Mike Brown
@plutokiller.com
Astronomer, planet hunter, Pluto killer, bear whisperer, finger-wrapped dad. Dangerous secularist. Foot soldier in the War on Cars. He/him.
mikebrown.caltech.edu
mikebrown.caltech.edu
New paper just out from my soon-to-graduate Ph.D. student Matthew Belyakov. He got JWST to look at 3I/Atlas in the mid-infrared. And there is water! and CO2! and CH4! and Ni! It's just a beautiful spectrum (and I love a beautiful spectrum). arxiv.org/abs/2601.22034 🔭
January 30, 2026 at 3:28 PM
New paper just out from my soon-to-graduate Ph.D. student Matthew Belyakov. He got JWST to look at 3I/Atlas in the mid-infrared. And there is water! and CO2! and CH4! and Ni! It's just a beautiful spectrum (and I love a beautiful spectrum). arxiv.org/abs/2601.22034 🔭
My wife and I had a conversation this morning where we sort of kind of realized that perhaps it is not particularly common to have a bear who comes to swim in your back yard pool sometimes weekly. I mean for the rest of you it only happens like once or twice a year, right?
January 28, 2026 at 5:29 PM
My wife and I had a conversation this morning where we sort of kind of realized that perhaps it is not particularly common to have a bear who comes to swim in your back yard pool sometimes weekly. I mean for the rest of you it only happens like once or twice a year, right?
Reposted by Mike Brown
Portrait of Mike Brown. His discovery of Eris forced a reckoning: if Pluto was a planet, the definition had to change. Now he’s chasing another disruption, Planet 9, a world inferred by gravity at the solar system’s edge.
explorers.com/mike-brown-t...
@plutokiller.com @nationalacademies.org #sciart
explorers.com/mike-brown-t...
@plutokiller.com @nationalacademies.org #sciart
January 27, 2026 at 1:33 PM
Portrait of Mike Brown. His discovery of Eris forced a reckoning: if Pluto was a planet, the definition had to change. Now he’s chasing another disruption, Planet 9, a world inferred by gravity at the solar system’s edge.
explorers.com/mike-brown-t...
@plutokiller.com @nationalacademies.org #sciart
explorers.com/mike-brown-t...
@plutokiller.com @nationalacademies.org #sciart
Patch alert! He must have made a New Year’s resolution to swim laps to lose weight. Made it across and back twice. Keep at it, bud.
January 25, 2026 at 8:33 PM
Patch alert! He must have made a New Year’s resolution to swim laps to lose weight. Made it across and back twice. Keep at it, bud.
Reposted by Mike Brown
Bears vs. Trail cameras
January 24, 2026 at 6:50 PM
Bears vs. Trail cameras
I have finally taken the leap and gotten rid of my car! Going to find out how hard it is to be a one-car family in sprawling LA. Trick one: e-bike (the commute and in-office parking are so much nicer than with a car). Trick two: employer-provided transit pass. Let’s see how this works.
January 22, 2026 at 9:36 PM
I have finally taken the leap and gotten rid of my car! Going to find out how hard it is to be a one-car family in sprawling LA. Trick one: e-bike (the commute and in-office parking are so much nicer than with a car). Trick two: employer-provided transit pass. Let’s see how this works.
What are the chances when I promise my daughter I will post more…. Patch shows up! He was clearly in the pool, based on all of puddles, but my cameras only caught him on the way to the trash cans (still locked, sorry bud)
January 21, 2026 at 1:54 AM
What are the chances when I promise my daughter I will post more…. Patch shows up! He was clearly in the pool, based on all of puddles, but my cameras only caught him on the way to the trash cans (still locked, sorry bud)
My daughter just returned to college. Before she left she told me I was failing to post enough. Apparently reading bsky is one of the ways she keeps track of what is going on back home. I apologize. I will now try to do a better job for her sake.
January 20, 2026 at 11:43 PM
My daughter just returned to college. Before she left she told me I was failing to post enough. Apparently reading bsky is one of the ways she keeps track of what is going on back home. I apologize. I will now try to do a better job for her sake.
We had a midnight visitor! He was rotund and covered in fur. It was PATCH! We haven’t seen him in months since his foot injury, which looks all healed now. It is a Christmas miracle.
