Scott Johnston
@scottjohnston.bsky.social
Science Writer. Author. PhD. Stargazer. Find me at Perimeter Institute and Universe Today.
Opinions are my own.
Opinions are my own.
How Einstein really discovered relativity:
🎭 Dramatic Monologue: Defying Gravity from @wickedmovie #wicked #wickedmusical #actingmonologue
YouTube video by jmcnik: SONGOLOGUES
youtube.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:18 PM
How Einstein really discovered relativity:
Reposted by Scott Johnston
Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Pewter Howitt share economics prize for work that underlines the importance of investing in research and development.
go.nature.com/4hj9NNV
go.nature.com/4hj9NNV
Economics Nobel prize won by researchers who showed how science boosts growth
Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Pewter Howitt share economics prize for work that underlines the importance of investing in research and development.
go.nature.com
October 13, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Pewter Howitt share economics prize for work that underlines the importance of investing in research and development.
go.nature.com/4hj9NNV
go.nature.com/4hj9NNV
This is Canada's first official look at the country's most ambitious radio observatory to date, now under construction in Penticton, BC.
CHORD is the next-generation radio telescope that will leverage Canadian astronomical leadership to unveil the mysteries of the cosmos.
Details: perimeterinstitute.ca/news/chord-w...
@dunlapinstitute.bsky.social @mcgillscience.bsky.social
Details: perimeterinstitute.ca/news/chord-w...
@dunlapinstitute.bsky.social @mcgillscience.bsky.social
August 28, 2025 at 2:23 PM
This is Canada's first official look at the country's most ambitious radio observatory to date, now under construction in Penticton, BC.
Reposted by Scott Johnston
Every reputable expert I know considers mRNA vaccine technology to be one of the most revolutionary advances in medicine in our lifetimes. Its inventors won the Nobel Prize in 2023. Shutting it down now is pointless self-harm to humanity.
Release from HHS: HHS will wind down its development of the mRNA vaccine development activities under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
August 5, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Every reputable expert I know considers mRNA vaccine technology to be one of the most revolutionary advances in medicine in our lifetimes. Its inventors won the Nobel Prize in 2023. Shutting it down now is pointless self-harm to humanity.
Reposted by Scott Johnston
Congratulations to Professor Michele Dougherty on her appointment as the UK's Astronomer Royal – the first woman to hold the position in its 350-year history! 🔭✨
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#Astronomy
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#Astronomy
UK gets first female Astronomer Royal in 350 years
Prof Michele Dougherty is the first woman to be appointed to the influential post.
www.bbc.co.uk
July 30, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Congratulations to Professor Michele Dougherty on her appointment as the UK's Astronomer Royal – the first woman to hold the position in its 350-year history! 🔭✨
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#Astronomy
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#Astronomy
Reposted by Scott Johnston
At first glance this is very, very good news for NASA and other agencies. I think that many missions zeroed out by the White House decree are reversed here. Still a long way to go but this is an excellent sign. I'm sure many others will chime in on this.
Senate CJS bill is passed out of committee, with strong support for NASA and NSF (basically flat budgets) and strongly supportive language for many facilities.
www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
www.appropriations.senate.gov
July 18, 2025 at 4:34 PM
At first glance this is very, very good news for NASA and other agencies. I think that many missions zeroed out by the White House decree are reversed here. Still a long way to go but this is an excellent sign. I'm sure many others will chime in on this.
Reposted by Scott Johnston
Fingers crossed. Keep telling your members of Congress this is important.
The Senate appropriations committee has voiced its intent to ignore the request by President Donald Trump to slash the budgets of the National Science Foundation and NASA science programs. scim.ag/4nW7XWi
Senate spending panel would rescue NSF and NASA science funding
Its support for a flat budget is a sign of congressional resistance to drastic cuts Trump has proposed
scim.ag
July 10, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Fingers crossed. Keep telling your members of Congress this is important.
This is an absurd step backwards. NASA stands among the USA's greatest achievements, and to see its science program dismantled so deliberately is heartbreaking.
the American government is effectively ending its space program.
