miscellany

miscellanyHubble Space TelescopeMarsclimate changesupernovaeexoplanetscometsgravitational wavessolar systemESA2025Jupiterwhite dwarfsPlutoaliensdustasteroidsneutron starsastrophotographymeteoritesstar clustersvolcanoesmathEarthcosmologypulsarsmoonsthe SunscifiFast Radio BurstsVera Rubin ObservatorynebulaAstronomybrown dwarfsNASAPoliticsgalaxy clusterslight pollutionplanetary nebulaerecipedebunkingblack holesphysicsTVnight skygravitational lensingVenusAbout the newsletterspacered dwarfsMoonAbout mespace explorationimpactsnovaebinary starsSgr A*starsTNOssciencegalaxiesJWSTGamma-ray burstsdark matterColliding galaxiesstar formationMilky Way GalaxyScientific AmericanGaia
miscellanymiscellany
+6+6
Protons are very, very small
Premium

Protons are very, very small

It takes a lot of them to fit across an orange, for example. And a mole, too.

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
miscellanymiscellany
+5+5
I experienced a meteoric rise in my understanding

I experienced a meteoric rise in my understanding

Connecting facts for that “aha” moment

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
miscellanymiscellany
+4+4
Space is way bigger than you think

Space is way bigger than you think

Go ahead and think about it. Nope, it’s bigger. Try again. Nope, still too small. This game can go on a long time.

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
miscellanymiscellany
+4+4
How to debunk various levels of nonsense... from scientists in the trenches

How to debunk various levels of nonsense... from scientists in the trenches

Research published on how scientists can help stamp out the spread of disinformation

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
miscellanymiscellany
+6+6
No aliens for Boyajian’s Star, and trees reach up to connect electrically with the sky
Premium

No aliens for Boyajian’s Star, and trees reach up to connect electrically with the sky

The star seems to have settled its unsettling behavior down, and corona discharges from trees finally seen in the wild

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
miscellanymiscellany
+4+4
CAPTCHA, ergo sum

CAPTCHA, ergo sum

I guess robots don’t know about Planck’s Law

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
miscellanymiscellany
+3+3
The metric system is great, except when it isn’t
Premium

The metric system is great, except when it isn’t

In which I am a millipedant

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
miscellanymiscellany
+7+7
Dimming the sun is probably a very bad idea

Dimming the sun is probably a very bad idea

Global warming is a massive problem, but let’s not play games with our only planet’s ecosphere

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
miscellanymiscellany
+3+3
How much carbon-14 is in the air around you?
Premium

How much carbon-14 is in the air around you?

I was surprised to learn how little it actually is

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
miscellanymiscellany
+6+6
The astronomer who discovered what the universe was made of

The astronomer who discovered what the universe was made of

Cecelia Payne-Gaposchkin was an amazing scientist, and her work wasn’t all that long ago

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
miscellanymiscellany
+4+4
How incomplete are we?
Premium

How incomplete are we?

Completeness is an important concept for surveys in astronomy

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
miscellanymiscellany
+2+2
Does scifi exist in a scifi universe?

Does scifi exist in a scifi universe?

A fun rabbit hole pondering of a metatopic

Philip Plait
Philip Plait