Phil Plait
@philplait.bsky.social
Bad Astronomer (formerly @BadAstronomer), SciCommer, Dork. Crash Course Astronomy guy. He/him. Newsletter: badastronomy.beehiiv.com
I'm self-employed so my opinions do in fact represent my company's.
I'm self-employed so my opinions do in fact represent my company's.
Pinned
Phil Plait
@philplait.bsky.social
· Oct 10
Pinned post:
Wanna know where all my stuff is? about.me/philplait
My book Under Alien Skies: underalienskies.com
My newsletter (Monday issues are free!): badastronomy.beehiiv.com
My fave post here on BlueSky: bsky.app/profile/phil...
Wanna know where all my stuff is? about.me/philplait
My book Under Alien Skies: underalienskies.com
My newsletter (Monday issues are free!): badastronomy.beehiiv.com
My fave post here on BlueSky: bsky.app/profile/phil...
Reposted by Phil Plait
If the government can take away your voting rights for a felony conviction, and they also decide what constitutes a felony, and they also decide who’s charged with the felony, and they also decide who’s prosecuted for the felony, you don’t have a right to vote.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger endorsed a constitutional amendment to automatically restore voting rights to people with felony convictions when they leave prison. State lawmakers passed the amendment and it will now appear on the state ballot.
“It’s Time”: Virginia Lawmakers Ask Voters to Repeal Jim Crow-Era Lifetime Ban on Voting
Voters will decide this year whether to end Virginia’s uniquely harsh felony disenfranchisement rules. They
boltsmag.org
February 12, 2026 at 3:10 AM
If the government can take away your voting rights for a felony conviction, and they also decide what constitutes a felony, and they also decide who’s charged with the felony, and they also decide who’s prosecuted for the felony, you don’t have a right to vote.
Tamino forrm Open Mind has been beating this drum for years, showing a clear acceleration in the warming.
tamino.wordpress.com/2025/05/28/h...
tamino.wordpress.com/2025/05/28/h...
February 12, 2026 at 2:42 AM
Tamino forrm Open Mind has been beating this drum for years, showing a clear acceleration in the warming.
tamino.wordpress.com/2025/05/28/h...
tamino.wordpress.com/2025/05/28/h...
Reposted by Phil Plait
Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! ⭐️
Loved my research, but was drawn to follow my passion in a way I could combine science, art, and education. It’s a privilege to share my paintings with you! Thanks for sticking around to support this journey 🤗
Loved my research, but was drawn to follow my passion in a way I could combine science, art, and education. It’s a privilege to share my paintings with you! Thanks for sticking around to support this journey 🤗
February 12, 2026 at 2:16 AM
Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! ⭐️
Loved my research, but was drawn to follow my passion in a way I could combine science, art, and education. It’s a privilege to share my paintings with you! Thanks for sticking around to support this journey 🤗
Loved my research, but was drawn to follow my passion in a way I could combine science, art, and education. It’s a privilege to share my paintings with you! Thanks for sticking around to support this journey 🤗
That's Peabody Energy CEO Jim Grech giving Trump this embarrassingly obvious trophy. I'm surprised he didn't just literally kiss Trump's ass.
More on this cringey display of sycophantry: www.msn.com/en-us/politi...
More on this cringey display of sycophantry: www.msn.com/en-us/politi...
February 12, 2026 at 12:27 AM
That's Peabody Energy CEO Jim Grech giving Trump this embarrassingly obvious trophy. I'm surprised he didn't just literally kiss Trump's ass.
More on this cringey display of sycophantry: www.msn.com/en-us/politi...
More on this cringey display of sycophantry: www.msn.com/en-us/politi...
Reposted by Phil Plait
Over on threads someone just use ai;dr and we all need to adopt that right quick
February 11, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Over on threads someone just use ai;dr and we all need to adopt that right quick
Reposted by Phil Plait
i’ve said they don’t understand object permanence but in this case they really are closing their eyes and pretending it makes things go away
Gallup will no longer measure presidential approval after 88 years thehill.com/homenews/med...
February 11, 2026 at 8:00 PM
i’ve said they don’t understand object permanence but in this case they really are closing their eyes and pretending it makes things go away
Well, I'm back from my West Texas party where we had a lot of fun but some balloons escaped and now it's time to check Bluesky but first let me get a big mouthful of water
February 11, 2026 at 9:33 PM
Well, I'm back from my West Texas party where we had a lot of fun but some balloons escaped and now it's time to check Bluesky but first let me get a big mouthful of water
Reposted by Phil Plait
She spent the whole morning performatively screaming at Congressmen, but this image of Bondi saying nothing and refusing to turn around will be the only real takeaway from her testimony today.
