Tom Howarth
@tomhowarth.bsky.social
Science Journalist 🧪 • Trends Editor | BBC Science Focus • Formerly @newsweek.com & European Southern Observatory • Views are my own
Reposted by Tom Howarth
Flying Squirrel Loves It Every Time
November 5, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Flying Squirrel Loves It Every Time
A 'superflare' 10 trillion X brighter than the Sun has been confirmed as the most luminous burst of light ever from a black hole. 🧪 ⚛️
What caused such an outburst?
Astronomers think a star, >30X the Sun's mass, was being gobbled up by the BH. ⚫
A light snack?
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What caused such an outburst?
Astronomers think a star, >30X the Sun's mass, was being gobbled up by the BH. ⚫
A light snack?
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Biggest black-hole outburst ever seen records death throes of a star
A ‘superflare’ 10 trillion times brighter than the Sun is confirmed as the record-holder for luminosity.
www.nature.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:24 AM
A 'superflare' 10 trillion X brighter than the Sun has been confirmed as the most luminous burst of light ever from a black hole. 🧪 ⚛️
What caused such an outburst?
Astronomers think a star, >30X the Sun's mass, was being gobbled up by the BH. ⚫
A light snack?
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What caused such an outburst?
Astronomers think a star, >30X the Sun's mass, was being gobbled up by the BH. ⚫
A light snack?
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
My conversation with Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. 🎙️
Fascinating time to talk trust, truth and the future of the internet's biggest bank of knowledge.
www.sciencefocus.com/future-techn...
Fascinating time to talk trust, truth and the future of the internet's biggest bank of knowledge.
www.sciencefocus.com/future-techn...
Elon Musk? AI? ‘Crazy left-wing activists’? The man who built Wikipedia explains its biggest threats | BBC Science Focus Magazine
25 years and millions of articles later, Wikipedia is the biggest bank of human knowledge on the web. But what does the future hold for it?
www.sciencefocus.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:41 PM
My conversation with Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. 🎙️
Fascinating time to talk trust, truth and the future of the internet's biggest bank of knowledge.
www.sciencefocus.com/future-techn...
Fascinating time to talk trust, truth and the future of the internet's biggest bank of knowledge.
www.sciencefocus.com/future-techn...
Feels like a really low-energy build-up to COP this year. Is anyone excited or hopeful about what can be achieved? 🌎
November 3, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Feels like a really low-energy build-up to COP this year. Is anyone excited or hopeful about what can be achieved? 🌎
Wondering how Melissa became such a beast? This explains it perfectly. 🧪 🌀
(hint: it's climate change dummy)
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o...
(hint: it's climate change dummy)
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o...
Opinion | Hurricane Melissa Maxed Out What Scientists Thought Was Possible
www.nytimes.com
October 31, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Wondering how Melissa became such a beast? This explains it perfectly. 🧪 🌀
(hint: it's climate change dummy)
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o...
(hint: it's climate change dummy)
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o...
🦇 🎃🦇 🎃🦇 🎃
Right in time for #Halloween 🎃
Our VST has spotted a spooky bat flying over Paranal. But fear not, it's located 10,000 light-years away.
This "cosmic bat" is in fact a large cloud of gas. Let's fly through it in this video...if you dare! 🦇
Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2518/
🔭 🧪
Our VST has spotted a spooky bat flying over Paranal. But fear not, it's located 10,000 light-years away.
This "cosmic bat" is in fact a large cloud of gas. Let's fly through it in this video...if you dare! 🦇
Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2518/
🔭 🧪
October 31, 2025 at 9:12 AM
🦇 🎃🦇 🎃🦇 🎃
"If that flame had pointed toward the hull, we’d have had rapid decompression, quick suffocation, and we’d all be dead."
The tale of how Jerry Linenger survived a fire on Mir in 1997.
The whole story is told in a new BBC series: Once Upon a Time in Space 🚀
www.sciencefocus.com/space/fire-i...
