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Tom Megeath

@megadeath

Astronomer studying the birth of stars, rust belt academic, connoisseur of beer inspired acronyms, closet Dadaist, & child of immigrant.

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Latest posts by Tom Megeath @megadeath

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Deutschland: Meteorit verursacht Schäden in Rheinland-Pfalz In Koblenz ist ein Meteorit in ein Hausdach eingeschlagen, auch im Hunsrück und in der Eifel hat der ehemalige Himmelskörper Schäden angerichtet. Augenzeugen berichten von einem hellen Flugkörper – verletzt wurde niemand.

In Koblenz ist ein Meteorit in ein Hausdach eingeschlagen, auch im Hunsrück und in der Eifel hat der ehemalige Himmelskörper Schäden angerichtet. Augenzeugen berichten von einem hellen Flugkörper – verletzt wurde niemand.

08.03.2026 21:14 👍 43 🔁 18 💬 4 📌 9
The Milky Way arcs over and behind this view looking up at Rubin's shiny silver dome toward a starry night sky.

The Milky Way arcs over and behind this view looking up at Rubin's shiny silver dome toward a starry night sky.

Alerts from NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory have been flowing for about a week...how many have there been?? 🚨

So far, Rubin has generated....drumroll please🥁

~1.7 million world-public alerts!

That's ~1.7 MILLION objects that changed in brightness or position in just seven nights 🤯

🔭🧪

04.03.2026 22:55 👍 107 🔁 22 💬 4 📌 3
A black and white still photo of a dozen or so of the main characters and others in the episode standing in a group on a sidewalk or driveway looking pensively straight ahead at something offscreen. The men are wearing casual shirts and pants, the women casual dresses. A dark colored station wagon is partially visible in the background at left.

A black and white still photo of a dozen or so of the main characters and others in the episode standing in a group on a sidewalk or driveway looking pensively straight ahead at something offscreen. The men are wearing casual shirts and pants, the women casual dresses. A dark colored station wagon is partially visible in the background at left.

Tonight in 1959, “The Twilight Zone” episode “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street” (season 1, episode 22)—Rod Serling’s taut and unforgettable Cold War parable depicting the societal consequences of irrational fear and paranoia of communist infiltration—was broadcast for the first time on CBS.

04.03.2026 15:34 👍 411 🔁 79 💬 14 📌 19

Scientific American has updated the figure, now grouped into swimmers, fliers, walkers/runners, and vehicles. A person on a bicycle remains the most efficient way to travel, compared to all forms of biological locomotion and mechanical transport.

www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hu...

04.03.2026 11:52 👍 590 🔁 222 💬 17 📌 32
Two images of a planetary nebula in space. The image to the left, labelled “Euclid & Hubble”, shows the whole nebula and its surroundings. A star in the very centre is surrounded by white bubbles and loops of gas, all shining with a powerful blue light. Farther away a broken ring of red and blue gas clouds surrounds the nebula. The background shows many stars and distant galaxies. A white box indicates the centre of the nebula and this region is the image to the right, labelled “Hubble”. It shows the multi-layered bubbles, pointed jets and circular shells of gas that make up the nebula, as well as the central star, in greater detail.

Two images of a planetary nebula in space. The image to the left, labelled “Euclid & Hubble”, shows the whole nebula and its surroundings. A star in the very centre is surrounded by white bubbles and loops of gas, all shining with a powerful blue light. Farther away a broken ring of red and blue gas clouds surrounds the nebula. The background shows many stars and distant galaxies. A white box indicates the centre of the nebula and this region is the image to the right, labelled “Hubble”. It shows the multi-layered bubbles, pointed jets and circular shells of gas that make up the nebula, as well as the central star, in greater detail.

