Sandpiper
@spg21212.bsky.social
Editor. Science writer. Astronomer. Birder.
Reposted by Sandpiper
Nancy Grace Roman telescope is out of the thermal vacuum chamber and getting ready to launch in 2026
November 14, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Nancy Grace Roman telescope is out of the thermal vacuum chamber and getting ready to launch in 2026
Reposted by Sandpiper
55 years ago today, the Oregon State Highway Division had a whale of a problem on its hands. How it solved it is the stuff of legends.
In other words: Happy Exploding Whale Day!
In other words: Happy Exploding Whale Day!
The Exploding Whale: An infamous moment in Oregon history creates a strangely beloved icon
YouTube video by KATU News
youtu.be
November 12, 2025 at 5:38 PM
55 years ago today, the Oregon State Highway Division had a whale of a problem on its hands. How it solved it is the stuff of legends.
In other words: Happy Exploding Whale Day!
In other words: Happy Exploding Whale Day!
Reposted by Sandpiper
Here's my full conversation with Congressman @morelle.house.gov My last meeting of the day. I was exhausted, Anjelika was exhausted but we did it ALL for YOU! The Congressman cares a great deal about his constituents & EVERY American & wants to stop the BIG UGLY BILL!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_-9...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_-9...
Rep. Joe Morelle and Peter Morley
YouTube video by Rep. Joe Morelle
www.youtube.com
July 1, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Here's my full conversation with Congressman @morelle.house.gov My last meeting of the day. I was exhausted, Anjelika was exhausted but we did it ALL for YOU! The Congressman cares a great deal about his constituents & EVERY American & wants to stop the BIG UGLY BILL!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_-9...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_-9...
Whoa! Rubin Observatory ... you first light overachievers!!! 😍🔭
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 4:29 AM
Whoa! Rubin Observatory ... you first light overachievers!!! 😍🔭
Reposted by Sandpiper
For secret reasons, I’m making a list of types of exoplanet. What should I add? My list starts:
hot jupiters
hot neptunes
lava worlds
Earth-like places
comet-like planets
planets around young stars
planets around old stars
planets around pulsars (eh?)
🔭 🛰️
hot jupiters
hot neptunes
lava worlds
Earth-like places
comet-like planets
planets around young stars
planets around old stars
planets around pulsars (eh?)
🔭 🛰️
June 12, 2025 at 4:07 PM
For secret reasons, I’m making a list of types of exoplanet. What should I add? My list starts:
hot jupiters
hot neptunes
lava worlds
Earth-like places
comet-like planets
planets around young stars
planets around old stars
planets around pulsars (eh?)
🔭 🛰️
hot jupiters
hot neptunes
lava worlds
Earth-like places
comet-like planets
planets around young stars
planets around old stars
planets around pulsars (eh?)
🔭 🛰️
Reposted by Sandpiper
Kip Thorne's final message in his AEI anniversary lecture.
June 3, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Kip Thorne's final message in his AEI anniversary lecture.
The White House Gutted Science Funding. Now It Wants to ‘Correct’ Research.
www.nytimes.com
June 3, 2025 at 8:42 PM
June 2, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Reposted by Sandpiper
How bad will it be? Catastrophic.
Proposed cuts to #NSF, #NIH, and #NASA will set the US R&D landscape back 25 yrs+, cause economic and job loss now, and undermine innovations to come.
But, this is the WH's *proposed* budget.
Speak up now before it is too late.
(inflation adjusted $-s below)
Proposed cuts to #NSF, #NIH, and #NASA will set the US R&D landscape back 25 yrs+, cause economic and job loss now, and undermine innovations to come.
But, this is the WH's *proposed* budget.
Speak up now before it is too late.
(inflation adjusted $-s below)
May 31, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Reposted by Sandpiper
Thinking about devastating cuts to NSF: US gov-funded science has been the engine upon which most of the tech wealth was generated. But the oligarchs (currently hoarding much of that $) think it’s their own brilliance & not the accident of standing close to the scientific engine that made them rich.
May 4, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Thinking about devastating cuts to NSF: US gov-funded science has been the engine upon which most of the tech wealth was generated. But the oligarchs (currently hoarding much of that $) think it’s their own brilliance & not the accident of standing close to the scientific engine that made them rich.
Reposted by Sandpiper
Here’s a video of Bernie Sanders 21 years ago explaining how the Republicans win even though no one likes their policies.
How Republicans split and divide and win.
#MomSky
#Voices4Victory
How Republicans split and divide and win.
