Chase Million
@millionconcepts.com
CEO of Million Concepts. We build systems that turn large, complex, and messy data into useful information for decision makers and subject matter experts.
Astronomer and planetary scientist. Software and systems engineer. Project manager. Magician.
Astronomer and planetary scientist. Software and systems engineer. Project manager. Magician.
Reposted by Chase Million
Last week, one of the worst plane crashes in American history occurred a few miles from my home. People died. Debris and ash fell in my neighborhood. It felt like just one more disaster in a blur of disasters. I needed to write down what I experienced so that I don't forget. Might as well share. 🧵
November 10, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Last week, one of the worst plane crashes in American history occurred a few miles from my home. People died. Debris and ash fell in my neighborhood. It felt like just one more disaster in a blur of disasters. I needed to write down what I experienced so that I don't forget. Might as well share. 🧵
Reposted by Chase Million
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
November 11, 2025 at 1:50 AM
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
Reposted by Chase Million
Flagstaff’s Lowell Observatory plans to cut nearly all its research funding and reduce the number of paid science staff to just two positions next year.
Lowell Observatory slashes research funding in the midst of financial struggle
Flagstaff’s Lowell Observatory plans to cut nearly all its research funding and reduce the number of paid science staff to just two positions next year.
buff.ly
November 10, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Flagstaff’s Lowell Observatory plans to cut nearly all its research funding and reduce the number of paid science staff to just two positions next year.
Last week, one of the worst plane crashes in American history occurred a few miles from my home. People died. Debris and ash fell in my neighborhood. It felt like just one more disaster in a blur of disasters. I needed to write down what I experienced so that I don't forget. Might as well share. 🧵
November 10, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Last week, one of the worst plane crashes in American history occurred a few miles from my home. People died. Debris and ash fell in my neighborhood. It felt like just one more disaster in a blur of disasters. I needed to write down what I experienced so that I don't forget. Might as well share. 🧵
Many at NASA and CLPS providers appear to believe that all a scientist cares about is putting a box into orbit or onto the surface of the Moon. The "service" is mere geometry. Few high impact experiments work this way. The bus and science instruments must work as a coordinated, purpose-built system.
Before you suggest science-as-a-service, please consult with what scientists require and compare that with what is on offer. Science isn't simply "measurements."
Thoughts from Aravind Ravichandran as NASA (again) flirts with moving Earth observation to commercial data buys:
“Here is an underappreciated irony: commercial EO companies already depend on NASA's public infrastructure.”
newsletter.terrawatchspace.com/why-science-...
“Here is an underappreciated irony: commercial EO companies already depend on NASA's public infrastructure.”
newsletter.terrawatchspace.com/why-science-...
November 9, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Many at NASA and CLPS providers appear to believe that all a scientist cares about is putting a box into orbit or onto the surface of the Moon. The "service" is mere geometry. Few high impact experiments work this way. The bus and science instruments must work as a coordinated, purpose-built system.
Reposted by Chase Million
Thoughts from Aravind Ravichandran as NASA (again) flirts with moving Earth observation to commercial data buys:
“Here is an underappreciated irony: commercial EO companies already depend on NASA's public infrastructure.”
newsletter.terrawatchspace.com/why-science-...
“Here is an underappreciated irony: commercial EO companies already depend on NASA's public infrastructure.”
newsletter.terrawatchspace.com/why-science-...
Why "Science-as-a-Service" Doesn't Work for Earth Science
There has been a lot of talk lately about whether commercial Earth observation (EO) companies could replace parts of NASA’s Earth science mission portfolio. With a new Administrator coming in, that de...
newsletter.terrawatchspace.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Thoughts from Aravind Ravichandran as NASA (again) flirts with moving Earth observation to commercial data buys:
“Here is an underappreciated irony: commercial EO companies already depend on NASA's public infrastructure.”
newsletter.terrawatchspace.com/why-science-...
“Here is an underappreciated irony: commercial EO companies already depend on NASA's public infrastructure.”
newsletter.terrawatchspace.com/why-science-...
Reposted by Chase Million
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 6, 2025 at 9:00 PM
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Moon is not useful military high ground and never will be.
November 6, 2025 at 4:31 PM
The Moon is not useful military high ground and never will be.
The agency has already been irreparably damaged, capacity and culture destroyed, decades worth of experience shown the door. "NASA" is the strongest name brand in the world, a metonymy for our highest ideals as humans. It is being bulldozed by people who don't understand (or care) what we're losing.
After 13 years as the top federal workplace, NASA is facing an employee exodus and months of turmoil after deep budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration.
