Corey S. Powell
@coreyspowell.bsky.social
Fascinated by things very big, very small, and beyond the limits of the human senses. Founder of OpenMind: www.openmindmag.org Creator of the Invisible Universe column: https://invisibleuniverse.substack.com/
Pinned
Corey S. Powell
@coreyspowell.bsky.social
· Nov 15
In honor of all the new arrivals, I'm sharing one of my favorite videos.
It shows 24 hours of Earth's rotation, with the camera locked to the sky instead of the ground. We're all hanging out on this spinning rock.
Brilliant work by Bartosz Wojczyński. 🧪
artuniverse.eu/gallery/1907...
It shows 24 hours of Earth's rotation, with the camera locked to the sky instead of the ground. We're all hanging out on this spinning rock.
Brilliant work by Bartosz Wojczyński. 🧪
artuniverse.eu/gallery/1907...
Ten years ago today, physicists reported the first direct detection of gravitational waves, produced by colliding black holes 1.3 billion light years away.
That was when we, as a species, developed space-time eyes. My Invisible Universe column: 🧪🔭
invisibleuniverse.substack.com/p/the-day-we...
That was when we, as a species, developed space-time eyes. My Invisible Universe column: 🧪🔭
invisibleuniverse.substack.com/p/the-day-we...
February 11, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Ten years ago today, physicists reported the first direct detection of gravitational waves, produced by colliding black holes 1.3 billion light years away.
That was when we, as a species, developed space-time eyes. My Invisible Universe column: 🧪🔭
invisibleuniverse.substack.com/p/the-day-we...
That was when we, as a species, developed space-time eyes. My Invisible Universe column: 🧪🔭
invisibleuniverse.substack.com/p/the-day-we...
Reposted by Corey S. Powell
This is a real timelapse video of the Moon transiting in front of the Earth.
It was captured by the Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft in November 2022 while flying at it's furthest point from the Earth.
The video covers about 3.75 hours of real time. 🔭🧪
It was captured by the Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft in November 2022 while flying at it's furthest point from the Earth.
The video covers about 3.75 hours of real time. 🔭🧪
February 11, 2026 at 3:43 PM
This is a real timelapse video of the Moon transiting in front of the Earth.
It was captured by the Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft in November 2022 while flying at it's furthest point from the Earth.
The video covers about 3.75 hours of real time. 🔭🧪
It was captured by the Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft in November 2022 while flying at it's furthest point from the Earth.
The video covers about 3.75 hours of real time. 🔭🧪
It's frustrating to see huge accounts spreading AI slop space images when real, amazing images are easily accessible.
Left: fake.
Right: real image from the Akatsuki probe, showing Venus's clouds backlit by infrared from its overheated lower atmosphere. 🧪🔭
akatsuki.isas.jaxa.jp/en/gallery/d...
Left: fake.
Right: real image from the Akatsuki probe, showing Venus's clouds backlit by infrared from its overheated lower atmosphere. 🧪🔭
akatsuki.isas.jaxa.jp/en/gallery/d...
February 11, 2026 at 3:17 PM
It's frustrating to see huge accounts spreading AI slop space images when real, amazing images are easily accessible.
Left: fake.
Right: real image from the Akatsuki probe, showing Venus's clouds backlit by infrared from its overheated lower atmosphere. 🧪🔭
akatsuki.isas.jaxa.jp/en/gallery/d...
Left: fake.
Right: real image from the Akatsuki probe, showing Venus's clouds backlit by infrared from its overheated lower atmosphere. 🧪🔭
akatsuki.isas.jaxa.jp/en/gallery/d...
While scanning for alien signals, researchers found a possible millisecond pulsar near the center of the Milky Way.
If confirmed, it could help study the inner structure of our galaxy & map the gravitational pull of the supermassive black hole at the center. 🧪🔭
news.columbia.edu/news/researc...
If confirmed, it could help study the inner structure of our galaxy & map the gravitational pull of the supermassive black hole at the center. 🧪🔭
news.columbia.edu/news/researc...
