Dr. Craig DeForest ☀️
@craig.deforest.org
Dad, mountaineer, heliophysicist. I lead the PUNCH space mission and direct a team at SwRI. I like science, space, communication, humans, dogs, horses, puns. Lowering barriers and promoting open science are priorities. My personal account; my opinions.
Pinned
Dr. Craig DeForest ☀️
@craig.deforest.org
· Nov 20
I do heliophysics professionally, and geek about many subjects on my own time. Knowledge is power — it's also fun to create, have, and share. I run a #heliophysics feed on BSky. Elsewhere I lead the PUNCH mission to observe the #corona and #solarwind. Ask me anything, I'll probably have an answer.
Congratulations!!! Here's to some successful science!
It's amazing how slow they look from that far away -- at 15-20 G's on launch, the Black Brant takes off like an overcranked Meatloaf album! From close in, they look nothing like the big orbital launches which are much slower to lift out.
It's amazing how slow they look from that far away -- at 15-20 G's on launch, the Black Brant takes off like an overcranked Meatloaf album! From close in, they look nothing like the big orbital launches which are much slower to lift out.
February 10, 2026 at 3:42 PM
Congratulations!!! Here's to some successful science!
It's amazing how slow they look from that far away -- at 15-20 G's on launch, the Black Brant takes off like an overcranked Meatloaf album! From close in, they look nothing like the big orbital launches which are much slower to lift out.
It's amazing how slow they look from that far away -- at 15-20 G's on launch, the Black Brant takes off like an overcranked Meatloaf album! From close in, they look nothing like the big orbital launches which are much slower to lift out.
I caught this rare picture of the contrail compound being loaded on an aircraft! The plane's contrail generator (1 of 2) is the large nacelle to the right of the workman. A chemical reaction inside it creates CO2 but also dihydrogen monoxide, which makes visible trails in the air. #chemtrails
February 10, 2026 at 3:26 PM
I caught this rare picture of the contrail compound being loaded on an aircraft! The plane's contrail generator (1 of 2) is the large nacelle to the right of the workman. A chemical reaction inside it creates CO2 but also dihydrogen monoxide, which makes visible trails in the air. #chemtrails
Excellent! This is a wonderful find!
I only saw it because Jim Wild (@jim-wild.bsky.social) reposted it with hashtag #spaceweather -- so the #heliophysics feed picked it up. Hashtagging #geomagnetic would work also.
I only saw it because Jim Wild (@jim-wild.bsky.social) reposted it with hashtag #spaceweather -- so the #heliophysics feed picked it up. Hashtagging #geomagnetic would work also.
February 3, 2026 at 7:01 AM
Excellent! This is a wonderful find!
I only saw it because Jim Wild (@jim-wild.bsky.social) reposted it with hashtag #spaceweather -- so the #heliophysics feed picked it up. Hashtagging #geomagnetic would work also.
I only saw it because Jim Wild (@jim-wild.bsky.social) reposted it with hashtag #spaceweather -- so the #heliophysics feed picked it up. Hashtagging #geomagnetic would work also.
@televueoptics.bsky.social you should make sure to read the Acknowledgements!
February 2, 2026 at 7:13 PM
@televueoptics.bsky.social you should make sure to read the Acknowledgements!
It's not every day you get to announce a new research article -- especially one you've worked on for a complete solar cycle. The PUNCH article came out in the journal Solar Physics today! ☀️🛰️🔭🧪
rdcu.be/e0XlR
rdcu.be/e0XlR
January 27, 2026 at 2:08 PM
It's not every day you get to announce a new research article -- especially one you've worked on for a complete solar cycle. The PUNCH article came out in the journal Solar Physics today! ☀️🛰️🔭🧪
rdcu.be/e0XlR
rdcu.be/e0XlR
This is actually very cool. Coronagraphs that "create artificial eclipses in space" date to the late 1960s and many still operate (PUNCH, CCOR, SECCHI, LASCO). ASPIICS uses two separate spacecraft. MESOM will actually use the Moon itself as an occulter: a true "artificial eclipse in space". 🧪🛰️🔭☀️
Proposed new mission will create artificial solar eclipses in space
#Tech #NASA #ESA #SpaceWeather #SolarStorms #Sun #SolarEclipse #SpaceScience #Astrophysics #Satellites #PowerGrids #GPS #TechRisk #ClimateSpace #Astronomy #SpaceResearch #FutureTech
the-14.com/proposed-new...