#MomSky
#Voices4Victory
May 4, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Here’s a video of Bernie Sanders 21 years ago explaining how the Republicans win even though no one likes their policies.
How Republicans split and divide and win.
#MomSky
#Voices4Victory
How Republicans split and divide and win.
#MomSky
#Voices4Victory
Reposted by Sandpiper
I think a lot about what Carl Sagan said in one of his final interviews.
May 4, 2025 at 6:21 AM
I think a lot about what Carl Sagan said in one of his final interviews.
Reposted by Sandpiper
Election results in Australia and Canada show that many places emphatically reject the politics of fear, bigotry, and division that have infected the US. You do not have to accept governments that operate on destruction and chaos. Another world is possible!
May 3, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Election results in Australia and Canada show that many places emphatically reject the politics of fear, bigotry, and division that have infected the US. You do not have to accept governments that operate on destruction and chaos. Another world is possible!
Reposted by Sandpiper
The Human Genome Project cost taxpayers $3 Billion.
Two decades on, it has generated a staggering return on investment of $1 Trillion, with benefits in medicine, agriculture, energy, the environment, & more.
If you want to boost the economy, funding science is one of the best things you could do.
Two decades on, it has generated a staggering return on investment of $1 Trillion, with benefits in medicine, agriculture, energy, the environment, & more.
If you want to boost the economy, funding science is one of the best things you could do.
May 2, 2025 at 7:00 PM
The Human Genome Project cost taxpayers $3 Billion.
Two decades on, it has generated a staggering return on investment of $1 Trillion, with benefits in medicine, agriculture, energy, the environment, & more.
If you want to boost the economy, funding science is one of the best things you could do.
Two decades on, it has generated a staggering return on investment of $1 Trillion, with benefits in medicine, agriculture, energy, the environment, & more.
If you want to boost the economy, funding science is one of the best things you could do.
Spiral galaxy Messier 101 is about 21 million light years away, located in the constellation Ursa Major. It has about one trillion stars (1 with 12 zeros), and is almost 3 times the width of the Milky Way. This image was taken with a Nikon mirrorless camera and telephoto lens. #astrophotography
April 28, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Spiral galaxy Messier 101 is about 21 million light years away, located in the constellation Ursa Major. It has about one trillion stars (1 with 12 zeros), and is almost 3 times the width of the Milky Way. This image was taken with a Nikon mirrorless camera and telephoto lens. #astrophotography
Reposted by Sandpiper
Foreign Attaché: One of our scientist friends had a grandmother who received this medal from the Nazi state. Non-Jewish mothers received it for birthing 4 or more children. If you think the US administration won’t target certain demographics with incentives, look to history. The vibes will match.
April 23, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Foreign Attaché: One of our scientist friends had a grandmother who received this medal from the Nazi state. Non-Jewish mothers received it for birthing 4 or more children. If you think the US administration won’t target certain demographics with incentives, look to history. The vibes will match.
Reposted by Sandpiper
Reposted by Sandpiper
Check out the little asteroid Donaldjohanson. It's about 9 km across and looks like two little blobs connected by a interesting looking little neck. And soooo many craters. Fun stuff.
science.nasa.gov/image-articl...
science.nasa.gov/image-articl...
NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Images Asteroid Donaldjohanson - NASA Science
In its second asteroid encounter, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft obtained a close look at a uniquely shaped fragment of an asteroid that formed about 150 million
science.nasa.gov
April 21, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Check out the little asteroid Donaldjohanson. It's about 9 km across and looks like two little blobs connected by a interesting looking little neck. And soooo many craters. Fun stuff.
science.nasa.gov/image-articl...
science.nasa.gov/image-articl...
Reposted by Sandpiper
Breaking: “I DID NOT HAVE SIGNAL RELATIONS WITH THAT WOMAN [wife]” -SecDef
April 20, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Breaking: “I DID NOT HAVE SIGNAL RELATIONS WITH THAT WOMAN [wife]” -SecDef
Reposted by Sandpiper
“Most of us will be lost to history, but we will, nonetheless, move the story forward, even if just a little bit. And once in a great while, someone will light a lantern—or even 2—that will shine forth for democratic principles that are under siege, & set the world ablaze”- @hcrichardson.bsky.social
April 18, 2025
Tonight I had the extraordinary privilege of speaking at the anniversary of the lighting of the lanterns in Boston’s Old North Church, which happened 250 years ago tonight.
