David Kipping
@davidkipping.bsky.social
Astronomy, Exoplanets, Astrobiology, Cool Worlds Lab, Columbia University. Be kind to one another.
Pinned
David Kipping
@davidkipping.bsky.social
· Nov 16
Hi BlueSky! I'm a Professor of Astronomy at Columbia University where I lead the Cool Worlds Lab, studying exoplanets, exomoons & exolife and sharing our passion for science over YouTube.com/CoolWorldsLab. I post about my team's research, spicy hot takes and whatever's going on in my life.
Centrifugal force on the surface of this rapidly rotating asteroid would be 0.11g outwards! So almost Lunar-level anti-gravity…
You spin us right 'round!
NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory scientists at #AAS247 just announced the discovery of a record-breaking asteroid over 500m in size that spins once every ~2 minutes 🤯😵💫
It’s the fastest-rotating asteroid this big ever found! 🔭🧪☄️
🔗: rubinobservatory.org/news/rubin-r...
NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory scientists at #AAS247 just announced the discovery of a record-breaking asteroid over 500m in size that spins once every ~2 minutes 🤯😵💫
It’s the fastest-rotating asteroid this big ever found! 🔭🧪☄️
🔗: rubinobservatory.org/news/rubin-r...
January 7, 2026 at 7:28 PM
Centrifugal force on the surface of this rapidly rotating asteroid would be 0.11g outwards! So almost Lunar-level anti-gravity…
Reposted by David Kipping
NASA Discovers Distant Planet With Conditions That Could Sustain Rocks https://theonion.com/nasa-discovers-distant-planet-with-conditions-that-could-sustain-rocks/
January 6, 2026 at 9:15 PM
NASA Discovers Distant Planet With Conditions That Could Sustain Rocks https://theonion.com/nasa-discovers-distant-planet-with-conditions-that-could-sustain-rocks/
In geopolitics, history keeps repeating itself. Different actors, different victims, but same themes. We seem unable to evolve past law of the jungle rules.
January 6, 2026 at 10:30 AM
In geopolitics, history keeps repeating itself. Different actors, different victims, but same themes. We seem unable to evolve past law of the jungle rules.
Reposted by David Kipping
A little 3I/ATLAS update building on @marshall-eubanks.bsky.social's nice RNAAS from last week. Given its non-grav acceleration and the rate at which it's losing mass, you can work out its size. The answer: a diameter around 1 km, very typical for comets. arxiv.org/abs/2512.18341 🔭 🧪
December 23, 2025 at 1:05 PM
A little 3I/ATLAS update building on @marshall-eubanks.bsky.social's nice RNAAS from last week. Given its non-grav acceleration and the rate at which it's losing mass, you can work out its size. The answer: a diameter around 1 km, very typical for comets. arxiv.org/abs/2512.18341 🔭 🧪
Heading to gay Paris tomorrow! Let me know your favorite things to do
December 10, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Heading to gay Paris tomorrow! Let me know your favorite things to do
#CoolWorlds Podcast Episode 28 is out! With Néstor Espinoza, in which we discuss JWST, Exoplanet Atmospheres & Molecule Detection...
youtu.be/bZ7Hge0OUTE
youtu.be/bZ7Hge0OUTE
#28 Néstor Espinoza - JWST, Exoplanet Atmospheres, Molecule Detection
YouTube video by Cool Worlds Podcast
youtu.be
December 5, 2025 at 11:00 AM
#CoolWorlds Podcast Episode 28 is out! With Néstor Espinoza, in which we discuss JWST, Exoplanet Atmospheres & Molecule Detection...
youtu.be/bZ7Hge0OUTE
youtu.be/bZ7Hge0OUTE
The US tax code makes no sense. So if you own and AirBnB-out a second/third/etc home, you get a massive tax break via depreciation + offsetting maintenance/utilities. But you own+live in one house you get none of that. And if you rent it’s even worse. Isn’t this backwards??
December 5, 2025 at 8:24 AM
The US tax code makes no sense. So if you own and AirBnB-out a second/third/etc home, you get a massive tax break via depreciation + offsetting maintenance/utilities. But you own+live in one house you get none of that. And if you rent it’s even worse. Isn’t this backwards??
