Nora's Guide to the Galaxy
@ngttg.bsky.social
I love space!
PhD, Astrophysics
🌌✨✨🌌
come explore our galaxy with me
🔗: https://galaxy.nora-bailey.com/linktree
PhD, Astrophysics
🌌✨✨🌌
come explore our galaxy with me
🔗: https://galaxy.nora-bailey.com/linktree
Year of Space Facts: Week 6/52 🔭🧪🛰️
The twinkling of stars isn't caused by anything happening at the star—it's actually an effect of atmospheric turbulence and refraction making small changes to the path of the light before it reaches our eyes.
📸 Sirius scintillating (Bautsch CC0)
The twinkling of stars isn't caused by anything happening at the star—it's actually an effect of atmospheric turbulence and refraction making small changes to the path of the light before it reaches our eyes.
📸 Sirius scintillating (Bautsch CC0)
February 9, 2026 at 8:44 PM
Year of Space Facts: Week 6/52 🔭🧪🛰️
The twinkling of stars isn't caused by anything happening at the star—it's actually an effect of atmospheric turbulence and refraction making small changes to the path of the light before it reaches our eyes.
📸 Sirius scintillating (Bautsch CC0)
The twinkling of stars isn't caused by anything happening at the star—it's actually an effect of atmospheric turbulence and refraction making small changes to the path of the light before it reaches our eyes.
📸 Sirius scintillating (Bautsch CC0)
I know I'm a nerd, but c'mon, how does Word not recognize the word libration?!?
February 7, 2026 at 9:08 PM
I know I'm a nerd, but c'mon, how does Word not recognize the word libration?!?
Reposted by Nora's Guide to the Galaxy
NASA will review data gathered during a simulated launch of the Artemis II rocket before revealing a new date for its upcoming moon mission
NASA delays Artemis II moon mission after critical test raises issues
NASA will review data gathered during a simulated launch of the Artemis II rocket before revealing a new date for its upcoming moon mission
www.scientificamerican.com
February 3, 2026 at 2:26 PM
NASA will review data gathered during a simulated launch of the Artemis II rocket before revealing a new date for its upcoming moon mission
Year of Space Facts: Week 5/52 🔭🧪🛰️
NGC 1277 is a rare relic galaxy. Even rarer? Its lack of dark matter! This is the first massive galaxy (it has a stellar mass of ~180 billion solar masses) to show signs of dark matter deficiency, a surprise given our understanding of the universe.
📸 NASA/ESA
NGC 1277 is a rare relic galaxy. Even rarer? Its lack of dark matter! This is the first massive galaxy (it has a stellar mass of ~180 billion solar masses) to show signs of dark matter deficiency, a surprise given our understanding of the universe.
📸 NASA/ESA
February 3, 2026 at 12:29 AM
Year of Space Facts: Week 5/52 🔭🧪🛰️
NGC 1277 is a rare relic galaxy. Even rarer? Its lack of dark matter! This is the first massive galaxy (it has a stellar mass of ~180 billion solar masses) to show signs of dark matter deficiency, a surprise given our understanding of the universe.
📸 NASA/ESA
NGC 1277 is a rare relic galaxy. Even rarer? Its lack of dark matter! This is the first massive galaxy (it has a stellar mass of ~180 billion solar masses) to show signs of dark matter deficiency, a surprise given our understanding of the universe.
📸 NASA/ESA
Year of Space Facts: Week 4/52 🔭🧪🛰️
The Sun is big to us, but compared to other stars? Not so much! Consider the R136 cluster, which contains 7 VMSes (Very Massive Stars, of course) of over 100 solar masses, including R136a1, the most massive known star at ~250 solar masses.
📸: Hubble, JWST
The Sun is big to us, but compared to other stars? Not so much! Consider the R136 cluster, which contains 7 VMSes (Very Massive Stars, of course) of over 100 solar masses, including R136a1, the most massive known star at ~250 solar masses.
