Thad Szabo
LightNews LightNews
banner
astrothad.bsky.social
Thad Szabo
@astrothad.bsky.social
1K followers 920 following 1.2K posts
(he/him) Professor of Phys & Astro at Cerritos College

Has benefited from the companionship of chinchillas, a dog, & a cat. Some humans are OK.

Seeking a living kidney donor: www.kidneyforthad.info

Astrophotos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/astrothad
Posts Replies Media Videos
astrothad.bsky.social
I can't beat The Big Bang, so...

Post you from a different era.
Black and white image of a moody teenage white boy with dark hair
November 8, 2025 at 6:35 AM
astrothad.bsky.social
Please don't let this ridiculous dinosaur go extinct - help me find a #KidneyDonor

nkr.org/KRN489
Pale dude with a graying beard showing off his arms and legs in a skimpy green dinosaur costume. He is smiling and his arms are raised in a mock attack.
November 1, 2025 at 8:33 AM
astrothad.bsky.social
I hadn't done much astronomy for weeks, so I pulled out the Dobsonian 2 nights ago and got some afocal pics of the Moon. 🔭
Waxing gibbous moon, 9 days past new. Many craters are visible along the boundary between the lit and unlit portions. The southern portion of the Moon with some outstanding craters, including Tycho and Clavius.
August 5, 2025 at 6:33 AM
astrothad.bsky.social
Between his compositions for The Electric Company and his satirical songs, Tom Lehrer had a measurable impact on my life. I recorded this before teaching a spectroscopy lab where students had to identify elements from their spectra. Rest well, Mr. Lehrer.
July 28, 2025 at 12:34 AM
astrothad.bsky.social
I was going through the images on my phone while writing my manual and this one showed up from when I visited Manzanar in 2016.