Wowowow - our @science.esa.int Hubble's picture of the month for March is the Cat's Eye Nebula, from combined images of #Hubble and #Euclid. Euclid's wide field and low surface brightness sensitivity brings out an external shell. Incredible image. esahubble.org/images/potm2... 🔭

04.03.2026 02:56 👍 57 🔁 17 💬 1 📌 0
Gazing into deep this dusty maelstrom using near-infrared filters, Hubble reveals many stars and star-forming activities that might otherwise be obscured by dust. Strongly red spots indicate [Fe II] emission. There are only a few tiny splotches of those. Make of that what you will.

Data from the following proposal were used to create this image: Peering to the Heart of Massive Star Birth

Red: WFC3/IR F164N
Cyan: WFC3/IR F160W
Blue: WFC3/IR F110W

North is 45.51° counter-clockwise from up.

Gazing into deep this dusty maelstrom using near-infrared filters, Hubble reveals many stars and star-forming activities that might otherwise be obscured by dust. Strongly red spots indicate [Fe II] emission. There are only a few tiny splotches of those. Make of that what you will. Data from the following proposal were used to create this image: Peering to the Heart of Massive Star Birth Red: WFC3/IR F164N Cyan: WFC3/IR F160W Blue: WFC3/IR F110W North is 45.51° counter-clockwise from up.

RAFGL 5180 - From Judy Schmidt (geckzilla.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/2jcRWq8

03.03.2026 00:00 👍 103 🔁 28 💬 0 📌 1

i was hiking there 30 years ago and the disappearance of most of the glacier (compared to my memory) is really shocking.

01.03.2026 22:32 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Just a quick one this morning while I have nothing else to do.

HST_9473_06_ACS_HRC_F435W_sci
HST_9473_06_ACS_HRC_F555W_sci
HST_9473_06_ACS_HRC_F814W_sci

Just a quick one this morning while I have nothing else to do. HST_9473_06_ACS_HRC_F435W_sci HST_9473_06_ACS_HRC_F555W_sci HST_9473_06_ACS_HRC_F814W_sci

Super Star Cluster M82-F - From Judy Schmidt (geckzilla.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/bUFygH

01.03.2026 08:00 👍 107 🔁 30 💬 1 📌 0
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Prehistoric Ammonite | LEGO® Ideas This project presents an ammonite, one of the most fascinating marine creatures from Earth's distant past. Ammonites were prehistoric marine animals that lived …

This seems like a wonderful idea, please support if you agree: beta.ideas.lego.com/product-idea...

24.02.2026 15:20 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
1317 Km Altitude

Orbit (Perijove) 34 - 7/6/2021

Credit:
© Nasa/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/AndreaLuck

Data processed from Nasa's Juno

PRODUCT ID :
JNCE_2021158_34C00001_V02

1317 Km Altitude Orbit (Perijove) 34 - 7/6/2021 Credit: © Nasa/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/AndreaLuck Data processed from Nasa's Juno PRODUCT ID : JNCE_2021158_34C00001_V02

Ganymede Flyby - Nasa’s Juno PJ 34 - From Andrea Luck (andrealuck.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/2mUN9EP

24.02.2026 15:00 👍 25 🔁 8 💬 0 📌 0
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Coffee-growing countries becoming too hot to cultivate beans, analysis finds Five countries responsible for 75% of world’s coffee supply record average of 57 extra days of coffee-harming heat a year

Coffee-growing countries becoming too hot to cultivate beans, analysis finds.
Five countries responsible for 75% of world’s coffee supply record average of 57 extra days of coffee-harming heat a year www.theguardian.com/environment/...

23.02.2026 14:36 👍 299 🔁 129 💬 16 📌 47
An infographic from Our World in Data titled "Global land use for food production" uses a series of stacked horizontal bar charts to visualize the distribution of Earth's surface and the disproportionate land requirements of livestock. The first bar shows Earth's surface is 71% ocean and 29% land (141 million km²); the land surface is then broken down into 76% habitable land, 10% glaciers, and 14% barren land. Of the habitable land, 45% (48 million km²) is used for agriculture, while 38% is forests and 13% is shrubland. The agricultural land bar reveals a major disparity: 80% (38 million km²) is dedicated to livestock (meat, dairy, and textiles) including grazing land and cropland for feed, while only 16% is used for crops for direct human consumption and 4% for non-food crops. Finally, two smaller bars at the bottom contrast this land use with nutritional output, showing that while livestock uses 80% of agricultural land, it only provides 17% of global calories and 38% of global protein, whereas plant-based foods provide 83% of calories and 62% of protein.