If fully implemented, the changes could reshape U.S. science for years.
If fully implemented, the changes could reshape U.S. science for years.
NASA has lost thousands of workers. Here’s what that means for science.
Staffers told The Post about months of turmoil and sweeping changes that, if fully implemented, could transform NASA and American science beyond the Trump years.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:04 PM
The agency has already been irreparably damaged, capacity and culture destroyed, decades worth of experience shown the door. "NASA" is the strongest name brand in the world, a metonymy for our highest ideals as humans. It is being bulldozed by people who don't understand (or care) what we're losing.
Reposted by Chase Million
“Tens or hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer-funded NASA property and laboratories are at risk of either being discarded, mishandled, or out-of-commission for significant time periods.” 🔭🧪
www.gesta-goddard.org/blog/gestas-...
www.gesta-goddard.org/blog/gestas-...
GESTA’s Summary of Goddard Building Closures Status
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is the largest group of scientists, technicians and engineers in the US who develop Earth and space science flight missions. Below is GESTA's understanding of the...
www.gesta-goddard.org
November 6, 2025 at 2:50 AM
“Tens or hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer-funded NASA property and laboratories are at risk of either being discarded, mishandled, or out-of-commission for significant time periods.” 🔭🧪
www.gesta-goddard.org/blog/gestas-...
www.gesta-goddard.org/blog/gestas-...
Reposted by Chase Million
Today in class I bemoaned how humans don't live long enough to properly see how massive stars vary, since the pulsation timescales are so long.
... except the Wonderful star, Mira, which has left us mass loss record over tens of thousands of years, stretched over lightyears. AMAZING🔭🧪U
... except the Wonderful star, Mira, which has left us mass loss record over tens of thousands of years, stretched over lightyears. AMAZING🔭🧪U
November 4, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Today in class I bemoaned how humans don't live long enough to properly see how massive stars vary, since the pulsation timescales are so long.
... except the Wonderful star, Mira, which has left us mass loss record over tens of thousands of years, stretched over lightyears. AMAZING🔭🧪U
... except the Wonderful star, Mira, which has left us mass loss record over tens of thousands of years, stretched over lightyears. AMAZING🔭🧪U
In 2017, author and programmer Leonard Richardson wrote a zine called "Tool Safety" about what he learned from writing Beautiful Soup, one of the most impactful Python libraries ever. I think often about "the best use of the power we have as computer programmers."
www.crummy.com/software/Bea...
www.crummy.com/software/Bea...
November 3, 2025 at 4:13 PM
In 2017, author and programmer Leonard Richardson wrote a zine called "Tool Safety" about what he learned from writing Beautiful Soup, one of the most impactful Python libraries ever. I think often about "the best use of the power we have as computer programmers."
www.crummy.com/software/Bea...
www.crummy.com/software/Bea...
Reposted by Chase Million
I'm very excited to announce `usaspending-orm` a new Python library to ease access to data from the USASpending API.
Available now on PyPI and GitHub. Repo link in thread.
Available now on PyPI and GitHub. Repo link in thread.
November 3, 2025 at 2:58 PM
I'm very excited to announce `usaspending-orm` a new Python library to ease access to data from the USASpending API.
Available now on PyPI and GitHub. Repo link in thread.
Available now on PyPI and GitHub. Repo link in thread.
This is an ASCII art diagram of the Galileo spacecraft found in the archived data documentation.
November 3, 2025 at 1:06 AM
This is an ASCII art diagram of the Galileo spacecraft found in the archived data documentation.
Reposted by Chase Million
Ozempic, MRI machines and flat screen televisions all emerged out of fundamental research decades earlier — the very types of study being slashed by the US government
go.nature.com/47hn0n5
go.nature.com/47hn0n5
7 basic science discoveries that changed the world
Ozempic, MRI machines and flat screen televisions all emerged out of fundamental research decades earlier — the very types of study being slashed by the US government.
go.nature.com
November 1, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Ozempic, MRI machines and flat screen televisions all emerged out of fundamental research decades earlier — the very types of study being slashed by the US government
go.nature.com/47hn0n5
go.nature.com/47hn0n5
We are not required to entertain "data centers in space" as a serious idea, just because the people proposing it have access to a lot of money. It is an unserious idea, with no business case, except as VC hype train Mad Libs. Deserving of no more attention than the ramblings of a stoned undergrad.
November 1, 2025 at 7:58 PM
We are not required to entertain "data centers in space" as a serious idea, just because the people proposing it have access to a lot of money. It is an unserious idea, with no business case, except as VC hype train Mad Libs. Deserving of no more attention than the ramblings of a stoned undergrad.