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
April 19, 2025 at 12:24 PM
“Most of us will be lost to history, but we will, nonetheless, move the story forward, even if just a little bit. And once in a great while, someone will light a lantern—or even 2—that will shine forth for democratic principles that are under siege, & set the world ablaze”- @hcrichardson.bsky.social
I just submitted a budget request for NASA to my Maryland senators following Brett's simple step-by-step instructions. Great weekend project and it won't take long!
Here's how to ask your Senators for *specific* funding levels for NASA, NSF, and Department of Energy Office of Science. It's simpler than you think! @aas.org @policy.aas.org 🧪🔭
AAS Guided Appropriations Request Meeting April 18, 2025
AAS Action: Guided Appropriations Request Meeting April 18, 2025 Brett Morris These slides: https://bit.ly/approps-request-guide
docs.google.com
April 18, 2025 at 6:56 PM
I just submitted a budget request for NASA to my Maryland senators following Brett's simple step-by-step instructions. Great weekend project and it won't take long!
Reposted by Sandpiper
The data produced by this group has been an essential resource for so much great science. We use their data and websites to interpret our JWST spectra of protostars. It is exactly the kind of foundational investments the US should be making to advance science. www.change.org/p/oppose-the...
Sign the Petition
Oppose the layoff of the NIST Atomic Spectroscopy Group
www.change.org
April 17, 2025 at 4:35 PM
The data produced by this group has been an essential resource for so much great science. We use their data and websites to interpret our JWST spectra of protostars. It is exactly the kind of foundational investments the US should be making to advance science. www.change.org/p/oppose-the...
Reposted by Sandpiper
Sarah’s rules of looking for life with only chemical signatures:
1) the smaller the molecule(s) the more likely they can also be produced by abiotic processes
2) one molecule, if it can be produced by any abiotic process, will never be enough to definitively claim detection of life
1) the smaller the molecule(s) the more likely they can also be produced by abiotic processes
2) one molecule, if it can be produced by any abiotic process, will never be enough to definitively claim detection of life
April 17, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Sarah’s rules of looking for life with only chemical signatures:
1) the smaller the molecule(s) the more likely they can also be produced by abiotic processes
2) one molecule, if it can be produced by any abiotic process, will never be enough to definitively claim detection of life
1) the smaller the molecule(s) the more likely they can also be produced by abiotic processes
2) one molecule, if it can be produced by any abiotic process, will never be enough to definitively claim detection of life
Reposted by Sandpiper
Pull up, Dorks!
Ready to join like-minded SUFS’ers in our Summer Campaign? This action info session is for you! This week’s national virtual gathering is Wednesday 7:30pm ET – sign up here for a Zoom link & see you there: bit.ly/SUFSActionIn...
#StandUpForScience
#SummerCampaign
#SummerSendoff
Ready to join like-minded SUFS’ers in our Summer Campaign? This action info session is for you! This week’s national virtual gathering is Wednesday 7:30pm ET – sign up here for a Zoom link & see you there: bit.ly/SUFSActionIn...
#StandUpForScience
#SummerCampaign
#SummerSendoff
Stand Up For Science--Information Session Registration
Please fill out this quick registration form and we will send over the zoom link for the Summer Campaign Info Sesh on April 16th at 7:30pm (Eastern time).
bit.ly
April 14, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Pull up, Dorks!
Ready to join like-minded SUFS’ers in our Summer Campaign? This action info session is for you! This week’s national virtual gathering is Wednesday 7:30pm ET – sign up here for a Zoom link & see you there: bit.ly/SUFSActionIn...
#StandUpForScience
#SummerCampaign
#SummerSendoff
Ready to join like-minded SUFS’ers in our Summer Campaign? This action info session is for you! This week’s national virtual gathering is Wednesday 7:30pm ET – sign up here for a Zoom link & see you there: bit.ly/SUFSActionIn...
#StandUpForScience
#SummerCampaign
#SummerSendoff
Very sad news from Fred Espenak.
www.facebook.com/fred.espenak
He announced that his Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis has progressed significantly and he will enter hospice tomorrow. Please see the full message at his Facebook page.
#astronomy #astrophotography #eclipse
www.facebook.com/fred.espenak
He announced that his Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis has progressed significantly and he will enter hospice tomorrow. Please see the full message at his Facebook page.
#astronomy #astrophotography #eclipse
April 15, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Very sad news from Fred Espenak.
www.facebook.com/fred.espenak
He announced that his Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis has progressed significantly and he will enter hospice tomorrow. Please see the full message at his Facebook page.
#astronomy #astrophotography #eclipse
www.facebook.com/fred.espenak
He announced that his Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis has progressed significantly and he will enter hospice tomorrow. Please see the full message at his Facebook page.
#astronomy #astrophotography #eclipse