An infographic from Our World in Data titled "Global land use for food production" uses a series of stacked horizontal bar charts to visualize the distribution of Earth's surface and the disproportionate land requirements of livestock. The first bar shows Earth's surface is 71% ocean and 29% land (141 million km²); the land surface is then broken down into 76% habitable land, 10% glaciers, and 14% barren land. Of the habitable land, 45% (48 million km²) is used for agriculture, while 38% is forests and 13% is shrubland. The agricultural land bar reveals a major disparity: 80% (38 million km²) is dedicated to livestock (meat, dairy, and textiles) including grazing land and cropland for feed, while only 16% is used for crops for direct human consumption and 4% for non-food crops. Finally, two smaller bars at the bottom contrast this land use with nutritional output, showing that while livestock uses 80% of agricultural land, it only provides 17% of global calories and 38% of global protein, whereas plant-based foods provide 83% of calories and 62% of protein.

80% of agricultural land is used for livestock (and textiles), yet this huge land use provides only 17% of our calories and 38% of our protein.

16% of the land used for crops provides 83% of our calories and 62% of our protein. It's past time we rethink what we eat.

19.02.2026 21:34 👍 754 🔁 291 💬 26 📌 27
A line curve showing number of awards for fiscal year 2026 compared to fiscal years 2021-2025 across NSF. The fiscal year 2026 curve lies well below curves for other fiscal years.

A line curve showing number of awards for fiscal year 2026 compared to fiscal years 2021-2025 across NSF. The fiscal year 2026 curve lies well below curves for other fiscal years.

NSF Update

Funding curve overall. A little bit of progress in the past week, but only a little bit.

Now by Directorate...

1/11

13.02.2026 21:21 👍 520 🔁 298 💬 22 📌 52
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In Kopenhagen gibt es die Vorschrift, dass alle wichtigen Radwege bei Schneefall bis spätestens 08:00 Uhr morgens geräumt sein müssen, damit die Menschen sicher mit dem Fahrrad zur Arbeit fahren können. So sieht dass dann aus❤️😀

09.02.2026 09:16 👍 3131 🔁 819 💬 107 📌 75
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Some SMD Activities Paused Pending OMB Guidance the following memo "Guidance to Limit Commitments in Advance of SMD Apportionment" was sent out yesterday to NASA center CFOs

The full list of science activities paused is here. Includes stuff like Chandra, future missions to Venus, Habitable Worlds…

nasawatch.com/space-scienc...

14.02.2026 16:48 👍 23 🔁 3 💬 2 📌 1

I like being able to see if my JWST observations succeeded by checking bluesky. 🔭,

14.02.2026 15:58 👍 16 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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White House Withholds Funding for NASA Science Missions Despite Recent Budget Bill NASA has been forced to pause funds for Chandra X-Ray Observatory and other missions until further notice.

White House Withholds Funding for NASA Science Missions Despite Recent Budget Bill gizmodo.com/white-house-...

13.02.2026 17:25 👍 125 🔁 64 💬 6 📌 17
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Why curling rocks come from just two spots on Earth The rocks used in the Olympic sport of curling come from one island in Scotland and one quarry in Wales. What makes them so special?

Had a blast speaking to curler and geologist Derek Leung about the geology of curling rocks. 🥌 🧪

10.02.2026 12:50 👍 381 🔁 126 💬 8 📌 24
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Mondays are better with an octopus squid 🦑💫⁠

The octopus squid (Octopoteuthis deletron) is unusual among squids. Most squids have eight arms and two long tentacles, making a total of 10 appendages. As young Octopoteuthis mature, their two feeding tentacles are reabsorbed into their bodies.