What a malformed country to be a citizen of. #AbolishICE #AbolishPrisons (except for moneyed assholes who use their wealth to exact abuse - lock those fuckers up)
A sign at the Japanese internment camp at Manzanar National Historical Site describing the slow closure of the internment camps after FDR was reelected in 1944. There was a question as to whether the camps were ever legal in the first place. Do not forget that the United States has a history of being fucking terrible to it's own citizens once it deems them as "other".
July 11, 2025 at 10:48 AM
astrothad.bsky.social
Had a procedure today to (>99.9%) make sure my genetics are not propagated forward. Yes, you smile like this after a vasectomy if you got to take honking huge hits of nitrous while you were being worked on.
A white dude with brown hair, a receding hair line, and a graying beard is smiling while bending forward next to a nitronox nitrous oxide dispenser. He is wearing a green shirt with a yellow sun on it.
June 12, 2025 at 1:33 AM
astrothad.bsky.social
If you saw reports of protests that happened after ICE attacked people near a Home Depot in Paramount, I circled that in blue
Map showing neighborhoods in Los Angeles along with surrounding cities. Locations where newsworthy protests are taking place or have taken place are circled in red and blue
June 9, 2025 at 7:16 AM
astrothad.bsky.social
I can't sell it because we need cash on hand for my kidney transplant, but my spouse and I figured this would show where are loyalties are
The tail end of a blue EV crossover vehicle where the emblem of the maker has been replaced by a sticker for The Tragically Hip showing a Canadian maple leaf.
May 25, 2025 at 6:01 AM
astrothad.bsky.social
It still makes me unreasonably happy seeing anything having to do with the Eagles from this past season. #GoBirds
Me - a white dude with brown hair, blue-green eyes, and a graying beard - smiling and wearing a Jalen Hurts Super Bowl LIX midnight green Eagles jersey
April 19, 2025 at 1:37 AM
astrothad.bsky.social
Got this afocal shot of the Moon tonight through one of the Dobsonian telescopes we use for our astronomy labs. 🔭
Waxing gibbous moon, 11 days past new. It is illuminated on the right side, and the light fades at the left. Many dark patches appear in the upper (northern) part of the image. The lower (southern) part is brighter and more heavily cratered.
April 9, 2025 at 7:36 AM
astrothad.bsky.social
This dude was making a lot of noise right next to my car as I waited between 2 of my many screening appointments today. Photo taken through the car window
A bird with dark black shiny feathers and a long tail perched on the branch of a tree with light brown bark and long thin green leaves. The bird has a yellow eye and its dark gray pointy beak is open. The scene is dappled with sunlight, and the bird is viewed mostly from below. I think it is a grackle.
March 19, 2025 at 9:54 PM
astrothad.bsky.social
Needs ALT text
A portrait of JFK on the left and RFK Sr on the right. The portraits have oval frames and are on a rainbow gradient background. In between the portraits, a pair of cartoon hands are clapping together. You should imagine the song "Everybody To The Limit" from Strong Bad playing in the background.
March 12, 2025 at 10:18 AM
astrothad.bsky.social
My spouse and I started getting into lapidary work recently. This the first slab I ever cut. Try to have an OK Valentine's Day - if you're suffering right now because of *gestures* all this, I hold a place for you in my cold, rocky heart.
A heart shaped rock in various shades of brown, shown on the left lit from the front and shown on the right while backlit, revealing that the left edge and lower right portions of the stone are translucent
February 14, 2025 at 3:36 PM
astrothad.bsky.social
Give yourself the Christmas present of blocking an account that is only a bunch of garbage "AI" videos and pics
An avatar of a blue circle with the vague outline of a person's head and shoulders in white along with the message that user @lofipassion.bsky.social has been blocked
December 25, 2024 at 4:11 PM
astrothad.bsky.social
I was thinking more about recreating this - I had my spouse take this the night before my PD catheter surgery. I figured it would be the last pic before my abdomen became a tapestry of tape and scars.
Smiling shirtless white guy with short brown hair and a graying beard. He is facing the camera directly. He is wearing blue jeans and a fitness tracker. His abdomen is shaved, but he has hair on his chest and arms. Not badly out of shape, but definitely not cut. No visible scars or tattoos.
December 25, 2024 at 6:32 AM
astrothad.bsky.social
Afocal detailed image of the waning gibbous moon from earlier tonight. Taken through one of the 8-inch Dobsonian scopes at Cerritos College 🔭
Our Moon - north is at the top. The crater Tycho looks like a big splash in the lower part. The overall color is grey slightly tinged with brown. There are darker areas with few craters over most of the upper portion. Sunlight strikes at a low angle at the right edge of the Moon, so craters and other features are in high relief there
December 18, 2024 at 1:17 PM
astrothad.bsky.social
I was really hoping I could watch Steelers vs. Eagles, but right now I am offered the shambling thing from Dallas vs. the Heavy Breathers
Screenshot of Fox Sports where the featured game in progress is labeled as "COWBOYS vs PANTERS"
December 15, 2024 at 9:09 PM
astrothad.bsky.social
My neighbor had a birthday party for her dog this past weekend. Great gathering! Good conversation and food around the fire pit. I brought over the 10" Dob to show people the Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn. Here's an afocal closeup of Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquillitatis.
Portion of the lunar surface that is more brightly lit on the right side than the left. There are wide, roughly circular regions that are a darker gray than the surrounding areas. Many craters are visible, and there is a prominent mountain range arching upward from the center of the left edge of the scene.
December 10, 2024 at 7:29 PM
astrothad.bsky.social
Post a pic you took to add some calm to the timeline
A large, gray rough piece of granite covered in yellow, green, and light gray lichens. Several pits have been worn into the rock, and each pit has some water and one or two fallen leaves in it. One pit that is centered near the top is heart-shaped.
December 1, 2024 at 12:30 PM
astrothad.bsky.social
This one was more accurate (though irksome)
A Duolingo cartoon of a man with dark hair and a thick moustache saying "The students were sleeping in the physics class" with the same phrase in Spanish below
November 22, 2024 at 9:39 PM
astrothad.bsky.social
Post a picture you took (no description but ALT text) to bring some zen to the timeline
A wide lake with a patchy gray overcast sky. There is dappled sunlight on a small distant area of the lake and a peach/orange color to the sky near the horizon. The mountains and cliff faces across the lake have snow on them. The shore in the foreground has a steep slope down to the lake and a sparse array of pine trees.
November 16, 2024 at 8:59 PM
astrothad.bsky.social
Got to the observatory tonight to try our new laptop for imaging - not bad for one 30 s stack! 🔭
Jupiter with its moon Io - the Great Red Spot is on the lower right edge of the disk, close to rotating out of view
November 8, 2024 at 9:10 AM
astrothad.bsky.social
If you see this, post a picture taken in the mountains.

The view from above Bumpass Hell (around 8000 ft above sea level) in Lassen Volcanic National Park
Bumpass Hell in Lassen Volcanic National Park - a light orange landscape with areas of snow and brilliant turquoise pools is viewed from above. Steam is rising from geothermal vents on the edges of the pools
October 28, 2024 at 10:02 AM
astrothad.bsky.social
Pre-catheter placement pic - pain hasn't been too bad. I've been lucky - this was my first surgical procedure. I'll consider it a warm up for when I get my #KidneyTransplant #KidneyDonorNeeded
White dude with gray beard visible around a black N95 mask, reclining on a hospital stretcher while wearing a hospital gown and cap for his hair
September 1, 2024 at 1:55 PM
astrothad.bsky.social
I watched Spica get occulted by the Moon, and now I'm shooting the Trifid Nebula - 3 min subs at 0.5"/pix look decent to me! 🔭
Monitor showing hydrogen alpha image of the Trifid Nebula in Maxim DL software
July 14, 2024 at 7:02 AM