest to planetary astronomers: www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
The Race to Study an Interstellar Comet from Deep Space
Astronomers are hustling to use interplanetary spacecraft to study the interstellar comet dubbed 3I/ATLAS while the sun is hiding it from Earth
www.scientificamerican.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:15 PM
I recommend this article by @meghanbartels.bsky.social and @leebillings.bsky.social for folks who are looking for *factual* information about why 3I/ATLAS is of interest to planetary astronomers: www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
Reposted by Jason Wright
Have spent a substantial portion of the day turning down requests to comment to the media on Loeb's claims that 3I/ATLAS might be artificial. What was a really interesting science story has been ruined by one man ignorantly shouting. So frustrating.
October 31, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Have spent a substantial portion of the day turning down requests to comment to the media on Loeb's claims that 3I/ATLAS might be artificial. What was a really interesting science story has been ruined by one man ignorantly shouting. So frustrating.
Reposted by Jason Wright
3I/ATLAS is behaving just as a comet should. No shenanigans. Looking forward to the possibility of JUICE (a European spacecraft heading eventually to Jupiter) observing this object in the coming weeks!
I have just received from Kevin Walsh of SWRI a re-analysis of the PUNCH data for 3I/ATLAS, & have redone our gas and dust coma prediction models as a result. These new data agree well with the independent reductions of Thomas Lehmann and bode well for the Juice observations starting November 2nd.
October 31, 2025 at 3:28 PM
3I/ATLAS is behaving just as a comet should. No shenanigans. Looking forward to the possibility of JUICE (a European spacecraft heading eventually to Jupiter) observing this object in the coming weeks!
Reposted by Jason Wright
I have just received from Kevin Walsh of SWRI a re-analysis of the PUNCH data for 3I/ATLAS, & have redone our gas and dust coma prediction models as a result. These new data agree well with the independent reductions of Thomas Lehmann and bode well for the Juice observations starting November 2nd.
October 29, 2025 at 1:05 PM
I have just received from Kevin Walsh of SWRI a re-analysis of the PUNCH data for 3I/ATLAS, & have redone our gas and dust coma prediction models as a result. These new data agree well with the independent reductions of Thomas Lehmann and bode well for the Juice observations starting November 2nd.
Reposted by Jason Wright
uv makes installing and using Python *so* easy! It works on pretty much any computer and it's lightning fast. 🔭☄️ #astrocode
If you're still using conda, pyenv, or... basically any other tool, then I can *highly* recommend switching:
If you're still using conda, pyenv, or... basically any other tool, then I can *highly* recommend switching:
uv is the best thing to happen to the Python ecosystem in a decade - Blog - Dr. Emily L. Hunt
Released in 2024, uv is hands-down the best tool for managing Python installations and dependencies. Here's why.
emily.space
October 24, 2025 at 1:03 PM
uv makes installing and using Python *so* easy! It works on pretty much any computer and it's lightning fast. 🔭☄️ #astrocode
If you're still using conda, pyenv, or... basically any other tool, then I can *highly* recommend switching:
If you're still using conda, pyenv, or... basically any other tool, then I can *highly* recommend switching:
A reminder that comets are not carbon copies of each other and typically show a *lot* of variation, even when they're not from another star system.
The traditional comparison for comets is to cats:
"Comets are like cats. They have tails and do exactly as they please."
Which led Karen Meech to name the Manx comets, which have very faint or short tails, after the Manx cats.
"Comets are like cats. They have tails and do exactly as they please."
Which led Karen Meech to name the Manx comets, which have very faint or short tails, after the Manx cats.
October 30, 2025 at 3:23 PM
A reminder that comets are not carbon copies of each other and typically show a *lot* of variation, even when they're not from another star system.
Reposted by Jason Wright
The traditional comparison for comets is to cats:
"Comets are like cats. They have tails and do exactly as they please."
Which led Karen Meech to name the Manx comets, which have very faint or short tails, after the Manx cats.
"Comets are like cats. They have tails and do exactly as they please."
Which led Karen Meech to name the Manx comets, which have very faint or short tails, after the Manx cats.
October 30, 2025 at 3:11 PM
The traditional comparison for comets is to cats:
"Comets are like cats. They have tails and do exactly as they please."
Which led Karen Meech to name the Manx comets, which have very faint or short tails, after the Manx cats.
"Comets are like cats. They have tails and do exactly as they please."
Which led Karen Meech to name the Manx comets, which have very faint or short tails, after the Manx cats.