02.02.2026 17:49 👍 188 🔁 68 💬 1 📌 3
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America is falling behind in the global EV race – that’s going to cost the US auto industry Electric vehicles are a fast-growing share of auto sales in many countries, and Chinese automakers are benefiting as the US industry pulls back.

EVs now represent more than 10% of new car sales in 39 countries, including Vietnam at 38% and Indonesia at 15%.

In the U.S., that figure is less than 10%.

The gap signals a competitive problem that goes far beyond climate – it's about who controls the future of automotive jobs. buff.ly/H5ETTBQ

03.02.2026 12:14 👍 21 🔁 3 💬 6 📌 0
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SpaceX Eyes 1 Million Satellites For Orbital Data Center Push Not just thousands. In an FCC filing, the company mentions deploying up to a staggering 'one million satellites' in orbits ranging from 500 kilometers to 2,000km.

One MILLION satellites

www.pcmag.com/news/spacex-...

31.01.2026 08:58 👍 49 🔁 18 💬 14 📌 43

I remember Challenger as well. But my mother as a girl survived concentration camps in Indonesia, while both her parents perished. That is a whole different type of trauma. Only as an adult I realized how that trauma permeated her entire life, and in some form, passed down to her children.

28.01.2026 11:56 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Enjoy a Medieval Cover of R.E.M.‘s “Losing My Religion” During her lifetime, the medieval abbess Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179) composed roughly 77 songs and hymns. She remains the earliest known woman composer in Western classical music and one of the m...

Enjoy a Medieval Cover of R.E.M.‘s “Losing My Religion” www.openculture.com/2026/01/enjo...

27.01.2026 13:56 👍 15 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 1

Dragonfly 😍 dragonfly.jhuapl.edu/Gallery/file...

27.01.2026 15:50 👍 36 🔁 11 💬 3 📌 2
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U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies

The US government lost more than 10,000 STEM PhDs last year, according to an analysis by Science of newly released OPM data, with 11 departures for every hire. And many OPM calls "voluntary" separations were probably pushed. www.science.org/content/arti...

27.01.2026 01:28 👍 357 🔁 260 💬 16 📌 32
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If you need some extra distraction from *gestures broadly at everything,* Kilauea is here to help. The next eruptive episode, episode 41, looks to be kicking off right now! Fountains are starting to grow in height.

USGS LIVE stream here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXKu...

24.01.2026 21:20 👍 483 🔁 139 💬 18 📌 18
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These images explore a 'utopic' village built for teaching maths The Nesin Mathematics Village in western Turkey was dreamed up by award-winning mathematician Ali Nesin to engage his students

The Nesin Mathematics Village in western Turkey was dreamed up by award-winning mathematician Ali Nesin to engage his students

24.01.2026 15:25 👍 5 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
A nighttime, street-level, almost impressionistic color photograph of the United Nations headquarters building in New York City showing it and surrounding buildings illuminated from the inside as a few cars stream north on 1st Avenue. In addition, projected near the top of the south side of the building, in large, bright letters, are the words, "NUCLEAR WEAPONS NOW ILLEGAL 22 JAN 2021."

A nighttime, street-level, almost impressionistic color photograph of the United Nations headquarters building in New York City showing it and surrounding buildings illuminated from the inside as a few cars stream north on 1st Avenue. In addition, projected near the top of the south side of the building, in large, bright letters, are the words, "NUCLEAR WEAPONS NOW ILLEGAL 22 JAN 2021."

OTD five yrs ago, thanks to the dedication and hard work of @nuclearban.bsky.social, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into force, making the development, testing, production, possession, stockpiling, and use—or threatened use—of nuclear weapons anywhere in the world illegal.

22.01.2026 13:39 👍 21 🔁 6 💬 1 📌 0
Post image

Our paper on the mysterious Devonian organism Prototaxites has now finally been published! See the paper here (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) and our explainer thread below!
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage

21.01.2026 19:25 👍 1136 🔁 414 💬 39 📌 110