The tale of how Jerry Linenger survived a fire on Mir in 1997.
The whole story is told in a new BBC series: Once Upon a Time in Space 🚀
www.sciencefocus.com/space/fire-i...
I survived the worst fire in space history – and was told to keep it secret | BBC Science Focus Magazine
On 24 February 1997, Jerry Linenger and his five crewmates faced a danger they hoped they’d never meet: a fire aboard their space station.
www.sciencefocus.com
October 30, 2025 at 12:03 PM
"If that flame had pointed toward the hull, we’d have had rapid decompression, quick suffocation, and we’d all be dead."
The tale of how Jerry Linenger survived a fire on Mir in 1997.
The whole story is told in a new BBC series: Once Upon a Time in Space 🚀
www.sciencefocus.com/space/fire-i...
The tale of how Jerry Linenger survived a fire on Mir in 1997.
The whole story is told in a new BBC series: Once Upon a Time in Space 🚀
www.sciencefocus.com/space/fire-i...
Nature's power is mind boggling: the sheer scale of the eye of this storm 🤯 💨
Thoughts are with those in Jamaica at this time.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_LI...
Thoughts are with those in Jamaica at this time.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_LI...
US Air Force 'Hurricane Hunters' fly into the eye of Hurricane Melissa
YouTube video by Associated Press
www.youtube.com
October 28, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Nature's power is mind boggling: the sheer scale of the eye of this storm 🤯 💨
Thoughts are with those in Jamaica at this time.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_LI...
Thoughts are with those in Jamaica at this time.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_LI...
Ooo, we’ve got a new ‘quasi-moon’ tagging along with Earth. 🌚🧪
It’s called 2025 PN7 — only about 30 m wide, which might explain why we’ve missed it until now.
Intriguingly, it orbits at a similar distance to our Moon… could it actually be a lunar escapee?
www.sciencefocus.com/news/quasi-m...
It’s called 2025 PN7 — only about 30 m wide, which might explain why we’ve missed it until now.
Intriguingly, it orbits at a similar distance to our Moon… could it actually be a lunar escapee?
www.sciencefocus.com/news/quasi-m...
Astronomers discover hidden 'moon' shadowing Earth | BBC Science Focus Magazine
The space rock has actually been hanging around Earth for 60 years, but no-one has noticed it before... until now.
www.sciencefocus.com
October 27, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Ooo, we’ve got a new ‘quasi-moon’ tagging along with Earth. 🌚🧪
It’s called 2025 PN7 — only about 30 m wide, which might explain why we’ve missed it until now.
Intriguingly, it orbits at a similar distance to our Moon… could it actually be a lunar escapee?
www.sciencefocus.com/news/quasi-m...
It’s called 2025 PN7 — only about 30 m wide, which might explain why we’ve missed it until now.
Intriguingly, it orbits at a similar distance to our Moon… could it actually be a lunar escapee?
www.sciencefocus.com/news/quasi-m...
One for the history/science fans (myself included) 🧪
Scientists have uncovered new DNA evidence that challenges assumptions about Napoleon’s disastrous 1812 Russian invasion.
Analysis suggests that a grim mix of infectious diseases helped decimate the troops. 😷
www.sciencefocus.com/news/how-nap...
Scientists have uncovered new DNA evidence that challenges assumptions about Napoleon’s disastrous 1812 Russian invasion.
Analysis suggests that a grim mix of infectious diseases helped decimate the troops. 😷
www.sciencefocus.com/news/how-nap...
New DNA evidence reveals how Napoleon’s army was actually defeated | BBC Science Focus Magazine
Scientists have found evidence of multiple infectious diseases that may have played key roles in the army’s catastrophic retreat from Russia.
www.sciencefocus.com
October 27, 2025 at 9:17 AM
One for the history/science fans (myself included) 🧪
Scientists have uncovered new DNA evidence that challenges assumptions about Napoleon’s disastrous 1812 Russian invasion.