February 9, 2026 at 11:44 PM
While scanning for alien signals, researchers found a possible millisecond pulsar near the center of the Milky Way.
If confirmed, it could help study the inner structure of our galaxy & map the gravitational pull of the supermassive black hole at the center. 🧪🔭
news.columbia.edu/news/researc...
If confirmed, it could help study the inner structure of our galaxy & map the gravitational pull of the supermassive black hole at the center. 🧪🔭
news.columbia.edu/news/researc...
Reposted by Corey S. Powell
Happy " International Space Station Is As Big As A Football Field Day" for those who observe and celebrate.
February 8, 2026 at 7:48 PM
Happy " International Space Station Is As Big As A Football Field Day" for those who observe and celebrate.
My nomination for today's #SuperbOwl.
The Cosmic Owl is two galaxies that crashed into each other, creating overlapping ring-shaped splashes of stars. It measures about 150,000 light years from side to side, or about 10^20 times the size of a Great Grey Owl on Earth. 🧪🔭
arxiv.org/abs/2506.10058
The Cosmic Owl is two galaxies that crashed into each other, creating overlapping ring-shaped splashes of stars. It measures about 150,000 light years from side to side, or about 10^20 times the size of a Great Grey Owl on Earth. 🧪🔭
arxiv.org/abs/2506.10058
February 8, 2026 at 7:17 PM
My nomination for today's #SuperbOwl.
The Cosmic Owl is two galaxies that crashed into each other, creating overlapping ring-shaped splashes of stars. It measures about 150,000 light years from side to side, or about 10^20 times the size of a Great Grey Owl on Earth. 🧪🔭
arxiv.org/abs/2506.10058
The Cosmic Owl is two galaxies that crashed into each other, creating overlapping ring-shaped splashes of stars. It measures about 150,000 light years from side to side, or about 10^20 times the size of a Great Grey Owl on Earth. 🧪🔭
arxiv.org/abs/2506.10058
A beautiful panorama of cosmic life & death:
These images of the Sculptor Galaxy combine 100 exposures in thousands of colors, 300 gigs of data. They show 500 planetary nebulae (the demise of other Suns) + a central "chimney" caused by a burst of newly formed stars. 🧪🔭
www.eso.org/public/news/...
These images of the Sculptor Galaxy combine 100 exposures in thousands of colors, 300 gigs of data. They show 500 planetary nebulae (the demise of other Suns) + a central "chimney" caused by a burst of newly formed stars. 🧪🔭
www.eso.org/public/news/...
February 8, 2026 at 5:32 PM
A beautiful panorama of cosmic life & death:
These images of the Sculptor Galaxy combine 100 exposures in thousands of colors, 300 gigs of data. They show 500 planetary nebulae (the demise of other Suns) + a central "chimney" caused by a burst of newly formed stars. 🧪🔭
www.eso.org/public/news/...
These images of the Sculptor Galaxy combine 100 exposures in thousands of colors, 300 gigs of data. They show 500 planetary nebulae (the demise of other Suns) + a central "chimney" caused by a burst of newly formed stars. 🧪🔭
www.eso.org/public/news/...
News from the edge of the visible universe:
JWST has confirmed this galaxy, MoM-z14, as the most distant one yet studied. We're seeing it as it was 13.5 billion years ago, 98% of the way back to the beginning of time.
(MoM stands for "miracle or mirage.") 🧪🔭
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
JWST has confirmed this galaxy, MoM-z14, as the most distant one yet studied. We're seeing it as it was 13.5 billion years ago, 98% of the way back to the beginning of time.
(MoM stands for "miracle or mirage.") 🧪🔭
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
February 6, 2026 at 8:56 PM
News from the edge of the visible universe:
JWST has confirmed this galaxy, MoM-z14, as the most distant one yet studied. We're seeing it as it was 13.5 billion years ago, 98% of the way back to the beginning of time.
(MoM stands for "miracle or mirage.") 🧪🔭
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
JWST has confirmed this galaxy, MoM-z14, as the most distant one yet studied. We're seeing it as it was 13.5 billion years ago, 98% of the way back to the beginning of time.