#Tech #NASA #ESA #SpaceWeather #SolarStorms #Sun #SolarEclipse #SpaceScience #Astrophysics #Satellites #PowerGrids #GPS #TechRisk #ClimateSpace #Astronomy #SpaceResearch #FutureTech
the-14.com/proposed-new...
Proposed new mission will create artificial solar eclipses in space | The-14
Artificial solar eclipses in space could improve space weather forecasts, helping protect satellites, power grids and GPS from solar storms.
the-14.com
January 27, 2026 at 3:45 AM
This is actually very cool. Coronagraphs that "create artificial eclipses in space" date to the late 1960s and many still operate (PUNCH, CCOR, SECCHI, LASCO). ASPIICS uses two separate spacecraft. MESOM will actually use the Moon itself as an occulter: a true "artificial eclipse in space". 🧪🛰️🔭☀️
Hey @officialbenshapiro.bsky.social, how do you feel about this quote now?
January 26, 2026 at 7:27 PM
Hey @officialbenshapiro.bsky.social, how do you feel about this quote now?
We're finishing up the rollout of Version 0j of the #PUNCH data, and several very cool science papers are in progress. Here's a very cool result on #Comet #Lemmon and the #solarwind! 🔭☀️🛰️🧪
NASA’s Illuminate: Sun Rips Comet’s Tail in Half
YouTube video by NASA Goddard
www.youtube.com
January 23, 2026 at 5:34 PM
We're finishing up the rollout of Version 0j of the #PUNCH data, and several very cool science papers are in progress. Here's a very cool result on #Comet #Lemmon and the #solarwind! 🔭☀️🛰️🧪
The @nytimes.com opens with this plot today. I found it shocking until I realized what the data are really telling us. We simply have no "shared truth" (and haven't for some time). Folks literally do not see the injustice. This plot is the consequence of heavily curated "news" (e.g. #FauxNews).
Voters Are Split on Deportations but Disapprove of ICE, Poll Finds
www.nytimes.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:42 PM
The @nytimes.com opens with this plot today. I found it shocking until I realized what the data are really telling us. We simply have no "shared truth" (and haven't for some time). Folks literally do not see the injustice. This plot is the consequence of heavily curated "news" (e.g. #FauxNews).
Congratulations, Tanja! Also, thank you. Journal editors remain underappreciated – curating each journal is a difficult job that is very important for the health of the field!
January 23, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Congratulations, Tanja! Also, thank you. Journal editors remain underappreciated – curating each journal is a difficult job that is very important for the health of the field!
Hi, @science.esa.int! Oddly, your post wasn't picked up by the #heliophysics feed even though we do scrape the firehose for relevant skeets. If you'd like to make sure you get seen by heliophysicists, you can use the hashtag or else reply here to register; then the "☀️" character will get you on.
January 23, 2026 at 5:23 AM
Hi, @science.esa.int! Oddly, your post wasn't picked up by the #heliophysics feed even though we do scrape the firehose for relevant skeets. If you'd like to make sure you get seen by heliophysicists, you can use the hashtag or else reply here to register; then the "☀️" character will get you on.
Yes, indeed! Here's a plot shown by Dr. Sami Solanki, winner of the #AAS Hale Prize, in 2022. It compares solar brightness to Earth's climate shift. For 20 years the Sun had been ~0.1% fainter than its long-term average, reflecting weak activity in the last two cycles. We don't (yet) understand why.
January 21, 2026 at 3:23 PM
Yes, indeed! Here's a plot shown by Dr. Sami Solanki, winner of the #AAS Hale Prize, in 2022. It compares solar brightness to Earth's climate shift. For 20 years the Sun had been ~0.1% fainter than its long-term average, reflecting weak activity in the last two cycles. We don't (yet) understand why.
I sincerely doubt that aurora was seen in Alabama (latitude 32°). We barely saw it here in Colorado, at 40°. The radiation storm was no joke, though.
BTW, since you mentioned "geomagnetic storm" the #heliophysics feed picked up your post! If you aren't aware of us you might like to follow.
BTW, since you mentioned "geomagnetic storm" the #heliophysics feed picked up your post! If you aren't aware of us you might like to follow.
January 21, 2026 at 2:58 PM
I sincerely doubt that aurora was seen in Alabama (latitude 32°). We barely saw it here in Colorado, at 40°. The radiation storm was no joke, though.
