Scott Kardel aka Palomar Skies
@palomarskies.bsky.social
Associate professor of astronomy at Palomar College, user of smart telescopes. 🔭 Blog: http://visiblesuns.blogspot.com/
Pinned
1:37:11 PM on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, over the North Atlantic Ocean.
"The world is still beautiful, even with all the traffic, the injustice, the noise, the wars. The world is still beautiful. It's all we have and we should celebrate it." - Film score composer Lionel Newman
From The Hobbit:
"The stars are in blossom, the moon is in flower,
And bright are the windows of Night in her tower."
Images: M45, the Pleiades and tonight's waxing crescent Moon. 🔭
"The stars are in blossom, the moon is in flower,
And bright are the windows of Night in her tower."
Images: M45, the Pleiades and tonight's waxing crescent Moon. 🔭
November 26, 2025 at 3:42 AM
From The Hobbit:
"The stars are in blossom, the moon is in flower,
And bright are the windows of Night in her tower."
Images: M45, the Pleiades and tonight's waxing crescent Moon. 🔭
"The stars are in blossom, the moon is in flower,
And bright are the windows of Night in her tower."
Images: M45, the Pleiades and tonight's waxing crescent Moon. 🔭
Reposted by Scott Kardel aka Palomar Skies
We got volcano time! (New eruption just started at Kīlauea): www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk0t...
November 26, 2025 at 1:03 AM
We got volcano time! (New eruption just started at Kīlauea): www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk0t...
Reposted by Scott Kardel aka Palomar Skies
The most likely window for start of episode 37 is between tomorrow November 26 and Thanksgiving Day, November 27. This forecast may change if additional unexpected deflation events occur. Previous episodes have been preceded by hours to days of precursory overflows of degassed magma.
#KilaueaVolcano
#KilaueaVolcano
Kīlauea Volcano Eruption Update for Tuesday, November 25
HAWAIʻI VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK - Scientists note recent indications that the magma level had dropped in the conduits, delaying the start of Episode 37.
www.bigislandvideonews.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:01 AM
The most likely window for start of episode 37 is between tomorrow November 26 and Thanksgiving Day, November 27. This forecast may change if additional unexpected deflation events occur. Previous episodes have been preceded by hours to days of precursory overflows of degassed magma.
#KilaueaVolcano
#KilaueaVolcano
The irresistible beauty that is Messier 42, the Orion Nebula. 🔭
November 25, 2025 at 8:54 PM
The irresistible beauty that is Messier 42, the Orion Nebula. 🔭
Reposted by Scott Kardel aka Palomar Skies
New observations of Uranus’s small inner moons to be presented at #AGU25 reveal that they’re darker, redder, and more water-poor than their larger counterparts. And they’re not always where they should be. 🧪🔭🪐 eos.org/articles/ura...
Uranus’s Small Moons Are Dark, Red, and Water-Poor - Eos
…Except for Mab, which is even weirder than expected.
eos.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:22 PM
New observations of Uranus’s small inner moons to be presented at #AGU25 reveal that they’re darker, redder, and more water-poor than their larger counterparts. And they’re not always where they should be. 🧪🔭🪐 eos.org/articles/ura...
Busy bees in the backyard.
November 25, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Busy bees in the backyard.
So many books. So little time. apps.npr.org/best-books/#...
Books We Love
Here are 380+ great reads from 2025 handpicked just for you by NPR staffers and trusted critics.
apps.npr.org
November 25, 2025 at 1:46 PM
So many books. So little time. apps.npr.org/best-books/#...
Reposted by Scott Kardel aka Palomar Skies
Ice shell thinning on small icy satellites in the outer Solar System can cause subsurface oceans to boil, according to a study in Nature Astronomy. This process may help to explain surface features and geological activity on moons such as Saturn’s Mimas and Enceladus. go.nature.com/3JVCJ2p 🔭 🧪
November 24, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Ice shell thinning on small icy satellites in the outer Solar System can cause subsurface oceans to boil, according to a study in Nature Astronomy. This process may help to explain surface features and geological activity on moons such as Saturn’s Mimas and Enceladus. go.nature.com/3JVCJ2p 🔭 🧪
Here's an image from last night of Messier 74, a spiral galaxy located about 32 million light years away in the direction of the constellation of Pisces. 🔭
November 24, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Here's an image from last night of Messier 74, a spiral galaxy located about 32 million light years away in the direction of the constellation of Pisces. 🔭
Nice lava action at Kilauea right now. Watch it here: www.youtube.com/live/BqmpkUd...
November 24, 2025 at 3:46 AM
Nice lava action at Kilauea right now. Watch it here: www.youtube.com/live/BqmpkUd...
Reposted by Scott Kardel aka Palomar Skies
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."
-FDR, 1937
-FDR, 1937
November 22, 2025 at 6:31 PM
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."
-FDR, 1937
-FDR, 1937
I am starting my Saturday re-reading The Hobbit while listening to Howard Shore’s wonderful music for the not so wonderful Hobbit movies.
November 22, 2025 at 4:08 PM
I am starting my Saturday re-reading The Hobbit while listening to Howard Shore’s wonderful music for the not so wonderful Hobbit movies.
Reposted by Scott Kardel aka Palomar Skies
It's Friday, and apparently bluesky is ready for this fun revelation:
Dinosaurs lived on the other side the Galaxy.
Dinosaurs lived on the other side the Galaxy.
