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.
“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
statistically, we likely live on one of the planets with the highest population of observers in the universe
October 26, 2025 at 9:06 PM
statistically, we likely live on one of the planets with the highest population of observers in the universe
So who has read AI 2027 and what was your reaction?
October 20, 2025 at 6:11 PM
So who has read AI 2027 and what was your reaction?
I’d have a lot more respect for Republicans if they responded to the protests with whatever their argument is for authoritarianism. Instead, they don’t address the concerns of the protestors at all and just try to delegitimize their views through ad hominems, call them Hamas/Marxists/radicals/etc.
October 19, 2025 at 8:02 AM
I’d have a lot more respect for Republicans if they responded to the protests with whatever their argument is for authoritarianism. Instead, they don’t address the concerns of the protestors at all and just try to delegitimize their views through ad hominems, call them Hamas/Marxists/radicals/etc.
Contemplating existence in Amsterdam
October 18, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Contemplating existence in Amsterdam
Reposted by David Kipping
this was a lovely episode
#26 Will Kinney - Before the Big Bang, Inflation, Infinity of Worlds
youtu.be/HSZtn0yKPBI
youtu.be/HSZtn0yKPBI
#26 Will Kinney - Before the Big Bang, Inflation, Infinity of Worlds
YouTube video by Cool Worlds Podcast
youtu.be
October 16, 2025 at 3:30 AM
this was a lovely episode
#26 Will Kinney - Before the Big Bang, Inflation, Infinity of Worlds
youtu.be/HSZtn0yKPBI
youtu.be/HSZtn0yKPBI
#26 Will Kinney - Before the Big Bang, Inflation, Infinity of Worlds
YouTube video by Cool Worlds Podcast
youtu.be
October 9, 2025 at 5:34 PM
#26 Will Kinney - Before the Big Bang, Inflation, Infinity of Worlds
youtu.be/HSZtn0yKPBI
youtu.be/HSZtn0yKPBI
Oh my God this made my day…
On random things from childhood: this made me very happy this morning. Had to share it with someone and thought you might appreciate it too.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9G1...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9G1...
Sesame Street: Happy Furry Monsters Song with R.E.M
YouTube video by Sesame Street
www.youtube.com
October 8, 2025 at 6:23 AM
Oh my God this made my day…
Quel surpris! As I suspected, the Navcam “cyclinder” image bombarding social media, and subject to Avi’s last blog post, is not 3I/ATLAS, it’s Phobos.
Short version: left is my processesed Navcam image, right is the Stellarium simulation for the image.
The bright elongated thing is Phobos being smeared by long exposure.
Acturus and the big dipper stars are also visible. 3I/Atlas is wayyy to dim to be seen in the image.
The bright elongated thing is Phobos being smeared by long exposure.
Acturus and the big dipper stars are also visible. 3I/Atlas is wayyy to dim to be seen in the image.
October 6, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Quel surpris! As I suspected, the Navcam “cyclinder” image bombarding social media, and subject to Avi’s last blog post, is not 3I/ATLAS, it’s Phobos.
Reposted by David Kipping
Lastly, that bright streak in the Navcam images is actually Phobos. See below for a short analysis of this image.
It's very sad that NASA isn't able to put the record straight with the current political chaos.
bsky.app/profile/stim...
It's very sad that NASA isn't able to put the record straight with the current political chaos.
bsky.app/profile/stim...
Short version: left is my processesed Navcam image, right is the Stellarium simulation for the image.
The bright elongated thing is Phobos being smeared by long exposure.
Acturus and the big dipper stars are also visible. 3I/Atlas is wayyy to dim to be seen in the image.
The bright elongated thing is Phobos being smeared by long exposure.
Acturus and the big dipper stars are also visible. 3I/Atlas is wayyy to dim to be seen in the image.
October 6, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Lastly, that bright streak in the Navcam images is actually Phobos. See below for a short analysis of this image.
It's very sad that NASA isn't able to put the record straight with the current political chaos.
bsky.app/profile/stim...
It's very sad that NASA isn't able to put the record straight with the current political chaos.
bsky.app/profile/stim...
If we get through this, I predict that we’re going to look back at these days with confusion. How did anyone go along with all that? It will feel like a terrible and confusing nightmare, one we can hardly believe took hold as firmly as it did.
October 6, 2025 at 6:57 PM
If we get through this, I predict that we’re going to look back at these days with confusion. How did anyone go along with all that? It will feel like a terrible and confusing nightmare, one we can hardly believe took hold as firmly as it did.
October 6, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Stunning if confirmed…
October 6, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Stunning if confirmed…
Do cats also think that aliens will look like them?
October 4, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Do cats also think that aliens will look like them?
Here’s my new paper which our last #CoolWorlds video discussed. Paper tackles two existential puzzles: why don’t we live around the most common star type, an M-dwarf, and, why do we live so early in cosmic chronology?
arxiv.org/abs/2510.01215
arxiv.org/abs/2510.01215
Solar Hegemony: M-Dwarfs Are Unlikely to Host Observers Such as Ourselves
With no firm evidence for life beyond our solar system, inferences about the population observers such as ourselves rests upon the Earth as a single input, at least for now. Whilst the narrative of ou...
arxiv.org
October 3, 2025 at 7:04 AM
Here’s my new paper which our last #CoolWorlds video discussed. Paper tackles two existential puzzles: why don’t we live around the most common star type, an M-dwarf, and, why do we live so early in cosmic chronology?
arxiv.org/abs/2510.01215
arxiv.org/abs/2510.01215
I have been in the UK a couple of months now. Perhaps I was naive but I’m shocked how universal hate-fueled politics has become. I want to live somewhere that values compassion, tolerance and treating others with dignity. How did these messages of hate gain so much traction?
October 1, 2025 at 7:16 AM
I have been in the UK a couple of months now. Perhaps I was naive but I’m shocked how universal hate-fueled politics has become. I want to live somewhere that values compassion, tolerance and treating others with dignity. How did these messages of hate gain so much traction?
“If an explanation could easily explain anything, then it actually explains nothing. When theories are variable, experimental testing is useless. I call such theories bad explanations. Being proved wrong by experiment and changing to other bad explanations does not get one jot closer to the truth.”
September 9, 2025 at 6:53 PM
“If an explanation could easily explain anything, then it actually explains nothing. When theories are variable, experimental testing is useless. I call such theories bad explanations. Being proved wrong by experiment and changing to other bad explanations does not get one jot closer to the truth.”
New studies used JWST to probe TRAPPIST-1e, the most accessible potential Earth-like exoplanet. Data reveals the atmosphere is
1) Not hydrogen dominated (unsurprising)😌
2) Unlikely to be Venus-like🧐
3) Compatible with N2-rich😎
arxiv.org/abs/2509.05407
arxiv.org/abs/2509.05414
1) Not hydrogen dominated (unsurprising)😌
2) Unlikely to be Venus-like🧐
3) Compatible with N2-rich😎
arxiv.org/abs/2509.05407
arxiv.org/abs/2509.05414
September 9, 2025 at 8:48 AM
New studies used JWST to probe TRAPPIST-1e, the most accessible potential Earth-like exoplanet. Data reveals the atmosphere is
1) Not hydrogen dominated (unsurprising)😌
2) Unlikely to be Venus-like🧐
3) Compatible with N2-rich😎
arxiv.org/abs/2509.05407
arxiv.org/abs/2509.05414
1) Not hydrogen dominated (unsurprising)😌
2) Unlikely to be Venus-like🧐
3) Compatible with N2-rich😎
arxiv.org/abs/2509.05407
arxiv.org/abs/2509.05414