December 25, 2025 at 10:57 AM
We had a midnight visitor! He was rotund and covered in fur. It was PATCH! We haven’t seen him in months since his foot injury, which looks all healed now. It is a Christmas miracle.
Found a new friend in Berlin
December 13, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Found a new friend in Berlin
Reposted by Mike Brown
📣 TONIGHT! @thewaroncars.bsky.social is coming to LA! I'm joining them onstage for a live show with @streetsforall.org to promote their new book.
🌧️ WE MUST SHOW THESE NEW YORKERS THAT A LITTLE RAIN DOES NOT SCARE LA AWAY!
🎟️ Tickets are available here: www.dynastytypewriter.com/calendar-squ...
🌧️ WE MUST SHOW THESE NEW YORKERS THAT A LITTLE RAIN DOES NOT SCARE LA AWAY!
🎟️ Tickets are available here: www.dynastytypewriter.com/calendar-squ...
November 17, 2025 at 6:40 PM
📣 TONIGHT! @thewaroncars.bsky.social is coming to LA! I'm joining them onstage for a live show with @streetsforall.org to promote their new book.
🌧️ WE MUST SHOW THESE NEW YORKERS THAT A LITTLE RAIN DOES NOT SCARE LA AWAY!
🎟️ Tickets are available here: www.dynastytypewriter.com/calendar-squ...
🌧️ WE MUST SHOW THESE NEW YORKERS THAT A LITTLE RAIN DOES NOT SCARE LA AWAY!
🎟️ Tickets are available here: www.dynastytypewriter.com/calendar-squ...
@brenttoderian.bsky.social if the Dodgers lose does LA have to become part of Canada (also if the Dodgers win can we also become part of Canada? Please?)
November 1, 2025 at 12:14 AM
@brenttoderian.bsky.social if the Dodgers lose does LA have to become part of Canada (also if the Dodgers win can we also become part of Canada? Please?)
Reposted by Mike Brown
I wanted to offer some thoughts on the Gates climate memo that has been circulating this week. While I can't directly speak for others, I can say that my own response is one of dismay & deep frustration (and that this view is shared by many climate/Earth scientists). [1/n]
October 30, 2025 at 5:02 PM
I wanted to offer some thoughts on the Gates climate memo that has been circulating this week. While I can't directly speak for others, I can say that my own response is one of dismay & deep frustration (and that this view is shared by many climate/Earth scientists). [1/n]
Reposted by Mike Brown
Great numbers in California for Prop 50. Dems are turning OUT and people are fired up. Let’s go LA & OC, YES on 50.
October 29, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Great numbers in California for Prop 50. Dems are turning OUT and people are fired up. Let’s go LA & OC, YES on 50.
I don't watch much baseball but I watched a game last night. Are they usually like that?
October 28, 2025 at 3:12 PM
I don't watch much baseball but I watched a game last night. Are they usually like that?
Paaaaaaaaatch?
Bear Breaks Into California Zoo to Mingle With Other Bears
Bear Breaks Into California Zoo to Mingle With Other Bears
Bear Breaks Into California Zoo to Mingle With Other Bears
www.nytimes.com
October 21, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Paaaaaaaaatch?
Bear Breaks Into California Zoo to Mingle With Other Bears
Bear Breaks Into California Zoo to Mingle With Other Bears
Good news? Bad news? After opening up the toeboard there is no snake, but there is a hole.The snake found a crack in to walls of the house and is gone. Um. Where? Not quite sure what the next move here is. Wait until it gets bigger and can’t fit through cracks? Thoughts?
October 21, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Good news? Bad news? After opening up the toeboard there is no snake, but there is a hole.The snake found a crack in to walls of the house and is gone. Um. Where? Not quite sure what the next move here is. Wait until it gets bigger and can’t fit through cracks? Thoughts?
Home from work, baby rattlesnake still has not appeared on the camera I left in the bathroom. It’s either been holed up under the counter for 3 days or there is a different hole it escaped out of. Only way to find out it to remove the toeboard under the counter and have a look. Stay tuned.
Day three of baby-rattlesnake-hiding-in-the-bathroom: no snake. He is still holed up behind the toe board under the counter and was not enticed by the heating pad I left out. Or there is another hole behind the counter I don't know about? Sounding like I am going to have to remove that toe board.