Reposted by Chase Million
Thinking is, or ought to be, a coolness and a calmness; and our poor hearts throb, and our poor brains beat too much for that.
November 1, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Thinking is, or ought to be, a coolness and a calmness; and our poor hearts throb, and our poor brains beat too much for that.
Companies that are developing large AI models are incentivized to pollute the public commons with AI slop. This poisons the available training data for newcomers and biases future models. Their (relatively cleaner) internal training sets are a competitive moat. This is the point of Grokipedia.
November 1, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Companies that are developing large AI models are incentivized to pollute the public commons with AI slop. This poisons the available training data for newcomers and biases future models. Their (relatively cleaner) internal training sets are a competitive moat. This is the point of Grokipedia.
Reposted by Chase Million
It was obvious, now, that the whale had at length become aware of his pursuers.
November 1, 2025 at 2:47 AM
It was obvious, now, that the whale had at length become aware of his pursuers.
Reposted by Chase Million
A personal reflection on the destructive erosion of ethics, norms and respect for law at NASA:
🧪🔭
🧵
🧪🔭
🧵
October 31, 2025 at 2:16 PM
A personal reflection on the destructive erosion of ethics, norms and respect for law at NASA:
🧪🔭
🧵
🧪🔭
🧵
Unlike SpaceX, I have worked on projects that successfully operated spacecraft on other planets. I think that Starship HLS is a stupid idea, poorly conceived, will never work as promised, unlikely to ever work at all, and very likely to kill astronauts. Nobody is paying me to say this.
Personal opinion: I think SpaceX would be better served by providing more information about the schedule for their Artemis 3 lander development, and their "simplified" alternative, than attacking one critic (of several).
x.com/SpaceX/statu...
x.com/SpaceX/statu...
SpaceX on X: "Like many Americans, we are thankful for Mr. Bridenstine’s service leading NASA at one point. He deserves credit for spearheading the creation of the Artemis Program. After departing NASA, he created a lobbying firm called the Artemis Group, representing a host of aerospace" / X
Like many Americans, we are thankful for Mr. Bridenstine’s service leading NASA at one point. He deserves credit for spearheading the creation of the Artemis Program. After departing NASA, he created a lobbying firm called the Artemis Group, representing a host of aerospace
x.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Unlike SpaceX, I have worked on projects that successfully operated spacecraft on other planets. I think that Starship HLS is a stupid idea, poorly conceived, will never work as promised, unlikely to ever work at all, and very likely to kill astronauts. Nobody is paying me to say this.
When someone in the past has done a calculation like: "X encryption will take Y billion years of wall time to break, which won't happen for 100 years." ...
Did they factor in the possibility that humanity would turn itself into a paperclip demon except it's data centers?
Asking for everyone.
Did they factor in the possibility that humanity would turn itself into a paperclip demon except it's data centers?
Asking for everyone.
October 31, 2025 at 3:45 PM
When someone in the past has done a calculation like: "X encryption will take Y billion years of wall time to break, which won't happen for 100 years." ...
Did they factor in the possibility that humanity would turn itself into a paperclip demon except it's data centers?
Asking for everyone.
Did they factor in the possibility that humanity would turn itself into a paperclip demon except it's data centers?
Asking for everyone.
Post a game you remember playing that no one else remembers.
October 30, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Post a game you remember playing that no one else remembers.
Reposted by Chase Million
Interesting #astromethods paper came out recently that looks at whether or not large language models can replicate astrophysics papers.
The answer: No. 🔭☄️
They had a ~20% replication score, even with quite a lot of help. And this was just replicating papers - not doing anything new...
The answer: No. 🔭☄️
They had a ~20% replication score, even with quite a lot of help. And this was just replicating papers - not doing anything new...
ReplicationBench: Can AI Agents Replicate Astrophysics Research Papers?
Frontier AI agents show increasing promise as scientific research assistants, and may eventually be useful for extended, open-ended research workflows. However, in order to use agents for novel resear...
arxiv.org
October 29, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Interesting #astromethods paper came out recently that looks at whether or not large language models can replicate astrophysics papers.
The answer: No. 🔭☄️
They had a ~20% replication score, even with quite a lot of help. And this was just replicating papers - not doing anything new...
The answer: No. 🔭☄️
They had a ~20% replication score, even with quite a lot of help. And this was just replicating papers - not doing anything new...
The Kentucky Oath of Office is 50% about not participating in duels with deadly weapons.
October 29, 2025 at 12:35 PM
The Kentucky Oath of Office is 50% about not participating in duels with deadly weapons.