Just get on with it already, you coward
Anyway here’s a cheerful piece about how the Sun will eventually destroy all life on Earth (but not by exploding, so, you know, there’s that)
Here’s how the Sun will end all life on Earth
Our home star won't go supernova, but the end of its life will be no less spectacular.
www.sciencefocus.com
December 3, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Just get on with it already, you coward
Public health warning that I am not interested in your pet theory that you developed with ChatGPT
November 24, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Public health warning that I am not interested in your pet theory that you developed with ChatGPT
Reposted by David Kipping
With more than 6,000 exoplanets discovered, confirming an exomoon would open new questions about how planetary systems form, and maybe even where life could exist. Watch this converation between physicist Brian Greene and astronomer @davidkipping.bsky.social at the World Science Festival
Why exomoons could be astronomy’s next big breakthrough | Aeon Videos
Exoplanet discoveries have reshaped astronomy. Are exomoons next? Brian Greene in conversation with David Kipping
buff.ly
November 22, 2025 at 11:30 AM
With more than 6,000 exoplanets discovered, confirming an exomoon would open new questions about how planetary systems form, and maybe even where life could exist. Watch this converation between physicist Brian Greene and astronomer @davidkipping.bsky.social at the World Science Festival
November 22, 2025 at 8:25 AM
The rise of “hyper-authorship” has neutered the correlation of publication metrics vs academic accolades. “The mean # of coauthors per pub, averaged across highly cited physicists, was 121 in 2004. It rose to 952 in 2019, with 10% of the scientists having >2,441 coauthors per pub on average”.
November 19, 2025 at 7:05 PM
The rise of “hyper-authorship” has neutered the correlation of publication metrics vs academic accolades. “The mean # of coauthors per pub, averaged across highly cited physicists, was 121 in 2004. It rose to 952 in 2019, with 10% of the scientists having >2,441 coauthors per pub on average”.
Some poor civilizations probably live in Bootes Void and think the universe must be playing a cruel joke on them.
November 13, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Some poor civilizations probably live in Bootes Void and think the universe must be playing a cruel joke on them.
If 3I/ATLAS is an alien Trojan horse, then why would there be any anomalies at all? Surely they could dress it up to be identical to our typical comets.
November 12, 2025 at 6:20 PM
If 3I/ATLAS is an alien Trojan horse, then why would there be any anomalies at all? Surely they could dress it up to be identical to our typical comets.
Reposted by David Kipping
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!
Dr Ben Cassese
(from yesterday!)
(from yesterday!)
November 11, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Dr Ben Cassese
(from yesterday!)
(from yesterday!)
“What I’m saying is that we need to consider the possibility it’s aliens.”
“Sir, this is a Walmart please stop harassing customers.”
“Sir, this is a Walmart please stop harassing customers.”
November 9, 2025 at 12:32 AM
“What I’m saying is that we need to consider the possibility it’s aliens.”
“Sir, this is a Walmart please stop harassing customers.”
“Sir, this is a Walmart please stop harassing customers.”
New #CoolWorlds podcast episode just dropped with Jason Steffen, exoplanet scientist, author of "Hidden in the Heavens" and inventor of the "Steffen Perfect" technique for boarding planes!
youtu.be/vaqgPzT8PXA
youtu.be/vaqgPzT8PXA
#27 Jason Steffen - Kepler Mission Legacy, Particle Physics, Optimal Plane Boarding
YouTube video by Cool Worlds Podcast
youtu.be
November 7, 2025 at 11:19 AM
New #CoolWorlds podcast episode just dropped with Jason Steffen, exoplanet scientist, author of "Hidden in the Heavens" and inventor of the "Steffen Perfect" technique for boarding planes!
youtu.be/vaqgPzT8PXA
youtu.be/vaqgPzT8PXA
By this point in the year, even the Sun is like “fuck it”
November 6, 2025 at 7:29 PM
By this point in the year, even the Sun is like “fuck it”
So Avi has been arguing 3I/ATLAS is weird, and a common rebuttal has been “weird compared to what?” - as in we only have 2 other ISOs to compare to. But an interesting thought is that if Oort clouds mix during stellar encounters, many of our comets may in fact already be ISOs in origin.
November 2, 2025 at 1:49 PM
So Avi has been arguing 3I/ATLAS is weird, and a common rebuttal has been “weird compared to what?” - as in we only have 2 other ISOs to compare to. But an interesting thought is that if Oort clouds mix during stellar encounters, many of our comets may in fact already be ISOs in origin.
I’ve been thinking a lot about SSA vs SIA in anthropics lately. Which one do you favor? Let me hear your hot takes.
November 2, 2025 at 12:14 PM
I’ve been thinking a lot about SSA vs SIA in anthropics lately. Which one do you favor? Let me hear your hot takes.
Why We Might Live in a "Barely Habitable" Universe
YouTube video by Cool Worlds
youtu.be
November 1, 2025 at 9:44 AM