Day two of the baby rattlesnake holed up in our bathroom standoff continues. We sealed the bathroom door overnight and hoped the snake would come out from the little enclosed spot it found under the counter. No luck. It has to come out some time, right? I mean, I know it's dark and cozy, but come on
October 21, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Home from work, baby rattlesnake still has not appeared on the camera I left in the bathroom. It’s either been holed up under the counter for 3 days or there is a different hole it escaped out of. Only way to find out it to remove the toeboard under the counter and have a look. Stay tuned.
Day three of baby-rattlesnake-hiding-in-the-bathroom: no snake. He is still holed up behind the toe board under the counter and was not enticed by the heating pad I left out. Or there is another hole behind the counter I don't know about? Sounding like I am going to have to remove that toe board.
Day two of the baby rattlesnake holed up in our bathroom standoff continues. We sealed the bathroom door overnight and hoped the snake would come out from the little enclosed spot it found under the counter. No luck. It has to come out some time, right? I mean, I know it's dark and cozy, but come on
October 20, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Day three of baby-rattlesnake-hiding-in-the-bathroom: no snake. He is still holed up behind the toe board under the counter and was not enticed by the heating pad I left out. Or there is another hole behind the counter I don't know about? Sounding like I am going to have to remove that toe board.
I have set up a box with a heating pad next to the hole where the baby rattler is hiding. I also borrowed the bear camera from the pool and now have it pointing at the box so I can see if the snake ever wanders in. Come to the nice warm pad, little snake friend...
Day two of the baby rattlesnake holed up in our bathroom standoff continues. We sealed the bathroom door overnight and hoped the snake would come out from the little enclosed spot it found under the counter. No luck. It has to come out some time, right? I mean, I know it's dark and cozy, but come on
October 19, 2025 at 9:10 PM
I have set up a box with a heating pad next to the hole where the baby rattler is hiding. I also borrowed the bear camera from the pool and now have it pointing at the box so I can see if the snake ever wanders in. Come to the nice warm pad, little snake friend...
Day two of the baby rattlesnake holed up in our bathroom standoff continues. We sealed the bathroom door overnight and hoped the snake would come out from the little enclosed spot it found under the counter. No luck. It has to come out some time, right? I mean, I know it's dark and cozy, but come on
October 19, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Day two of the baby rattlesnake holed up in our bathroom standoff continues. We sealed the bathroom door overnight and hoped the snake would come out from the little enclosed spot it found under the counter. No luck. It has to come out some time, right? I mean, I know it's dark and cozy, but come on
Weirdly this is the second time I’ve had a rattlesnake in my house.. The first time (different house!), I tried hard to usher him out and failed. I ended up having to decapitate him. And then, feeling horrible, I ate him. With Dijon sauce. Tastes like chicken. Really.Hoping to not fail this time.
Current issue: there is a baby rattlesnake hiding in my house. An hour ago I walked down the hall to see why a cat was making a fuss and it was perched over the snake. I went and grabbed a stick and guided the snake into the bathroom (nowhere to hide! [wrong]) and locked the cat away. Got a bucket..
October 19, 2025 at 3:24 AM
Weirdly this is the second time I’ve had a rattlesnake in my house.. The first time (different house!), I tried hard to usher him out and failed. I ended up having to decapitate him. And then, feeling horrible, I ate him. With Dijon sauce. Tastes like chicken. Really.Hoping to not fail this time.
Current issue: there is a baby rattlesnake hiding in my house. An hour ago I walked down the hall to see why a cat was making a fuss and it was perched over the snake. I went and grabbed a stick and guided the snake into the bathroom (nowhere to hide! [wrong]) and locked the cat away. Got a bucket..
October 19, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Current issue: there is a baby rattlesnake hiding in my house. An hour ago I walked down the hall to see why a cat was making a fuss and it was perched over the snake. I went and grabbed a stick and guided the snake into the bathroom (nowhere to hide! [wrong]) and locked the cat away. Got a bucket..
Reposted by Mike Brown
[Exit pursued by a bear.]
October 18, 2025 at 7:05 PM
[Exit pursued by a bear.]