Analysis suggests that a grim mix of infectious diseases helped decimate the troops. 😷
www.sciencefocus.com/news/how-nap...
Scientists have uncovered new DNA evidence that challenges assumptions about Napoleon’s disastrous 1812 Russian invasion.
Analysis suggests that a grim mix of infectious diseases helped decimate the troops. 😷
www.sciencefocus.com/news/how-nap...
Okay, soooo, terrifying. 🪱
BUT the science of how the NW screwworm was forced south, and the ongoing scientific and logistical struggle to keep it at bay, is nothing short of FASCINATING.
If you wrote this in a novel, it almost wouldn't be believable 🧪
www.sciencefocus.com/news/flesh-e...
BUT the science of how the NW screwworm was forced south, and the ongoing scientific and logistical struggle to keep it at bay, is nothing short of FASCINATING.
If you wrote this in a novel, it almost wouldn't be believable 🧪
www.sciencefocus.com/news/flesh-e...
A flesh-eating parasite has almost reached the US border. Should we be worried? | BBC Science Focus Magazine
A deadly fly once wiped out across North America has resurfaced in northern Mexico – and it’s creeping ever closer to the US border
www.sciencefocus.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Okay, soooo, terrifying. 🪱
BUT the science of how the NW screwworm was forced south, and the ongoing scientific and logistical struggle to keep it at bay, is nothing short of FASCINATING.
If you wrote this in a novel, it almost wouldn't be believable 🧪
www.sciencefocus.com/news/flesh-e...
BUT the science of how the NW screwworm was forced south, and the ongoing scientific and logistical struggle to keep it at bay, is nothing short of FASCINATING.
If you wrote this in a novel, it almost wouldn't be believable 🧪
www.sciencefocus.com/news/flesh-e...
Lost my Duolingo streak while I was away last week, and I don't think I've ever felt freer 🦉
October 20, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Lost my Duolingo streak while I was away last week, and I don't think I've ever felt freer 🦉
Really interesting biotech talks on stage at GITEX Global today.
Been speaking with lots of leaders about how AI, quantum and other new tech is rapidly accelerating progress in the health space.
On stage here: Ashley Zehnder, discussing how she’s looking at evolution/nature for novel discoveries.
Been speaking with lots of leaders about how AI, quantum and other new tech is rapidly accelerating progress in the health space.
On stage here: Ashley Zehnder, discussing how she’s looking at evolution/nature for novel discoveries.
October 15, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Really interesting biotech talks on stage at GITEX Global today.
Been speaking with lots of leaders about how AI, quantum and other new tech is rapidly accelerating progress in the health space.
On stage here: Ashley Zehnder, discussing how she’s looking at evolution/nature for novel discoveries.
Been speaking with lots of leaders about how AI, quantum and other new tech is rapidly accelerating progress in the health space.
On stage here: Ashley Zehnder, discussing how she’s looking at evolution/nature for novel discoveries.
Congratulations to Prof Omar Yaghi and his colleagues on winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their pioneering work on world-changing materials. 🧪
I caught up with Prof Yaghi a few weeks ago to chat all about his work. You can listen to our conversation below:
pod.link/1296673906/e...
I caught up with Prof Yaghi a few weeks ago to chat all about his work. You can listen to our conversation below:
pod.link/1296673906/e...
pod.link
October 8, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Congratulations to Prof Omar Yaghi and his colleagues on winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their pioneering work on world-changing materials. 🧪
I caught up with Prof Yaghi a few weeks ago to chat all about his work. You can listen to our conversation below:
pod.link/1296673906/e...
I caught up with Prof Yaghi a few weeks ago to chat all about his work. You can listen to our conversation below:
pod.link/1296673906/e...