November 21, 2025 at 5:11 PM
It's Friday, and apparently bluesky is ready for this fun revelation:
Dinosaurs lived on the other side the Galaxy.
Dinosaurs lived on the other side the Galaxy.
Reposted by Scott Kardel aka Palomar Skies
A lot of folks, including kids, who saw my speech on Tuesday really liked it and thought it was helpful, so I thought I'd post it online - it's an overview of just how nonlinear my path to science was. Maybe it'll help you or someone you know too: medium.com/@adeene.dent...
A Planetary Scientist’s Guide to Finding Your Momentum
This essay is adapted from a speech I gave at my local high school on November 18, 2025. If you’re a kid, have a kid, or just need a…
medium.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:21 PM
A lot of folks, including kids, who saw my speech on Tuesday really liked it and thought it was helpful, so I thought I'd post it online - it's an overview of just how nonlinear my path to science was. Maybe it'll help you or someone you know too: medium.com/@adeene.dent...
Reposted by Scott Kardel aka Palomar Skies
Maths Puzzles for Conspiracy Theorists.
One of the cartoons from my new book 'Physics for Cats'. In good bookshops now and online in English, French, German and Spanish editions.
One of the cartoons from my new book 'Physics for Cats'. In good bookshops now and online in English, French, German and Spanish editions.
November 21, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Maths Puzzles for Conspiracy Theorists.
One of the cartoons from my new book 'Physics for Cats'. In good bookshops now and online in English, French, German and Spanish editions.
One of the cartoons from my new book 'Physics for Cats'. In good bookshops now and online in English, French, German and Spanish editions.
Reposted by Scott Kardel aka Palomar Skies
New video: Tolkien Reading Order & Checklist 🤓
youtu.be/m1GOYIodbiU
youtu.be/m1GOYIodbiU
Tolkien Reading Order & Checklist
YouTube video by Tea with Tolkien
youtu.be
November 20, 2025 at 10:42 PM
New video: Tolkien Reading Order & Checklist 🤓
youtu.be/m1GOYIodbiU
youtu.be/m1GOYIodbiU
Reposted by Scott Kardel aka Palomar Skies
To “my students and to anyone who might listen, I say: Don’t surrender to AI your ability to read, write and think when others once risked their lives and died for the freedom to do so.”
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
I Set A Trap To Catch My Students Cheating With AI. The Results Were Shocking.
"Students are not just undermining their ability to learn, but to someday lead."
www.huffpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:22 AM
To “my students and to anyone who might listen, I say: Don’t surrender to AI your ability to read, write and think when others once risked their lives and died for the freedom to do so.”
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
This morning I was up before sunrise. It was surprisingly clear, so I took out my telescope to catch 3I/ATLAS. I let it thermalize, turned it on, and had just 1 one minute of observing it before it clouded up. Hopefully, I'll have better weather soon. It's the fuzzy spot at the center of the image.🔭
November 20, 2025 at 6:46 PM
This morning I was up before sunrise. It was surprisingly clear, so I took out my telescope to catch 3I/ATLAS. I let it thermalize, turned it on, and had just 1 one minute of observing it before it clouded up. Hopefully, I'll have better weather soon. It's the fuzzy spot at the center of the image.🔭
Reposted by Scott Kardel aka Palomar Skies
The view from from the windows of the Apollo 12 Lunar Module just after landing 56 years ago. Apollo 12 was a great mission although the loss of the color TV camera at the beginning of the first EVA was a blow to live network coverage. In due time we saw the color and B&W photos the crew returned.
November 20, 2025 at 10:39 AM
The view from from the windows of the Apollo 12 Lunar Module just after landing 56 years ago. Apollo 12 was a great mission although the loss of the color TV camera at the beginning of the first EVA was a blow to live network coverage. In due time we saw the color and B&W photos the crew returned.
Today is Geography/ GIS day at the college. I am here (at left) to present an opposing viewpoint.
November 19, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Today is Geography/ GIS day at the college. I am here (at left) to present an opposing viewpoint.
The globe in the classroom where I teach likes Australia so much that it names it twice.
November 19, 2025 at 4:01 AM
The globe in the classroom where I teach likes Australia so much that it names it twice.
Reposted by Scott Kardel aka Palomar Skies
Mars - Valles Marineris - Orbit 25 - Hope Mission - From Andrea Luck (andrealuck.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/2mzdn25
November 17, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Mars - Valles Marineris - Orbit 25 - Hope Mission - From Andrea Luck (andrealuck.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/2mzdn25
There was a nice rainbow on the to work this morning. Not quite as good by the time I parked but still an enjoyable sight.
November 18, 2025 at 5:59 PM
There was a nice rainbow on the to work this morning. Not quite as good by the time I parked but still an enjoyable sight.
Reposted by Scott Kardel aka Palomar Skies
In 1885, after traveling for over two million years, the light from an exploding star swept over caused astronomers to think the universe was way smaller than it really is.
badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/the-irony-...
🧪 🔭
badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/the-irony-...
🧪 🔭
The irony of Supernova 1885A
It proved the Universe was bigger than astronomers thought, but they couldn’t believe it
badastronomy.beehiiv.com
November 17, 2025 at 7:29 PM
In 1885, after traveling for over two million years, the light from an exploding star swept over caused astronomers to think the universe was way smaller than it really is.
badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/the-irony-...
🧪 🔭
badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/the-irony-...
🧪 🔭
Reposted by Scott Kardel aka Palomar Skies
Sunday nights tho amiright
November 17, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Sunday nights tho amiright