@drmichellethaller.bsky.social
I need a little levity. Here's a blast from the past -and my first experience with a green screen. We filmed this in my office with me sitting on an overturned trash can. www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCVn...
Enemy Mine (Spaceship Spitzer)
YouTube video by ExploreAstro
www.youtube.com
September 30, 2025 at 6:50 PM
I need a little levity. Here's a blast from the past -and my first experience with a green screen. We filmed this in my office with me sitting on an overturned trash can. www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCVn...
I absolutely love this. A friend of mine from college moved to Paris and became a celebrity knitter. I am so proud of him. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxar...
"Don't. Date. Opera. Singers" • 19 Questions with Knit Star Franklin Habit
YouTube video by The Knit Stars Channel
www.youtube.com
September 24, 2025 at 8:37 PM
I absolutely love this. A friend of mine from college moved to Paris and became a celebrity knitter. I am so proud of him. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxar...
We just reached 6,000 confirmed exoplanets. When I was beginning my career as an astronomer, we had none. We knew there had to be planets around other stars, but we didn't have telescopes sensitive enough to find them. Congrats, and here's to finding millions more. www.nasa.gov/universe/exo...
NASA’s Tally of Planets Outside Our Solar System Reaches 6,000 - NASA
The milestone highlights the accelerating rate of discoveries, just over three decades since the first exoplanets were found.
www.nasa.gov
September 18, 2025 at 3:49 PM
We just reached 6,000 confirmed exoplanets. When I was beginning my career as an astronomer, we had none. We knew there had to be planets around other stars, but we didn't have telescopes sensitive enough to find them. Congrats, and here's to finding millions more. www.nasa.gov/universe/exo...
A nice feature about how NASA helps agriculture and global financial markets.
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/60003/
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/60003/
NASA Scientific Visualization Studio | How NASA Data Stabilizes Global Markets
By delivering timely, science-based insights from space, NASA supports smarter farming decisions and helps keep food prices more stable for consumers around the world.
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov
September 17, 2025 at 3:12 PM
A nice feature about how NASA helps agriculture and global financial markets.
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/60003/
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/60003/
I love this! I am friends with both the graphic artist at Goddard who created this beachball AND the person who got the Nobel Prize for the measurement. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYud...
The Mission to Find the Beginning of the Universe | The WMAP Beach Ball
YouTube video by Science Museum
www.youtube.com
September 17, 2025 at 12:31 AM
I love this! I am friends with both the graphic artist at Goddard who created this beachball AND the person who got the Nobel Prize for the measurement. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYud...
Are we 100% sure it was life -no. We don't know everything about what conditions on Mars were like at this time in the past. But life is the most likely cause for these features. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
This is the best evidence yet for ancient life on Mars
NASA’s Perseverance rover found possible signs of ancient life in rocks on Mars, keeping scientists up at night.
www.nationalgeographic.com
September 10, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Are we 100% sure it was life -no. We don't know everything about what conditions on Mars were like at this time in the past. But life is the most likely cause for these features. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
We didn't even know about upward lightning until we had somewhere to look down from. apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap25090...
APOD: 2025 September 9 – Up from the Earth: Gigantic Jet Lightning
A different astronomy and space science
related image is featured each day, along with a brief explanation.
apod.nasa.gov
September 10, 2025 at 1:58 AM
We didn't even know about upward lightning until we had somewhere to look down from. apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap25090...
Difficult times require drastic measures. Grief is awful, and sometimes you just have to defy it. I have an excellent, minimalist-leaning stylist. I sat him down and told him about trauma, bravery, and the need for big hair. He went and got his 30-year old spiral perm rods. Damn straight, bitches.
September 8, 2025 at 3:48 AM
Difficult times require drastic measures. Grief is awful, and sometimes you just have to defy it. I have an excellent, minimalist-leaning stylist. I sat him down and told him about trauma, bravery, and the need for big hair. He went and got his 30-year old spiral perm rods. Damn straight, bitches.