Likely-historic photo by NBC News of all the Epstein victims asked to raise their hands if they've not yet been asked to meet with the DOJ as Bondi testifies in foreground
February 11, 2026 at 6:31 PM
She spent the whole morning performatively screaming at Congressmen, but this image of Bondi saying nothing and refusing to turn around will be the only real takeaway from her testimony today.
This is among the most egregious lies about all this. First, the fossil fuel industry gets HUGE subsidies from the government (Burgum whines about supporting renewable energy), but the CO2 stuff is such a mind-boggingly braindead claim it amazes me anyone buys it. Like flat-Earth level bullshit.
drowning is impossible. your body is 2/3 water
Burgum: "CO2 was never a pollutant. When we breathe, we emit CO2. Plants need CO2 to survive and grow. They thrive with more CO2. So the whole endangerment thing opens up an opportunity for the revival of clean, beautiful, American coal."
February 11, 2026 at 3:41 PM
This is among the most egregious lies about all this. First, the fossil fuel industry gets HUGE subsidies from the government (Burgum whines about supporting renewable energy), but the CO2 stuff is such a mind-boggingly braindead claim it amazes me anyone buys it. Like flat-Earth level bullshit.
Trump mandates all schoolchildren eat at least 16 ounces of coal every day
Trump to direct Pentagon to buy coal to revive industry, Bloomberg News says reut.rs/46vkQiO
Trump to direct Pentagon to buy coal to revive industry, Bloomberg News says
U.S. President Donald Trump is set to direct the Pentagon to use government funding and Pentagon contracts to sustain U.S. coal-fired power plants, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing a White House official.
reut.rs
February 11, 2026 at 1:27 PM
Trump mandates all schoolchildren eat at least 16 ounces of coal every day
Reposted by Phil Plait
I drew a face on a paper plate. Who could even begin to understand how it perceives the world or what it dreams of?
Researchers working with the A.I. system Claude have come to understand that the model’s selfhood, like our own, is a matter of both neurons and narratives. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/kEX1vV
February 11, 2026 at 4:39 AM
I drew a face on a paper plate. Who could even begin to understand how it perceives the world or what it dreams of?
Reposted by Phil Plait
3/ Are you a woman interested in career opportunities at ESO?
Join the Virtual Career Fair for Women in STEM 2026. The event offers the opportunity to connect with representatives from ESO and other leading organisations.
🗓️ 19 March
ℹ️ www.impactpool.org/vcf/events/3...
🔭 🧪
Join the Virtual Career Fair for Women in STEM 2026. The event offers the opportunity to connect with representatives from ESO and other leading organisations.
🗓️ 19 March
ℹ️ www.impactpool.org/vcf/events/3...
🔭 🧪
February 11, 2026 at 10:47 AM
3/ Are you a woman interested in career opportunities at ESO?
Join the Virtual Career Fair for Women in STEM 2026. The event offers the opportunity to connect with representatives from ESO and other leading organisations.
🗓️ 19 March
ℹ️ www.impactpool.org/vcf/events/3...
🔭 🧪
Join the Virtual Career Fair for Women in STEM 2026. The event offers the opportunity to connect with representatives from ESO and other leading organisations.
🗓️ 19 March
ℹ️ www.impactpool.org/vcf/events/3...
🔭 🧪
Reposted by Phil Plait
I did the thing! I emailed, cold, the author of a book I liked to tell them it was good, and to say thanks. Know what? That's a good idea. You were all correct. Everyone should do that.
February 11, 2026 at 1:31 AM
I did the thing! I emailed, cold, the author of a book I liked to tell them it was good, and to say thanks. Know what? That's a good idea. You were all correct. Everyone should do that.
Well, wow. I just got an amazingly supportive and complimentary email which raised my spirits considerably.
It reminded me: if you like an artist or writer or whatever and their email is public, sending them a quick note will make their day. YMMV, but I really enjoy complimenting someone I admire.
It reminded me: if you like an artist or writer or whatever and their email is public, sending them a quick note will make their day. YMMV, but I really enjoy complimenting someone I admire.
February 11, 2026 at 1:20 AM
Well, wow. I just got an amazingly supportive and complimentary email which raised my spirits considerably.
It reminded me: if you like an artist or writer or whatever and their email is public, sending them a quick note will make their day. YMMV, but I really enjoy complimenting someone I admire.
It reminded me: if you like an artist or writer or whatever and their email is public, sending them a quick note will make their day. YMMV, but I really enjoy complimenting someone I admire.