This trend really makes the world seem weird... but not so bad. 🧁
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Germans meet up to eat pudding with forks — and the trend goes global
The trend, called “Pudding mit Gabel,” has taken off on German social media, and now has crossed the Atlantic.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 8, 2025 at 8:41 AM
This trend really makes the world seem weird... but not so bad. 🧁
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Co-first author Dr Rebecca Andrews:
“This is the first time we've been able to look at oligomers directly in human brain tissue at this scale: It’s like being able to see stars in broad daylight”
🧪
www.sciencefocus.com/news/hidden-...
“This is the first time we've been able to look at oligomers directly in human brain tissue at this scale: It’s like being able to see stars in broad daylight”
🧪
www.sciencefocus.com/news/hidden-...
The hidden trigger behind Parkinson’s has finally been spotted | BBC Science Focus Magazine
The findings mark a major advancement in our understanding of the world’s fastest-growing neurological disease
www.sciencefocus.com
October 2, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Co-first author Dr Rebecca Andrews:
“This is the first time we've been able to look at oligomers directly in human brain tissue at this scale: It’s like being able to see stars in broad daylight”
🧪
www.sciencefocus.com/news/hidden-...
“This is the first time we've been able to look at oligomers directly in human brain tissue at this scale: It’s like being able to see stars in broad daylight”
🧪
www.sciencefocus.com/news/hidden-...
Reposted by Tom Howarth
🆕 Our VLT finds a rogue planet growing at record rate: six billion tonnes a second!
This is the strongest growth rate ever recorded for a planet of any kind, providing insights into how rogue planets form&grow: https://f.mtr.cool/pvyxnsjnfx
🔭 🧪 ☄️
#exoplanets
Illustration ESO/L. Calçada
This is the strongest growth rate ever recorded for a planet of any kind, providing insights into how rogue planets form&grow: https://f.mtr.cool/pvyxnsjnfx
🔭 🧪 ☄️
#exoplanets
Illustration ESO/L. Calçada
October 2, 2025 at 12:02 PM
🆕 Our VLT finds a rogue planet growing at record rate: six billion tonnes a second!
This is the strongest growth rate ever recorded for a planet of any kind, providing insights into how rogue planets form&grow: https://f.mtr.cool/pvyxnsjnfx
🔭 🧪 ☄️
#exoplanets
Illustration ESO/L. Calçada
This is the strongest growth rate ever recorded for a planet of any kind, providing insights into how rogue planets form&grow: https://f.mtr.cool/pvyxnsjnfx
🔭 🧪 ☄️
#exoplanets
Illustration ESO/L. Calçada
Long distance ultra runners may be at greater risk of colon cancer. 🧪 🏃
Emphasis on the 'may' here - findings are very preliminary and only based on a small group.
Could be to do with blood flow away from digestive system...
NB: running is still super healthy
www.sciencefocus.com/news/ultra-r...
Emphasis on the 'may' here - findings are very preliminary and only based on a small group.
Could be to do with blood flow away from digestive system...
NB: running is still super healthy
www.sciencefocus.com/news/ultra-r...
Long-distance runners may face higher colon cancer risk, early findings suggest | BBC Science Focus Magazine
A new study has raised questions about the link between extreme endurance running and colorectal cancer
www.sciencefocus.com
September 25, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Long distance ultra runners may be at greater risk of colon cancer. 🧪 🏃
Emphasis on the 'may' here - findings are very preliminary and only based on a small group.
Could be to do with blood flow away from digestive system...
NB: running is still super healthy
www.sciencefocus.com/news/ultra-r...
Emphasis on the 'may' here - findings are very preliminary and only based on a small group.
Could be to do with blood flow away from digestive system...
NB: running is still super healthy
www.sciencefocus.com/news/ultra-r...
My pet tortoise, Pepe, approves this message. 🐢 🧪
➼ 'Long dismissed as unintelligent, reptiles are emerging as cognitively and emotionally complex animals. A new study involving tortoises suggests that they also possess mood states.'