(MoM stands for "miracle or mirage.") 🧪🔭
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
Here's a good use for "AI" (a rebranded neural net, really): sorting through 100 million Hubble images & identifying hundreds of celestial anomalies.
The set includes peculiar colliding galaxies, gravitational lenses, planet-forming hamburgers, and true enigmas. 🔭🧪
www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
The set includes peculiar colliding galaxies, gravitational lenses, planet-forming hamburgers, and true enigmas. 🔭🧪
www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
February 6, 2026 at 2:50 PM
Here's a good use for "AI" (a rebranded neural net, really): sorting through 100 million Hubble images & identifying hundreds of celestial anomalies.
The set includes peculiar colliding galaxies, gravitational lenses, planet-forming hamburgers, and true enigmas. 🔭🧪
www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
The set includes peculiar colliding galaxies, gravitational lenses, planet-forming hamburgers, and true enigmas. 🔭🧪
www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
Intriguing question: is "darkness" a natural resource that could or should be protected? The trend of modern life has been to treat darkness as a threat to be eliminated, but a lot of people are pushing back to preserve dark skies & natural ecosystems. 🧪
There’s an interesting lawsuit out of Connecticut I’ve been following that rests on the question of whether darkness — yes, darkness, the primordial Erebus himself— is a natural resource. Here’s why that’s potentially a big deal.
February 5, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Intriguing question: is "darkness" a natural resource that could or should be protected? The trend of modern life has been to treat darkness as a threat to be eliminated, but a lot of people are pushing back to preserve dark skies & natural ecosystems. 🧪
This is the most detailed map yet of dark matter in the universe, based on JWST observations of 800,000 galaxies.
The background image shows those galaxies in infrared light. Yellow indicates the location of dark matter, inferred from its gravitational pull. 🧪🔭
www.nasa.gov/missions/web...
The background image shows those galaxies in infrared light. Yellow indicates the location of dark matter, inferred from its gravitational pull. 🧪🔭
www.nasa.gov/missions/web...
February 4, 2026 at 1:11 AM
This is the most detailed map yet of dark matter in the universe, based on JWST observations of 800,000 galaxies.
The background image shows those galaxies in infrared light. Yellow indicates the location of dark matter, inferred from its gravitational pull. 🧪🔭
www.nasa.gov/missions/web...
The background image shows those galaxies in infrared light. Yellow indicates the location of dark matter, inferred from its gravitational pull. 🧪🔭
www.nasa.gov/missions/web...
NASA's Artemis II flight, which will send a crew around the Moon for the first time since 1972, has been delayed due to a hydrogen leak.
The flight is tentatively rescheduled for early March. 🧪🔭
arstechnica.com/space/2026/0...
The flight is tentatively rescheduled for early March. 🧪🔭
arstechnica.com/space/2026/0...
February 3, 2026 at 11:45 AM
NASA's Artemis II flight, which will send a crew around the Moon for the first time since 1972, has been delayed due to a hydrogen leak.
The flight is tentatively rescheduled for early March. 🧪🔭
arstechnica.com/space/2026/0...
The flight is tentatively rescheduled for early March. 🧪🔭
arstechnica.com/space/2026/0...
Reposted by Corey S. Powell
This is what taxpayer-funded open science plus decades of hard-won investment and expertise looks like
New JWST 🔭 data is available for Uranus, here is just a brief look, manual color stretching with DS9.
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI.
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI.
February 2, 2026 at 10:44 PM
This is what taxpayer-funded open science plus decades of hard-won investment and expertise looks like
In 1859, Richard Carrington observed the 1st solar flare--an eruption so powerful it spawned brilliant auroras & knocked out telegraph lines around the world.
We have Carrington's drawings but, amazingly, there was no known picture of the man himself--until now. 🧪🔭
academic.oup.com/astrogeo/art...
We have Carrington's drawings but, amazingly, there was no known picture of the man himself--until now. 🧪🔭
academic.oup.com/astrogeo/art...
February 2, 2026 at 2:38 PM
In 1859, Richard Carrington observed the 1st solar flare--an eruption so powerful it spawned brilliant auroras & knocked out telegraph lines around the world.