I am happy to learn today that I will be able to get the new Covid vaccine, as I live in Wisconsin. Horrified that I had to check that.
August 29, 2025 at 3:26 PM
I am happy to learn today that I will be able to get the new Covid vaccine, as I live in Wisconsin. Horrified that I had to check that.
Some years ago we flew past Ceres, the largest asteroid, and were terribly surprised to find a cryovolcano -an ice volcano- on the surface. It is such a small thing, we never expected any kind of geologic (or hydrologic) activity. Maybe this is what's going on.
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-ce...
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-ce...
NASA: Ceres May Have Had Long-Standing Energy to Fuel Habitability
The dwarf planet is cold now, but new research paints a picture of Ceres hosting a deep, long-lived energy source that may have maintained habitable conditions in the past.
www.jpl.nasa.gov
August 27, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Some years ago we flew past Ceres, the largest asteroid, and were terribly surprised to find a cryovolcano -an ice volcano- on the surface. It is such a small thing, we never expected any kind of geologic (or hydrologic) activity. Maybe this is what's going on.
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-ce...
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-ce...
You know we're in a different era when you go to the Vera Rubin telescope's page to see the new images. You can down-load the full resolution images -only 27 gigabytes. rubinobservatory.org/news/rubin-f...
The Cosmic Treasure Chest | Rubin Observatory
Dive into Rubin's Cosmic Treasure Chest — there's so much to explore
rubinobservatory.org
June 24, 2025 at 3:56 AM
You know we're in a different era when you go to the Vera Rubin telescope's page to see the new images. You can down-load the full resolution images -only 27 gigabytes. rubinobservatory.org/news/rubin-f...
Some fun shots of me giving a planetarium show in Auckland at Stardome Observatory and Planetarium A lovely evening!
June 17, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Some fun shots of me giving a planetarium show in Auckland at Stardome Observatory and Planetarium A lovely evening!
Reposted
This library is so freaking cool. Last trip to DC with my son we spent the entire last day in this library. There was a history exhibit w/Ella Baker, chess, community art class… & the building is gorgeous. Perfect home for this.
Columbia canceled my class on Race and Media, but I'm teaching it anyway.
All thanks to people power and community support-- especially from you all on Bluesky!
Happy to announce I'll be teaching Race Media and International Affairs 101 online-- hosted by D.C.'s MLK Jr. Memorial Library!
All thanks to people power and community support-- especially from you all on Bluesky!
Happy to announce I'll be teaching Race Media and International Affairs 101 online-- hosted by D.C.'s MLK Jr. Memorial Library!
June 14, 2025 at 4:27 AM
This library is so freaking cool. Last trip to DC with my son we spent the entire last day in this library. There was a history exhibit w/Ella Baker, chess, community art class… & the building is gorgeous. Perfect home for this.
A HUGE new dataset has been released by JWST -a deep survey of galaxies looking all the way back to a time about 200 million years after the Big Bang. These data are free and available to anyone. There are probably Nobel Prize-worthy discoveries in here. www.rit.edu/news/cosmos-...
COSMOS-Web opens window into universe for scientists and citizens
Supported by RIT’s Jeyhan Kartaltepe, COSMOS-Web—the largest JWST Cycle 1 observation program— has made its full data set publicly available.
www.rit.edu
June 15, 2025 at 12:19 AM
A HUGE new dataset has been released by JWST -a deep survey of galaxies looking all the way back to a time about 200 million years after the Big Bang. These data are free and available to anyone. There are probably Nobel Prize-worthy discoveries in here. www.rit.edu/news/cosmos-...
I am in NZ to speak at Matariki. The Maori also have the new year starting near the winter solstice. It's also the time that people who have died in the last year begin their journey to the stars (with a first stop in Hawaii, the ancestral homeland). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matariki
Matariki - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
June 14, 2025 at 11:58 PM
I am in NZ to speak at Matariki. The Maori also have the new year starting near the winter solstice. It's also the time that people who have died in the last year begin their journey to the stars (with a first stop in Hawaii, the ancestral homeland). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matariki
Coming soon! In a time when NASA astrophysics is facing a nearly 70% budget cut, celebrating our exploration of the universe almost seems like an act of protest. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk1v...
