B
Zombie stars feed off their children. And it happens a *lot*.
[This issue is for paid subscriptions only - sign up to get lots of articles by me on cool astronomy and other topics!]
Observations show a lot of these stars are actually zombies. Also: moving an Earth-threatening asteroid just got a bit harder
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
@BillSaysThis That's not a typo. Massive stars don't live long.
Need to take a short break from <everything going on around us> to remember the universe is jaw-droppingly beautiful, amazing, and inspiring?
Then take a look at this incredible JWST image of the Cat's Paw Nebula and be amazed and inspired!
Carl Sandburg wasn’t talking about a vast cloud of gas and dust, but the poem still works for the Cat’s Paw nebula
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
Did you know we're likley hit EVERY DAY by tiny meteors *from interstellar space*? The problem is detecting these wee alien rocks.
Astronomers think small space rocks from beyond our solar system routinely strike Earth—but proving it isn’t easy
Scientific American (www.scientificamerican.com)
Betelgeuse is a binary! Maybe!
A second star has possibly been found orbiting the soon-to-be supernova. It still needs to be confirmed (despite a LOT of breathless articles saying it's real) but if it is it'll have implications for how we study Big B.
Astronomers post a possible binary companion for the soon-to-be supernova
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
Paid subbies to my newsletter can read about the coldest exoplanet JWST has directly imaged, and a cool new space rock-hunting telescope.
14 Her c is around our same age, and ESA has a new telescope to look for space rocks
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
HUNDREDS of NASA employees sign a declaration protesting the brutal attacks by Trump and his regime. I signed it too, as should you.
Plus: Incredible image of dusty spirals blasted out by a terrifying binary star.
The Voyager Declaration takes a stand against budget cuts, and a gorgeous JWST image of Wolf-Rayet star dust expulsion
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
The Owl Galaxies collided 50 million years ago and now look like, well, an owl. The aftermath of the collision, however, has sparked a debate on what was left behind: either a huge blast of star formation, or, um, a supermassive black hole.
It might be a supermassive black hole, or it might be a bazillion newborn stars
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
This may be one of the single greatest astronomy questions I've ever been asked:
Can you drink Saturn's rings?
It’s certainly possible to consume water sourced from the icy rings of Saturn, but doing so safely may require extra steps
Scientific American (www.scientificamerican.com)
Premium subscribers to my Bad Astronomy Newsletter can read today about how an asteroid impact 56,000 years ago may have triggered a landslide in the Grand Canyon and created a massive paleolake. Also, Arctic sea ice is at (another) record low.
The Meteor Crater asteroid impact may have created an ancient lake. Also, Arctic sea ice again way too low
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
In today's newsletter: Scientists can finally explore the Sun's south pole for the first time! Sadly, no shape-shifting aliens found there.
Bonus: some actual good climate news. I know, right?
Previously hidden by geometry, the Sun’s austral pole is revealed. Bonus: some (rare) good climate news!
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
In 2023, astronomers detected a cosmic blast so powerful it released more energy than ALL THE STARS IN THE UNIVERSE COMBINED. The cause: two black holes colliding and merging… which is a problem, because they were way bigger than we thought possible.
The gravitational waves they emitted were fiercely powerful, but where did the black holes come from?
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
For years, planetary scientists studying Mars have wondered if streaks on crater walls and scarps might be from liquid water. A new study dries that claim up.
A new global overview of Mars suggests dust, rather than water, is the source of mysterious streaks there
Scientific American (www.scientificamerican.com)
Premium subscribers to my Bad Astronomy Newsletter today can read about that time a newborn black hole shot antimatter toward Earth at very nearly the speed of light.
That’s a fun headline to write! The good news is we’re safe and the science is awesome.
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
Tunguska has healed! Not bad for the biggest cross-dimensional rip we've ever seen.
Bonus: awesome volcano pic from space.
An Earth impact gets better, a gorgeous volcano from the ISS
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
My newsletter is FREE on Mondays, but paid subbies get issues on Tuesdays and Thursday too... and I've discounted the price by 20% until Wednesday! Sign up for a ton of astronomy, opinion, puns, and spectacular images and science.
A newsletter for people curious about the cosmos. Also humor and politics and (sometimes) recipes
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
@llewelly I hope you like it!
MORE news about the alien object zipping through the solar system: it's a comet!
Plus, a gorgeous new banner for the newsletter.
More info on the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, and the Trifid is the new newsletter banner
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)
To put things in perspective, in 7 billion years the Sun will turn into a red giant and transform Earth into a lava world (though we'll be cooked long before then).
But… will *any* planet be a safe haven for us?
The future is bright—too bright—for life as we know it once the sun transforms into a red giant star
Scientific American (www.scientificamerican.com)
An alien visitor is whizzing through our solar system at VERY high speed! Called 3I/ATLAS, I have everything we know about this odd object so far.
3I/ATLAS is the third interstellar object seen zipping through our neighborhood
Bad Astronomy Newsletter (badastronomy.beehiiv.com)