📸: Hubble, JWST
January 26, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Year of Space Facts: Week 4/52 🔭🧪🛰️
The Sun is big to us, but compared to other stars? Not so much! Consider the R136 cluster, which contains 7 VMSes (Very Massive Stars, of course) of over 100 solar masses, including R136a1, the most massive known star at ~250 solar masses.
📸: Hubble, JWST
The Sun is big to us, but compared to other stars? Not so much! Consider the R136 cluster, which contains 7 VMSes (Very Massive Stars, of course) of over 100 solar masses, including R136a1, the most massive known star at ~250 solar masses.
📸: Hubble, JWST
Lol I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse 🫠 I promise all the stupid ish in my videos is 100% human made!! In this same video I had to hack at a part where I accidentally said the HZ is closer in for a brighter star like wtf
January 25, 2026 at 12:58 AM
Lol I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse 🫠 I promise all the stupid ish in my videos is 100% human made!! In this same video I had to hack at a part where I accidentally said the HZ is closer in for a brighter star like wtf
Editing a video today and realized I said "conservitable" instead of "conservative" when talking about the habitable zone and that's what I get for recording videos before coffee 😅
January 25, 2026 at 12:47 AM
Editing a video today and realized I said "conservitable" instead of "conservative" when talking about the habitable zone and that's what I get for recording videos before coffee 😅
I am so lucky to have an awesome job that I really like, but the downside is that it's soo hard to stop thinking about it and I get so stressed because I care so much 😭
January 24, 2026 at 1:20 AM
I am so lucky to have an awesome job that I really like, but the downside is that it's soo hard to stop thinking about it and I get so stressed because I care so much 😭
38 years old and I just learned tonight watching Jeopardy that the word "blaggard" is the word "blackguard" 🤯
January 22, 2026 at 4:30 AM
38 years old and I just learned tonight watching Jeopardy that the word "blaggard" is the word "blackguard" 🤯
I would be ashamed to put my byline on this
January 21, 2026 at 7:13 AM
I would be ashamed to put my byline on this
I Woke Up Before My Alarm So I Had Some Time to Kill and Now I'm Late: A Story of My Life
January 20, 2026 at 5:14 PM
I Woke Up Before My Alarm So I Had Some Time to Kill and Now I'm Late: A Story of My Life
It's a very hypothetical, thought experiment scale 😅
January 20, 2026 at 7:08 AM
It's a very hypothetical, thought experiment scale 😅
Yep 🤯 big numbers! The "non" suffix indicates 9, and in the short scale used in the US, that means the power of 10 is 3*9+3 (an octillion, then, is 10^(3*8+3) or 10^27). The long scale uses a 6x framework, so a nonillion is 10^(6*9) and an octillion is 10^(6*8) or 10^48. I always use short scale!
January 20, 2026 at 7:07 AM
Yep 🤯 big numbers! The "non" suffix indicates 9, and in the short scale used in the US, that means the power of 10 is 3*9+3 (an octillion, then, is 10^(3*8+3) or 10^27). The long scale uses a 6x framework, so a nonillion is 10^(6*9) and an octillion is 10^(6*8) or 10^48. I always use short scale!
Year of Space Facts: Week 3/52 🔭🧪🛰️
Stars can consume their planets if tidal dissipation causes a planet's orbit to decay fast enough. Nom nom. 🌞🌏😋
🖼: NASA/ESA/G. Bacon (STScI)
Stars can consume their planets if tidal dissipation causes a planet's orbit to decay fast enough. Nom nom. 🌞🌏😋
🖼: NASA/ESA/G. Bacon (STScI)
January 19, 2026 at 9:46 PM
Year of Space Facts: Week 3/52 🔭🧪🛰️
Stars can consume their planets if tidal dissipation causes a planet's orbit to decay fast enough. Nom nom. 🌞🌏😋
🖼: NASA/ESA/G. Bacon (STScI)
Stars can consume their planets if tidal dissipation causes a planet's orbit to decay fast enough. Nom nom. 🌞🌏😋
🖼: NASA/ESA/G. Bacon (STScI)
Spent some time reading MLK this morning. He was a very inspiring speaker and writer whose words and actions continue to reverberate across history. Happy MLK Day!
"Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows." -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows." -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 19, 2026 at 4:54 PM
Spent some time reading MLK this morning. He was a very inspiring speaker and writer whose words and actions continue to reverberate across history. Happy MLK Day!
"Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows." -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows." -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
2016 is also the year I got my adult (second round!) of braces off and damn I am jealous of how straight my teeth were! I have consistently worn my retainers ever since, but they still have shifted 😭
January 17, 2026 at 6:16 PM
2016 is also the year I got my adult (second round!) of braces off and damn I am jealous of how straight my teeth were! I have consistently worn my retainers ever since, but they still have shifted 😭
2016 eh? Fun fact, 2016 is the year I first dyed my hair pink! It's funny how similar these office selfies are 😅 Except my office now gets natural light, my phone takes better pictures, and oh now I have PhD and actually like my job. Still pink though!
January 17, 2026 at 6:16 PM
2016 eh? Fun fact, 2016 is the year I first dyed my hair pink! It's funny how similar these office selfies are 😅 Except my office now gets natural light, my phone takes better pictures, and oh now I have PhD and actually like my job. Still pink though!
I needed to look up something from one of my old papers for a video script I'm writing, and I ended up getting sucked in and reading my whole paper. This shit is fascinating, who wrote this?? She was smart!!
January 15, 2026 at 3:07 AM
I needed to look up something from one of my old papers for a video script I'm writing, and I ended up getting sucked in and reading my whole paper. This shit is fascinating, who wrote this?? She was smart!!
Just casually getting this insane view during my dermatology appointment
January 14, 2026 at 7:09 PM
Just casually getting this insane view during my dermatology appointment
Reposted by Nora's Guide to the Galaxy
Psst.
This is a lightning bolt.
On fucking Jupiter.
This is a lightning bolt.
On fucking Jupiter.
January 14, 2026 at 1:55 AM
Psst.
This is a lightning bolt.
On fucking Jupiter.
This is a lightning bolt.
On fucking Jupiter.
Year of Space Facts: Week 2/52 🔭🧪🛰️
Information can't travel faster than light, and the universe is 13.8 Gy old, so the radius of the observable universe is 13.8 Gly, right? Nope! Because of expansion, the current radius of the observable universe is actually 48.5 Gly!
Information can't travel faster than light, and the universe is 13.8 Gy old, so the radius of the observable universe is 13.8 Gly, right? Nope! Because of expansion, the current radius of the observable universe is actually 48.5 Gly!
January 12, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Year of Space Facts: Week 2/52 🔭🧪🛰️
Information can't travel faster than light, and the universe is 13.8 Gy old, so the radius of the observable universe is 13.8 Gly, right? Nope! Because of expansion, the current radius of the observable universe is actually 48.5 Gly!
Information can't travel faster than light, and the universe is 13.8 Gy old, so the radius of the observable universe is 13.8 Gly, right? Nope! Because of expansion, the current radius of the observable universe is actually 48.5 Gly!
I decided I didn't want rejections for Christmas, so I took basically all of December off from submitting. That was nice but now I pay the price—had to send off 7 short stories today 🥴
January 10, 2026 at 9:13 PM
I decided I didn't want rejections for Christmas, so I took basically all of December off from submitting. That was nice but now I pay the price—had to send off 7 short stories today 🥴
Oh wow, Crew 11 is returning early from the ISS for a (non-emergency) medical evacuation! This is unprecedented and will leave only a single US astronaut (and 2 cosmonauts) on board until Crew 12 launches. That's still enough to operate, at least. Wishing the best for the unidentified astronaut! 🛰️
NASA orders “controlled medical evacuation” from the International Space Station
The crew is highly trained, and they came to the aid of their colleague right away."
arstechnica.com
January 9, 2026 at 5:50 PM
Oh wow, Crew 11 is returning early from the ISS for a (non-emergency) medical evacuation! This is unprecedented and will leave only a single US astronaut (and 2 cosmonauts) on board until Crew 12 launches. That's still enough to operate, at least. Wishing the best for the unidentified astronaut! 🛰️