Cosmic Dawn (Official NASA Trailer)
YouTube video by NASA
www.youtube.com
June 9, 2025 at 4:42 AM
Coming soon! In a time when NASA astrophysics is facing a nearly 70% budget cut, celebrating our exploration of the universe almost seems like an act of protest. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk1v...
I am here in New Zealand to speak about astronomy during Matariki, the Maori New Year. This wonderful festival celebrates our connection to the stars, specifically Matariki, which we call the Pleides. If you'd like the learn more, this is an excellent video.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k95...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k95...
MATARIKI EXPLAINED
YouTube video by Scottie Productions Ltd
www.youtube.com
June 9, 2025 at 4:30 AM
I am here in New Zealand to speak about astronomy during Matariki, the Maori New Year. This wonderful festival celebrates our connection to the stars, specifically Matariki, which we call the Pleides. If you'd like the learn more, this is an excellent video.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k95...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k95...
Good lord. I am honestly touched and deeply honored. I just found out this afternoon I will be awarded the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal. I'm still in a bit of shock. Thank you to everyone who helped nominate me. I don't know for sure, but I have my suspicions who you are.
June 5, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Good lord. I am honestly touched and deeply honored. I just found out this afternoon I will be awarded the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal. I'm still in a bit of shock. Thank you to everyone who helped nominate me. I don't know for sure, but I have my suspicions who you are.
With this new deep image of the Veil Nebula, I think we should start a petition to rename it the Teacup Nebula. apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropi...
Astronomy Picture of the Day
A different astronomy and space science
related image is featured each day, along with a brief explanation.
apod.nasa.gov
June 2, 2025 at 1:45 PM
With this new deep image of the Veil Nebula, I think we should start a petition to rename it the Teacup Nebula. apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropi...
Here comes a good one!
June 1, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Here comes a good one!
Happy Caturday to all who celebrate.
May 31, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Happy Caturday to all who celebrate.
Reposted
A glacier partially collapsed in Switzerland, burying the village of Blatten in a huge landslide of ice, rock, and mud after residents had been evacuated.
Scientists called the collapse of the glacier “unprecedented” in the Swiss Alps.
Scientists called the collapse of the glacier “unprecedented” in the Swiss Alps.
May 29, 2025 at 4:17 PM
A glacier partially collapsed in Switzerland, burying the village of Blatten in a huge landslide of ice, rock, and mud after residents had been evacuated.
Scientists called the collapse of the glacier “unprecedented” in the Swiss Alps.
Scientists called the collapse of the glacier “unprecedented” in the Swiss Alps.
The wonderful musician and composer Butterscotch just released a song inspired by my husband Andrew and me. It's touching and triggering. Thank you so much for this.
May 29, 2025 at 7:05 PM
The wonderful musician and composer Butterscotch just released a song inspired by my husband Andrew and me. It's touching and triggering. Thank you so much for this.
I broke down after dinner and sunk to the floor, telling Andrew how much I missed him. After a few hours of crying, I feel the release was good.Our experiences are precious somehow. We are galaxies made sentient for a brief moment. This doesn't have to make sense.
May 22, 2025 at 2:39 AM
I broke down after dinner and sunk to the floor, telling Andrew how much I missed him. After a few hours of crying, I feel the release was good.Our experiences are precious somehow. We are galaxies made sentient for a brief moment. This doesn't have to make sense.
I just got back from a quick trip to Alaska. Petersburg has a fantastic Little Norway festival. If I have any chance to dress up like a Viking in public, I will take it.
May 19, 2025 at 11:41 PM
I just got back from a quick trip to Alaska. Petersburg has a fantastic Little Norway festival. If I have any chance to dress up like a Viking in public, I will take it.