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/s...
➼ 'Long dismissed as unintelligent, reptiles are emerging as cognitively and emotionally complex animals. A new study involving tortoises suggests that they also possess mood states.'
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/s...
Do Reptiles Have Moods, Too?
www.nytimes.com
September 22, 2025 at 10:04 AM
My pet tortoise, Pepe, approves this message. 🐢 🧪
➼ 'Long dismissed as unintelligent, reptiles are emerging as cognitively and emotionally complex animals. A new study involving tortoises suggests that they also possess mood states.'
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/s...
➼ 'Long dismissed as unintelligent, reptiles are emerging as cognitively and emotionally complex animals. A new study involving tortoises suggests that they also possess mood states.'
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/s...
6,000 and counting 🧪
The number is somewhat arbitrary, but it's impressive how far we've come in 3 decades since the first exoplanet discovery.
We'll no doubt be at 10,000 in a couple of years, tops.
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-t...
The number is somewhat arbitrary, but it's impressive how far we've come in 3 decades since the first exoplanet discovery.
We'll no doubt be at 10,000 in a couple of years, tops.
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-t...
NASA’s Tally of Planets Outside Our Solar System Reaches 6,000
The milestone highlights the accelerating rate of discoveries, just over three decades since the first exoplanets were found.
www.jpl.nasa.gov
September 18, 2025 at 8:14 AM
6,000 and counting 🧪
The number is somewhat arbitrary, but it's impressive how far we've come in 3 decades since the first exoplanet discovery.
We'll no doubt be at 10,000 in a couple of years, tops.
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-t...
The number is somewhat arbitrary, but it's impressive how far we've come in 3 decades since the first exoplanet discovery.
We'll no doubt be at 10,000 in a couple of years, tops.
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-t...
Reposted by Tom Howarth
Congratulations, you've just lived through the three hottest summers on record 🫠
But with greenhouse gas emissions still piling up in the atmosphere, those records probably won't stand for terribly long. 🧪
(graphic by @unamandita.bsky.social)
But with greenhouse gas emissions still piling up in the atmosphere, those records probably won't stand for terribly long. 🧪
(graphic by @unamandita.bsky.social)
We’ve Lived through the Three Hottest Summers on Record
Climate-fueled heat has caused thousands of excess deaths over the past three summers, which were the three hottest on record
www.scientificamerican.com
September 17, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Congratulations, you've just lived through the three hottest summers on record 🫠
But with greenhouse gas emissions still piling up in the atmosphere, those records probably won't stand for terribly long. 🧪
(graphic by @unamandita.bsky.social)
But with greenhouse gas emissions still piling up in the atmosphere, those records probably won't stand for terribly long. 🧪
(graphic by @unamandita.bsky.social)
New images of M87's black hole show its changing magnetic field
YouTube video by ESO Chasing Starlight
www.youtube.com
September 16, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Reposted by Tom Howarth
1/ A rising telescope under a rising Sun and Moon! 🔭☀️🌕
This montage is a kaleidoscope of moments from the construction of our Extremely Large Telescope.
Creating this #ELT collage took Boris Häußler, an ESO astronomer in Chile, years of meticulous planning.
This montage is a kaleidoscope of moments from the construction of our Extremely Large Telescope.
Creating this #ELT collage took Boris Häußler, an ESO astronomer in Chile, years of meticulous planning.
September 15, 2025 at 7:02 AM
1/ A rising telescope under a rising Sun and Moon! 🔭☀️🌕
This montage is a kaleidoscope of moments from the construction of our Extremely Large Telescope.
Creating this #ELT collage took Boris Häußler, an ESO astronomer in Chile, years of meticulous planning.
This montage is a kaleidoscope of moments from the construction of our Extremely Large Telescope.
Creating this #ELT collage took Boris Häußler, an ESO astronomer in Chile, years of meticulous planning.