@coreyspowell@mastodon.social
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coreyspowell

@coreyspowell@mastodon.social

Writer, editor, magazine maker, podcaster, procrastinator.

Former editor of Discover and American Scientist magazines. Co-host of #ScienceRules podcast. Invisible Universe on Substack: https://invisibleuniverse.substack.com/

Co-founder of OpenMind magazine.

#science #nature #space #scicomm

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coreyspowell, to space
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Only three humans have ever witnessed an eclipse of the Sun by the Earth. It happened while the Apollo 12 crew was returning home from the Moon, on November 21, 1969.

Fortunately, the astronauts filmed the moment so you can share in the experience.

https://archive.org/details/Apollo1216mmOnboardFilm [at the 4:50 mark]

Footage of the eclipse of the sun was taken with a 16mm motion picture camera from the Apollo 12 spacecraft during its trans-Earth journey home from the moon. The fascinating view was created when the Earth moved directly between the sun and the Apollo 12 spacecraft. Aboard Apollo 12 were astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., commander; Richard F. Gordon Jr., command module pilot; and Alan L. Bean, lunar module pilot. While astronauts Conrad and Bean descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Intrepid" to explore the Ocean of Storms region of the moon, astronaut Gordon remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Yankee Clipper" in lunar orbit. Source: NASA/Johnson Space Center

coreyspowell,
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@Victorsigmoid

True, and in a sense I can see an eclipse whenever I want by holding up my fist up against the sky. But...it's not exactly the same thing!

coreyspowell,
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@KermanLine

Yes, and also there's the eclipse of the Sun by my hand that I've done on many a sunny day...

coreyspowell,
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@PhilipCJames

To do it right, you need to watch Earth pass in front of the Sun from a distance of 850,000 miles. I'm putting it on my to-do list.

coreyspowell,
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@tofugolem

Hmmm...I feel like there's a reason why we have different words for sunset and eclipse, and why people throughout history have regarded them as completely different things.

coreyspowell,
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@WetFish

To me, being able to see the complete outline of the Earth and sunshine streaming through the atmosphere is a completely different type of event.

coreyspowell,
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@revk

Seeing the complete circle of the Earth is what makes it into a very different type of event, I'd say.

coreyspowell,
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@troglodyt @tofugolem

You are free to define words however you like! Every time a cloud passes in front of the Sun, you can call that an eclipse as well! Entirely up to you.

coreyspowell,
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@Victorsigmoid

OK I love that answer.

coreyspowell,
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@troglodyt @tofugolem

sure. yes.

coreyspowell,
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@revk The entire Earth backlit by the Sun, with light streaming through the atmosphere all around the limb? No.

coreyspowell,
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@tofugolem True, in the same sense that an ocean is just a really big puddle.

coreyspowell,
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@gcsolaroli @evan

I'm all in favor of making everyday experiences feel a little more spectacular!

coreyspowell,
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@tofugolem OK, since this matters so much to you, sunsets and eclipses are the same thing. Done.

coreyspowell,
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@revk

Show me the dictionary! 😉

coreyspowell, to space
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NASA has just announced three major lunar science experiments for the Artemis III mission, which will send the first astronauts to the Moon since 1972.

One of the experiments, LEAF, will study how plans sprout and grow on the Moon. A little lunar garden!

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-selects-first-lunar-instruments-for-artemis-astronaut-deployment/

coreyspowell, to space
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Here's a beautiful oddity: This nebula was created by a very rare type of supernova that HALF-exploded 800 years ago.

Two white dwarf stars collided & detonated, lighting up Earth's skies. Somehow one of the white dwarfs survived, leaving behind the hottest star in our galaxy.

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2024/03/Marvel_at_stunning_echo_of_800-year-old_explosion?rand=771654

coreyspowell,
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The supernova that created nebula Pa30 was seen by Chinese astronomers in the constellation Cassiopeia for 6 months in 1181 CE.

Glowing sulfur atoms trace the shape of the explosion & winds from the stellar remnant.

https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2024/snr1181/

coreyspowell, to baltimore
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Before-and-after satellite views really clarify how the collapse of the Key Bridge has choked access to the Baltimore harbor.

Images via Maxar.

Maxar satellite of Baltimore's Key Bridge after the collapse on March 26.

coreyspowell, to science
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How big is big? Here's one answer.

Meet the largest galaxy supercluster in the known universe: the Einasto Supercluster. It measures 360 million light years across and contains 26 quadrillion times the mass of the Sun. So...big!

https://ut.ee/en/content/einasto-supercluster-new-heavyweight-contender-universe

coreyspowell,
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The Einasto Supercluster of galaxies is named in honor of Jaan Einasto, a leading Estonian astronomer, who just turned 95. Quite a birthday present!

Full paper here:

https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.06251

coreyspowell, to science
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Last night's Asimov Debate at the American Museum of Natural History covered the latest cosmic findings from JWST. A few highlights:

Early results from JWST show a lot more bright galaxies & massive black holes than expected in the very early universe. Cosmologist Rachel Somerville admitted that her galaxy-formation models turned out to be way off. We still have a lot to learn!

https://www.vox.com/science/24040534/jwst-galaxies-big-bright-mystery-black-holes-cosmology #science #space #astronomy #nature

coreyspowell,
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Priya Natarajan notes that black holes are also huge puzzles.

Did supermassive black holes help form early galaxies, or did early galaxies help form supermassive black holes? Er, maybe.

How did these monsters appear so early after the Big Bang? Unclear.

https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/black-hole-discovery/

coreyspowell,
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Decades of work by Wendy Freeman and others have transformed cosmology from hand-waving into a precision science.

Now a tiny, 7% disagreement in the cosmic expansion rate is enough to provoke "tension" and possibly point us toward fascinating new physics!

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-hubble-telescopes-affirm-universes-expansion-rate-puzzle-persists/

coreyspowell,
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It was very cool to see three women among the five cosmologists on stage at AMNH last night.

A couple kids in the audience remarked about it appreciatively afterward. Great ideas come from everyone, everywhere.

(Photo via Mike Boylan-Kolchin) #science #representation #astronomy

coreyspowell,
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@AstroMikeHudson

Quite right! I mean that Mike is the one who shared the photo -- I'm not sure if it's been publicly released.

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