We have Carrington's drawings but, amazingly, there was no known picture of the man himself--until now. 🧪🔭
academic.oup.com/astrogeo/art...
We have Carrington's drawings but, amazingly, there was no known picture of the man himself--until now. 🧪🔭
academic.oup.com/astrogeo/art...
On Earth, avalanches are terrifying. On the Sun, they are simply overwhelming.
ESA's Solar Orbiter captured this magnetic avalanche on the Sun as it triggered a major solar flare. There's an outline of the Earth at the beginning for scale.
www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
ESA's Solar Orbiter captured this magnetic avalanche on the Sun as it triggered a major solar flare. There's an outline of the Earth at the beginning for scale.
www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
January 31, 2026 at 2:52 PM
On Earth, avalanches are terrifying. On the Sun, they are simply overwhelming.
ESA's Solar Orbiter captured this magnetic avalanche on the Sun as it triggered a major solar flare. There's an outline of the Earth at the beginning for scale.
www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
ESA's Solar Orbiter captured this magnetic avalanche on the Sun as it triggered a major solar flare. There's an outline of the Earth at the beginning for scale.
www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
NASA's Juno spacecraft detected the largest volcanic hotspot ever seen in our solar system. It appeared on Jupiter's moon Io, it covers 100,000 square kilometers (bigger than Lake Superior), and it radiates 80 trillion watts of heat. 🧪🔭
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-ju...
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-ju...
January 30, 2026 at 4:18 PM
NASA's Juno spacecraft detected the largest volcanic hotspot ever seen in our solar system. It appeared on Jupiter's moon Io, it covers 100,000 square kilometers (bigger than Lake Superior), and it radiates 80 trillion watts of heat. 🧪🔭
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-ju...
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-ju...
After 3 decades, astronomers have found >6000 planets, but nothing quite like our own. The new Terra Hunting Experiment in the Canary Islands is designed to find what we're really looking for: an Earth-size planet in an Earth-like orbit around a Sun-like star. 🧪🔭
www.sciencenews.org/article/eart...
www.sciencenews.org/article/eart...
January 29, 2026 at 3:52 PM
After 3 decades, astronomers have found >6000 planets, but nothing quite like our own. The new Terra Hunting Experiment in the Canary Islands is designed to find what we're really looking for: an Earth-size planet in an Earth-like orbit around a Sun-like star. 🧪🔭
www.sciencenews.org/article/eart...
www.sciencenews.org/article/eart...
Sometimes astronomers are watching a star and it just...fades away.
This star in the Andromeda Galaxy might have collapsed into a black hole. Or it might have merged with another star & kicked a huge cloud of dark dust. Either way, something strange going on. 🧪🔭
arxiv.org/abs/2601.05317
This star in the Andromeda Galaxy might have collapsed into a black hole. Or it might have merged with another star & kicked a huge cloud of dark dust. Either way, something strange going on. 🧪🔭
arxiv.org/abs/2601.05317
January 28, 2026 at 4:46 AM
Sometimes astronomers are watching a star and it just...fades away.
This star in the Andromeda Galaxy might have collapsed into a black hole. Or it might have merged with another star & kicked a huge cloud of dark dust. Either way, something strange going on. 🧪🔭
arxiv.org/abs/2601.05317
This star in the Andromeda Galaxy might have collapsed into a black hole. Or it might have merged with another star & kicked a huge cloud of dark dust. Either way, something strange going on. 🧪🔭
arxiv.org/abs/2601.05317
It's been tough posting about science these past few days, but I keep reading about remarkable new findings. I'll be sharing some shortly; it's important to remember all the goodness and constructive curiosity out there.
January 28, 2026 at 3:12 AM
It's been tough posting about science these past few days, but I keep reading about remarkable new findings. I'll be sharing some shortly; it's important to remember all the goodness and constructive curiosity out there.