Over 2,000 senior staff set to leave NASA under agency push
The losses could endanger the administration’s plans for landing astronauts on the moon and Mars.
www.politico.com
July 9, 2025 at 7:58 PM
This is an absurd step backwards. NASA stands among the USA's greatest achievements, and to see its science program dismantled so deliberately is heartbreaking.
👀
Introducing...your sneak peek at the cosmos captured by NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory!
Can you guess these regions of sky?
This is just a small peek...join us at 11am US EDT for your full First Look at how Rubin will #CaptureTheCosmos! 🔭🧪
#RubinFirstLook
ls.st/rubin-first-look-livestream
Can you guess these regions of sky?
This is just a small peek...join us at 11am US EDT for your full First Look at how Rubin will #CaptureTheCosmos! 🔭🧪
#RubinFirstLook
ls.st/rubin-first-look-livestream
June 23, 2025 at 4:12 AM
👀
Reposted by Scott Johnston
"I asked ChatGPT" "I asked Grok" ok well I asked Gandalf and he said he has not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a witless worm
June 19, 2025 at 12:42 PM
"I asked ChatGPT" "I asked Grok" ok well I asked Gandalf and he said he has not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a witless worm
The 2025 @swc-can.bsky.social Science Writers and Communicators of Canada conference is getting started! I'm excited to be at UNB with @perimeterinstitute.ca this morning to connect with writers and science comms experts from across the country.
June 12, 2025 at 1:10 PM
The 2025 @swc-can.bsky.social Science Writers and Communicators of Canada conference is getting started! I'm excited to be at UNB with @perimeterinstitute.ca this morning to connect with writers and science comms experts from across the country.
Reposted by Scott Johnston
Google and Meta search both report that Cape Breton Island has its own time zone 12 minutes ahead of mainland Nova Scotia time because they are both drawing that information from a Beaverton article I wrote in 2024
June 10, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Google and Meta search both report that Cape Breton Island has its own time zone 12 minutes ahead of mainland Nova Scotia time because they are both drawing that information from a Beaverton article I wrote in 2024
Reposted by Scott Johnston
The NASA planetary science fleet chart if the president’s budget is enacted.
May 30, 2025 at 9:57 PM
The NASA planetary science fleet chart if the president’s budget is enacted.
Hank nailed this one.
No One Knows When They Don't Die
YouTube video by vlogbrothers
youtu.be
May 16, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Hank nailed this one.
Alien algae was not on my bingo card for today, but I'll take it. 🦠 www.cbc.ca/news/science...
Scientists find strongest evidence yet of life on an alien planet | CBC News
In a potential landmark discovery, scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope have obtained what they call the strongest signs yet of possible life beyond our solar system.
www.cbc.ca
April 17, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Alien algae was not on my bingo card for today, but I'll take it. 🦠 www.cbc.ca/news/science...
Writing this (and filming the reel) was a blast. Learning quantum mechanics is always more fun with liquid nitrogen!
The quantum origins of glow-in-the-dark | PI News
perimeterinstitute.ca
March 18, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Writing this (and filming the reel) was a blast. Learning quantum mechanics is always more fun with liquid nitrogen!
Reposted by Scott Johnston
Oh. My. Wow. This image here, THIS STUNNING PHOTO, was taken by Blue Ghost on the Moon. Because while we saw a lunar eclipse on Earth, the Moon saw a solar eclipse at the same time. That's us, Earth, eclipsing the Sun. And it just gives me goosebumps to see like this!!
March 15, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Oh. My. Wow. This image here, THIS STUNNING PHOTO, was taken by Blue Ghost on the Moon. Because while we saw a lunar eclipse on Earth, the Moon saw a solar eclipse at the same time. That's us, Earth, eclipsing the Sun. And it just gives me goosebumps to see like this!!
You get a moon! You get a moon! Everybody gets a moon!
BREAKING PLANET NEWS 🪐
Rather hilariously, Saturn just got up to 128 new moons (thanks to some careful telescopic observations), bringing its total to…274? That’s just an absurd number of moons.
(Not the MPC bulletin I was expecting today…!)
Rather hilariously, Saturn just got up to 128 new moons (thanks to some careful telescopic observations), bringing its total to…274? That’s just an absurd number of moons.