Reposted by Phil Plait
That time I stood in front of a giant snow pile by the curb talking into my phone like a lunatic 😆
Why has it been so cold this winter? Senior Editor Andrea Thompson breaks down this winter’s extreme weather: a polar vortex sending the Eastern U.S. into a deep freeze, while the West faces record-breaking warmth.
🎤✏️: @andreatweather.bsky.social
🎞️: Carin Leong
🎤✏️: @andreatweather.bsky.social
🎞️: Carin Leong
February 10, 2026 at 11:03 PM
That time I stood in front of a giant snow pile by the curb talking into my phone like a lunatic 😆
That's way less than the percentage in the Trump administration.
The latest research shows that less than 2% of immigrants detained in Trump's second term are rapists and murderers, and less than 2% are gang members. Source: www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-arr...
Emmer steps to the mic and says: "Pedophiles. Rapists. Murderers."
February 10, 2026 at 10:31 PM
That's way less than the percentage in the Trump administration.
Cooooool
Galaxy mug. Stoneware. Hand-built. One of a kind. Just listed. Surly.etsy.com #sciart
February 10, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Cooooool
Dear Republicans: are you *sure* this is the guy you want to fall on your sword for?
Jamie Raskin Reveals Trump’s Name Shows Up in Unredacted Epstein Files ‘More Than a Million Times’
Jamie Raskin Reveals Trump’s Name Shows Up in Unredacted Epstein Files ‘More Than a Million Times’
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) revealed on Tuesday that President Donald Trump's name appears in the unredacted Epstein files “more than a million times.”
The post Jamie Raskin Reveals Trump’s Name Shows Up in Unredacted Epstein Files ‘More Than a Million Times’ first appeared on Mediaite.
dlvr.it
February 10, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Dear Republicans: are you *sure* this is the guy you want to fall on your sword for?
It's amazing how well Randall understands astronomers
![Comic. [Person with ponytail pointing to diagram on wall as she talks to two other people, one with short hair.] PERSON 1: The high carbon content of the skeleton indicates that the individual lived less than 12.6 billion years ago, after the first round of stellar nucleosynthesis. [caption] Cosmologist carbon dating](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreiaaaa2fduedn5fusan4xvikaehxgps2yxdlv7vb3j7ep323zta2u4@jpeg)
February 10, 2026 at 8:28 PM
It's amazing how well Randall understands astronomers
February 10, 2026 at 7:32 PM
Old McDonald had a farm...
February 10, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Old McDonald had a farm...
This amazing pic of the galaxy IC 5332 from JWST gave me some arachnophobic-like chills, but damn, it's so amazing. Read about it here!
badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/a-spider-w...
[PS: this Tuesday issue is usually for paid subscribers but I put a lot of it above the fold because it's cool]
🔭 🧪
badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/a-spider-w...
[PS: this Tuesday issue is usually for paid subscribers but I put a lot of it above the fold because it's cool]
🔭 🧪
A spider web a million trillion kilometers wide: JWST’s view of IC 5332
Also: How many near-Earth asteroids have been visited by spacecraft?
badastronomy.beehiiv.com
February 10, 2026 at 4:34 PM
This amazing pic of the galaxy IC 5332 from JWST gave me some arachnophobic-like chills, but damn, it's so amazing. Read about it here!
badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/a-spider-w...
[PS: this Tuesday issue is usually for paid subscribers but I put a lot of it above the fold because it's cool]
🔭 🧪
badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/a-spider-w...
[PS: this Tuesday issue is usually for paid subscribers but I put a lot of it above the fold because it's cool]
🔭 🧪
Age verification? Since before your sun burned hot in space, and before your race was born, I have awaited a question.
Age verification? My first anime was "Space Cruiser Yamato"
Age verification? On my middle school basketball team we all chewed lemon-lime Gatorgum.
February 10, 2026 at 2:53 PM
Age verification? Since before your sun burned hot in space, and before your race was born, I have awaited a question.
OMG
Makes more sense than a flat Earth
Makes more sense than a flat Earth
An entirely reasonable question prompted by a show that has never once explained where anyone came from or why they’re still here.
#cookiemonster #drwho #elmo #grover #oscar #sesamestreet #snuffleupagus #timelord #vampire #OddNews
#cookiemonster #drwho #elmo #grover #oscar #sesamestreet #snuffleupagus #timelord #vampire #OddNews
If Oscar the Grouch Is a Time Lord, Then What Is the Rest of Sesame Street?
An entirely reasonable question prompted by a show that has never once explained where anyone came from or why they’re still here.
oddnews.com
February 10, 2026 at 1:57 AM
OMG
Makes more sense than a flat Earth
Makes more sense than a flat Earth