40 years ago today, Voyager 2 became the first (and, so far, only) spacecraft to visit to Uranus, sending back astonishing images of the planet, its thin rings, and its peculiar set of moons. 🧪🔭
www.nasa.gov/history/35-y...
www.nasa.gov/history/35-y...
January 25, 2026 at 6:17 AM
40 years ago today, Voyager 2 became the first (and, so far, only) spacecraft to visit to Uranus, sending back astonishing images of the planet, its thin rings, and its peculiar set of moons. 🧪🔭
www.nasa.gov/history/35-y...
www.nasa.gov/history/35-y...
Comets are cold, but they're full of silicate crystals that form at high temperatures. (This crystal, left, was collected from Comet Wild 2, right.)
Now we know how that works! Newborn stars blow fast, crystalline winds away from their hot inner regions. (1/2) 🧪🔭
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
Now we know how that works! Newborn stars blow fast, crystalline winds away from their hot inner regions. (1/2) 🧪🔭
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
January 22, 2026 at 11:11 PM
Comets are cold, but they're full of silicate crystals that form at high temperatures. (This crystal, left, was collected from Comet Wild 2, right.)
Now we know how that works! Newborn stars blow fast, crystalline winds away from their hot inner regions. (1/2) 🧪🔭
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
Now we know how that works! Newborn stars blow fast, crystalline winds away from their hot inner regions. (1/2) 🧪🔭
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
Reposted by Corey S. Powell
Just observed a “red rainbow”, a rainbow of atmospherically refracted red/orange light just prior to sunrise.
📸 @stephanieg3.bsky.social
📸 @stephanieg3.bsky.social
January 22, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Just observed a “red rainbow”, a rainbow of atmospherically refracted red/orange light just prior to sunrise.
📸 @stephanieg3.bsky.social
📸 @stephanieg3.bsky.social
A breathtaking look at a dying star. This new image of the Helix Nebula is just in from JWST.
We've never seen this level of detail, as the star's remains stream back out to interstellar space. Our Sun will look something like this 7 billion years from now. 🧪🔭
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
We've never seen this level of detail, as the star's remains stream back out to interstellar space. Our Sun will look something like this 7 billion years from now. 🧪🔭
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
January 21, 2026 at 7:51 PM
A breathtaking look at a dying star. This new image of the Helix Nebula is just in from JWST.
We've never seen this level of detail, as the star's remains stream back out to interstellar space. Our Sun will look something like this 7 billion years from now. 🧪🔭
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
We've never seen this level of detail, as the star's remains stream back out to interstellar space. Our Sun will look something like this 7 billion years from now. 🧪🔭
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
The universe is full of natural magnifying glasses--gravitational lenses--pointed in random directions. This one points toward a galaxy cluster forming in the early universe, 11 billion years ago.
It's a rare peek into how the modern cosmos took shape. 🧪🔭
www.almaobservatory.org/en/press-rel...
It's a rare peek into how the modern cosmos took shape. 🧪🔭
www.almaobservatory.org/en/press-rel...
January 21, 2026 at 3:43 AM
The universe is full of natural magnifying glasses--gravitational lenses--pointed in random directions. This one points toward a galaxy cluster forming in the early universe, 11 billion years ago.
It's a rare peek into how the modern cosmos took shape. 🧪🔭
www.almaobservatory.org/en/press-rel...
It's a rare peek into how the modern cosmos took shape. 🧪🔭
www.almaobservatory.org/en/press-rel...
Reposted by Corey S. Powell
The 18th-century, Scottish, engineer and inventor, James Watt was born 19 January 1736 #histsci #histtech
thonyc.wordpress.com/2015/06/04/a...
thonyc.wordpress.com/2015/06/04/a...
A twelve-year flash of genius
Last week the Observer had an article celebrating the 250th anniversary of James Watt’s invention of the separate condenser steam engine, James Watt and the sabbath stroll that created the industri…
thonyc.wordpress.com
January 19, 2026 at 6:23 AM
The 18th-century, Scottish, engineer and inventor, James Watt was born 19 January 1736 #histsci #histtech
thonyc.wordpress.com/2015/06/04/a...
thonyc.wordpress.com/2015/06/04/a...