BTW, since you mentioned "geomagnetic storm" the #heliophysics feed picked up your post! If you aren't aware of us you might like to follow.
BTW, since you mentioned "geomagnetic storm" the #heliophysics feed picked up your post! If you aren't aware of us you might like to follow.
This reminds me of the warning sign I saw last year at Surf Beach, CA -- which, now that I think of it, is a good indicator of a healthy (aka neglected-by-people) ecosystem.
January 19, 2026 at 10:55 PM
This reminds me of the warning sign I saw last year at Surf Beach, CA -- which, now that I think of it, is a good indicator of a healthy (aka neglected-by-people) ecosystem.
I'm glad they were so specific with the sign: sighted sharks are much more dangerous than blind ones.
January 19, 2026 at 10:51 PM
I'm glad they were so specific with the sign: sighted sharks are much more dangerous than blind ones.
Remember to watch for #aurora tonight! ☀️🔭
G4 (Severe) Geomagnetic Storm Watch for 20 January UTC-Day | NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction Center
www.swpc.noaa.gov
January 19, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Remember to watch for #aurora tonight! ☀️🔭
"Americans can always be relied upon to do the right thing ... after they've tried everything else."
January 19, 2026 at 4:08 PM
"Americans can always be relied upon to do the right thing ... after they've tried everything else."
Wow! You have got to see the spectacular prominence eruptions in this latest movie from the European PROBA-3 mission! Congratulations to Andrei Zhukov and his team! 🧪🛰️🔭☀️
Proba-3: our eyes on the Sun’s inner corona
Proba-3: our eyes on the Sun’s inner corona
www.esa.int
January 19, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Wow! You have got to see the spectacular prominence eruptions in this latest movie from the European PROBA-3 mission! Congratulations to Andrei Zhukov and his team! 🧪🛰️🔭☀️
Sometime recently, #starlink quietly updated their #ToS and opted all users in to allowing shadowy "trusted collaborators" to train #AI on your #personal-info information. There's an opt-out option in the configuration settings, if you don't want this to happen.
Reddit - https://i.redd.it/wifznl1utpdg1.png
www.reddit.com
January 16, 2026 at 3:24 PM
Sometime recently, #starlink quietly updated their #ToS and opted all users in to allowing shadowy "trusted collaborators" to train #AI on your #personal-info information. There's an opt-out option in the configuration settings, if you don't want this to happen.
We had a great time when my son and his girlfriend came to visit over the holidays. Encountered a little turbulence in downtown Denver. #train #turbulence #illusions
January 14, 2026 at 6:29 PM
We had a great time when my son and his girlfriend came to visit over the holidays. Encountered a little turbulence in downtown Denver. #train #turbulence #illusions
Congratulations, @mathewjowens.bsky.social! Many thanks (again) for your longstanding support of #heliophysics!
Congratulations from the #SolarPhysics journal to our long-time Associate Editor @mathewjowens.bsky.social — well deserved!
The Chapman Medal has been awarded to Professor Mathew Owens, of the @uniofreading.bsky.social. 👏
The medal recognises investigations of outstanding merit in the science of the Sun, space and planetary environments or solar-terrestrial physics.
⤵️
The medal recognises investigations of outstanding merit in the science of the Sun, space and planetary environments or solar-terrestrial physics.
⤵️
January 9, 2026 at 7:06 PM
Congratulations, @mathewjowens.bsky.social! Many thanks (again) for your longstanding support of #heliophysics!
IKR? Suddenly proper coiling technique becomes verrrry important!
January 9, 2026 at 5:22 PM
IKR? Suddenly proper coiling technique becomes verrrry important!
Technology quietly advances on all fronts. As a boy scout I carried 50ft of 300lb nylon paracord (~the size of a corn dog) in my pack: much better than bulky hemp rope. Today I carry 100ft of 500lb test kevlar line in my breast pocket - the size of a pack of gum. What's amazing is it's NBD to get.
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www.amazon.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Technology quietly advances on all fronts. As a boy scout I carried 50ft of 300lb nylon paracord (~the size of a corn dog) in my pack: much better than bulky hemp rope. Today I carry 100ft of 500lb test kevlar line in my breast pocket - the size of a pack of gum. What's amazing is it's NBD to get.
Hi, Mike. I added you to the subscribers list!
December 27, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Hi, Mike. I added you to the subscribers list!