Prof. Sam Lawler
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sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
560 followers 40 following 1.8K posts
Professor of astronomy, farmer of goats. Asteroid (42910). She/her.

Living and learning on the land and under the skies of Treaty 4 (Saskatchewan, Canada)

🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://mastodon.social/@sundogplanets, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
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sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
I just got cold-called by a reporter in Saskatoon asking if the Riders' Grey Cup feed could have been glitching a lot because of satellite issues/solar activity.

That is the most Saskatchewan question I have ever been asked. What an honour, I guess?
November 17, 2025 at 8:42 PM
sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
I'm famous in Ituna!
A photo of a slightly folded paper newspaper, sent to me by the editor/only journalist for the Ituna newspaper, showing a headline saying "Why Did Space Debris Fall on Ituna?" along with small article text, a photo of someone looking at the sun through a telescope with a solar filter, a photo of a beautiful nighttime landscape with satellite streaks, and a photo of me standing in front of a TV screen lecturing, with a bunch of kids sitting on the floor in front of me.
November 17, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Reposted by Prof. Sam Lawler
laurahelmuth.bsky.social
A friend came up with a nice metaphor for a message you would have replied to but somehow missed: "It disappeared over the event horizon of my inbox."
November 17, 2025 at 2:14 PM
sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
[food, dairy]

Today's milk experiment: ryazhenka, a Ukrainian baked milk yogurt. I left a pot of milk in the oven at ~200F for 24 hours. It got...super weird. But delicious! It's caramelized, but not really sweet. (I ate some warm on cereal for breakfast - […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
A blue ceramic pot with a crusty, baked layer of milk The same ceramic pot, now with the baked crusty milk layer removed, and a ladle picking up some of the baked, caramel coloured milk, highlighting its weird jello-like consistency. Jello-y baked caramel-coloured milk, almost like curds, floating in caramel-coloured clear whey, in 2 large jars sitting on a table. The same jars after adding kefir starter, so the whey the curds are floating in is now cloudy white.
November 17, 2025 at 2:22 PM
sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
I am so grateful for the skies here in Saskatchewan! Also, bonfires with friends.
A long time exposure photo of several people standing around a bonfire (the people and fire are all blurry because of the long time exposure). In the background is a truck with a light on in the cab, and a few silhouetted trees. Behind that is faint green auroras low on the horizon, and the Milky Way stretching vertically up from the fire. A nighttime long time exposure photo looking down a barely-lit gravel road, with faint green auroras (which were just barely naked-eye visible) low on the horizon to the left, and the Milky Way stretching up vertically above the road and the very flat horizon. There are TONS of other stars in the sky. Another long time exposure with the bonfire visible in the distance, and the Milky Way stretching across the sky above it. Looking straight up at the Milky Way, stretching diagonally across the photo, with a few satellite streaks at random angles throughout the whole photo, including one that's glinting very brightly.
November 16, 2025 at 2:53 PM
sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Your cool wikipedia animation of the day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keogram#/media/File:Keogram_explainer.gif
November 15, 2025 at 8:37 PM
sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
I just listened to this podcast a few days ago that includes Alice Wong and lovingly showcases the challenges she faced with productively-directed anger and fantastic humour. I never interacted with her personally, but I've learned so much from her. Rest in power, Alice […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
November 15, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Reposted by Prof. Sam Lawler
skinnylatte.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
Rest in power, Alice Wong.

We were Twitter mutuals for a while and we exchanged a bunch of dms about Chinese food and ice cream. She said she could not eat most foods due to her disability but she enjoyed talking about and reading about them. She was also […]

[Original post on hachyderm.io]
Screenshot of an IG post written by Alice Wong’s friend in memoriam. Text of the post says: This is Alice's friend Sandy Ho, posting. Per Alice's wishes, this message is being shared at the time of her passing. Hi everyone, it looks like I ran out of time. I have so many dreams that I wanted to fulfill and plans to create new stories for you. There are a few in progress that might come to fruition in a few years if things work out. I did not ever imagine I would live to this age and end up a writer, editor, activist, and more. As a kid riddled with insecurity and internalized ableism, I could not see a path forward. It was thanks to friendships and some great teachers who believed in me that I was able to fight my way out of miserable situations into a place where I finally felt comfortable in my skin. We need more stories about us and our culture. You all, we all, deserve the everything and more in such a hostile, ableist environment. Our wisdom is incisive and unflinching. I'm honored to be your ancestor and believe disabled oracles like us will light the way to the future. Don't let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.
November 15, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Reposted by Prof. Sam Lawler
erincandy.bsky.social
Gutted. We have lost a brilliant voice in the world. Rest in peace Alice Wong @sfdirewolf.bsky.social you were so inspiring to so many of us. Thank you for sharing all your words and for always shining a light on the disability community.
@SFdirewolf X.com This is Alice's friend Sandy Ho, posting. Per Alice's wishes, this message is being shared at the time of her passing. Hi everyone, it looks like I ran out of time. I have so many dreams that I wanted to fulfill and plans to create new stories for you. There are a few in progress that might come to fruition in a few years if things work out. I did not ever imagine I would live to this age and end up a writer, editor, activist, and more. As a kid riddled with insecurity and internalized ableism, I could not see a path forward. It was thanks to friendships and some great teachers who believed in me that I was able to fight my way out of miserable situations into a place where I finally felt comfortable in my skin. We need more stories about us and our culture. You all, we all, deserve the everything and more in such a hostile, ableist environment. Our wisdom is incisive and unflinching. I'm honored to be your ancestor and believe disabled oracles like us will light the way to the future. Don't let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.
November 15, 2025 at 1:13 PM
sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
[complaining and food]

Well, today has been totally fucking terrible. And I have a 6pm meeting. 6pm Friday meetings are aaaawwwwful but this is something I care a lot about so it'll be worth it (I keep telling myself).