(Not the MPC bulletin I was expecting today…!)
March 11, 2025 at 7:40 PM
You get a moon! You get a moon! Everybody gets a moon!
This would be catastrophic. Stand up for science.
There are reports The White House is considering a 50% cut to NASA’s science programs, and 25% of its overall budget, which would be catastrophic for both current and planned missions. But, there is still time for the administration to reconsider. Read our full statement ⬇️
The Planetary Society: reported cuts to NASA would amount to an…
The Planetary Society, the world’s largest independent space interest organization, issued a statement in response to recent reports that the White House…
www.planetary.org
March 8, 2025 at 3:02 PM
This would be catastrophic. Stand up for science.
Lying on a hill in the warm sun is what we all really need right now.
February 5, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Lying on a hill in the warm sun is what we all really need right now.
Reposted by Scott Johnston
Here’s our annual look for @universetoday.com at the coming year, with the Top Astronomy Events for 2025. Thx to John Flannery, @shahgazer.bsky.social, @failedprotostar.bsky.social @halfastro.bsky.social and all who contributed to a great year, w/more in store. www.universetoday.com/169952/top-a...
Top Astronomy Events for 2025
Catch the best sky watching events for the coming year 2025.
www.universetoday.com
December 24, 2024 at 3:45 PM
Here’s our annual look for @universetoday.com at the coming year, with the Top Astronomy Events for 2025. Thx to John Flannery, @shahgazer.bsky.social, @failedprotostar.bsky.social @halfastro.bsky.social and all who contributed to a great year, w/more in store. www.universetoday.com/169952/top-a...
Reposted by Scott Johnston
Wi-Fi (provides benefits to billions of people) ... came from radio astronomers looking for tiny black holes
PCR tests (helped billions during the pandemic) ... came from studying extremophile bacterium in hot springs
and now this 👇👇👇
You never know what science research will give our future!
PCR tests (helped billions during the pandemic) ... came from studying extremophile bacterium in hot springs
and now this 👇👇👇
You never know what science research will give our future!
People sometimes make fun of science that sounds stupid and random.
Meanwhile, a study of lizard saliva turned into a peptide medication, which was turned into a diabetes medication, which was turned into a GLP1 weight loss drug, that just became the first therapy every approved for … sleep apnea
Meanwhile, a study of lizard saliva turned into a peptide medication, which was turned into a diabetes medication, which was turned into a GLP1 weight loss drug, that just became the first therapy every approved for … sleep apnea
Breaking News: The FDA approved use of the weight loss drug Zepbound for a common form of sleep apnea. It is the first drug authorized to treat the disorder.
December 21, 2024 at 11:48 PM
Wi-Fi (provides benefits to billions of people) ... came from radio astronomers looking for tiny black holes
PCR tests (helped billions during the pandemic) ... came from studying extremophile bacterium in hot springs
and now this 👇👇👇
You never know what science research will give our future!
PCR tests (helped billions during the pandemic) ... came from studying extremophile bacterium in hot springs
and now this 👇👇👇
You never know what science research will give our future!
@letstalkscience.bsky.social and @perimeterinstitute.ca are teaming up to bring the joy of science to more kids everywhere. Here's a recent joint project I helped create. It's a fun little guide to the night sky:
A Stargazer’s Guide to Stellar Science
Winter is approaching in the Northern Hemisphere, and while it may be chilly, the night sky has plenty to explore – even without a telescope, if you know where to look. So bundle up, grab a thermos of...
letstalkscience.ca
December 9, 2024 at 6:12 PM
@letstalkscience.bsky.social and @perimeterinstitute.ca are teaming up to bring the joy of science to more kids everywhere. Here's a recent joint project I helped create. It's a fun little guide to the night sky:
The Hubble Space Telescope and the Internet were born around the same time. They made for a powerful combination: unprecedented astrophotography plus unprecedented connectivity.
November 25, 2024 at 4:35 PM
The Hubble Space Telescope and the Internet were born around the same time. They made for a powerful combination: unprecedented astrophotography plus unprecedented connectivity.
Reposted by Scott Johnston