Maybe it's time to take a brownie-baking break in an attempt to make today […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
November 14, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Reposted by Prof. Sam Lawler
hannorein.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
A surprisingly good write-up of our recent paper on the formation of the Solar System:

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-intruder-that-knocked-our-planets-askew
November 14, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Reposted by Prof. Sam Lawler
planet4589.bsky.social
LAUNCH at 0304 UTC Nov 14 of Atlas AV-100 from Canaveral with the Viasat-3F2 communications sat
November 14, 2025 at 3:14 AM
sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
I was trying to write up a summary of different types of Earth orbits for a scicomm piece, and got sucked into this incredible rabbit hole on orbital stability outside geosynchronous orbit and resonances with the Moon... ohhh I loooove resonances...

More here: "The Resonant Structure of xGEO […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
November 13, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Reposted by Prof. Sam Lawler
ai6yr.m.ai6yr.org.ap.brid.gy
@sundogplanets

🤪
Aurora that looks like an avenging angle REPENT ELON! REPENT! FOR YE HAVE LAUNCHED TOO MANY PIECES OF SPACE JUNK INTO THE LOW EARTH ORBIT! BEWARE OR <insert diety> SHALL SMITE YOU FOR DARING TO CURSE THE HEAVENS WITH YOU SATELLITES!
November 13, 2025 at 8:02 PM
sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Boy I'm really racking up the unpaid university appointments... but that's part of how I have to do research work, because I'm the only professional research astronomer in Saskatchewan, at a university with no astronomy major.

So, in order to co-supervise students, I'm also an affiliate prof at […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
November 13, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by Prof. Sam Lawler
ai6yr.m.ai6yr.org.ap.brid.gy
Tonight's Aurora Forecast (12/12/25)

ps. Last night was well more than the forecast, aurora to Florida and Mexico. This CME is supposed to be stronger, but TBD if the aurora does the same thing again.
All of Canada, part of US with aurora likelihood
November 12, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Reposted by Prof. Sam Lawler
yvandutil.mstdn.science.ap.brid.gy
Light pollution: The silent threat to the planet that's easily solved https://phys.org/news/2025-11-pollution-silent-threat-planet-easily.html
Light pollution: The silent threat to the planet that's easily solved
New research has revealed for the first time the full extent of how "Artificial Light At Night" (ALAN) is increasing carbon released by plants and animals across continents—without any increase in the carbon they absorb. The result is reduced carbon storage in ecosystems—which has major implications for climate models and global carbon budgets.
phys.org
November 12, 2025 at 10:14 PM
sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
The possibility of auroras tonight is all that's getting me through this giant pile of stressful emails.
November 12, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Reposted by Prof. Sam Lawler
ai6yr.m.ai6yr.org.ap.brid.gy
Looks like the CME might have taken at least one satellite offline... (NASA VIIRS)

Dear LANCE-MODIS Users:
Currently, there is a S-NPP VIIRS data outage. No science data has been received since 11/11/25 11:36:50 UTC due to an anomaly at Fairbanks, impacting all S-NPP data processing. There is […]
Original post on ai6yr.org
m.ai6yr.org
November 12, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by Prof. Sam Lawler
krajcitom.universeodon.com.ap.brid.gy
Aurora in southern New Mexico - now with green bands added! (This was at approx 7:20PM Mountain Daylight time)

2nd graphic shows the sky coverage of the wide angle lens I'm using. The aurora is 30 to 35 degrees above the horizon when it's bright.

Real-time […]

[Original post on universeodon.com]
Green features seen during greater intensity of tonight's display. Not bad for 33N latitude. A simulation of the sky in planetarium software, and the red wire frame box shows the sky coverage as I take photos looking north with a wide angle lens.
November 12, 2025 at 2:59 AM
sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
I cannot believe how much misinformation there is about comet 3I/ATLAS. It's just very cool on its own without having to be an alien spaceship conspiracy...

Prof. Jason Wright wrote a great breakdown of all the ways Avi Loeb is wrong about his awful alien conspiracy theories, and why 3I/ATLAS […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
November 11, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Reposted by Prof. Sam Lawler
planet4589.bsky.social
For those who keep asking me about 3I/ATLAS, here's a great writeup by my friend
@astrowright.bsky.social
sites.psu.edu/astrowright/...
Loeb’s 3I/ATLAS “Anomalies” Explained
Avi Loeb continues to claim that 3I/ATLAS has many anomalous behaviors that lead to the conclusion that it “might” be an alien spacecraft.  He carefully hedges the probability that it is a spacecraft ...
sites.psu.edu
November 11, 2025 at 12:03 AM
sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Currently trying to decide if it's worth driving to a dark sky site tonight (~1 hr drive, I know, I'm super lucky) even though some high clouds are moving in, or if I should wait until tomorrow night, when currently the forecast looks better (but it looked really good for tonight earlier today […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
November 10, 2025 at 10:09 PM
sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Good morning. I'm hoping for clear skies and auroras tonight, and success in juggling a ridiculous number of family and work commitments during the day today.
A bright pink sunrise over a very flat horizon.
November 10, 2025 at 1:57 PM
sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
It's so pretty!! (I keep affirming to myself over and over.... it was -19C this morning when I went out to do chores)
Looking down a snowy road toward an orange sunrise. Every single twig, branch, and blade of grass is coated with a thick layer of frost and backlit by the sunrise. A bunch of white, frost-covered bare trees, lit up by the rising sun, with a blue sky above Frost on a metal panel gate, and a woven wire fence. Frost growing all over a chicken wire fence: it's hexagons all the way down
November 9, 2025 at 3:37 PM