Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · 22d

Mars may have once hosted life. In 2024, Perseverance found minerals that, on Earth, would be clear biosignatures. A big discovery—but not yet proof of life beyond Earth. Plus: TRAPPIST-1e, a folly of a new Moon race, and the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS.

#space #astronomy #science

The Week in Space and Physics: Was There Life on Mars?

On a discovery on Mars, the folly of a new Moon race, Trappist 1e, and the approach of an interstellar comet

www.thequantumcat.space

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Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · 22d

This is really not a surprise - the details of the project always made it impracticable. Fun idea, but not a realistic way to reach the stars any time soon.

Jonathan McDowell @planet4589.bsky.social · 22d

Great writeup by Sarah Scoles @sarahscoles.bsky.social on the apparent demise of Breakthrough Starshot

Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social · 22d

An abandoned plan to visit another star highlights the perils of billionaire-funded science

Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · Jul 23

In this incredible image, the Earth eclipses the Sun. Viewed by the returning astronauts of Apollo 12, and credit goes to them and to NASA.
#space #art #historyofastronomy

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Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · Jul 22

What is it that lies beyond the edge of the solar system? What fills the space between the stars? These are questions we are beginning to answer - and, for the first time, we have probes that are venturing out into this untouched terrain.
#science #space

What Lies Beyond: Exploring Interstellar Space

Forget reaching the stars, first we need to explore the space between them

open.substack.com

Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · Jul 21

Two years ago I published a list of serious and free physics resources. The idea was to create a guide for those studying physics, either alone or as part of a course.

I'm now working on an update - and, if you know of free and good physics resources like those here, I'd love to hear of them.

🧪

How to Learn Physics for Free

A guide for the curious

www.thequantumcat.space

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Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · Jul 18

A concept from 1969 of a space station. It was to be made of old Apollo stages, and to make sure the astronauts living there did not suffer from endless weightlessness, the station was supposed to constantly spin as it orbited the Earth.

Credit, of course, to NASA.
#space #art #NASA

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Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · Jul 17

How to Learn Physics for Free

A guide for the curious

www.thequantumcat.space

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Reposted by Alastair Williams

Gene J. Mikulka @genejm1017.bsky.social · Jul 17

Via #TimesNowNews - Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian daredevil best known for his 2012 supersonic skydive from the stratosphere, has died in a paragliding accident in Italy. He was 56 years old. www.timesnownews.com/world/who-wa...

Who Was Felix Baumgartner? Skydiver Who Jumped From Space Dies In Paragliding Accident At 56

Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian daredevil best known for his 2012 supersonic skydive from the stratosphere, has died in a paragliding accident in Italy. He was 56 years old. According to reports, Baum...

www.timesnownews.com

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Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · Jul 17

Dark energy is pretty cool right? Or maybe it isn't. To be honest we don't know all that much about it.

But it sure seems like it is going to play a big role in deciding the fate of the universe. And that makes it interesting enough for an article on the stuff. Check it out here!

What Dark Energy Means For The End of Time

On the mysteries of dark energy and the fate of the universe

www.thequantumcat.space

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Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · Jul 17

You have to admire the dedication.

Personally, I'm working on a paper outlining why my toaster must have been built by aliens.

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Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · Jul 16

My newsletter this week: on interstellar comets, how New Horizons is reviving the ancient art of celestial navigation, the top quark and toponium, and a study of the lost rivers of Mars.

Oh, and some gorgeous celestial art thanks to the brilliant James Webb telescope.

🧪🔭

The Week in Space and Physics: The Third Interstellar Comet

On interstellar comets, navigating to the stars, the social lives of quarks, and the lost rivers of Mars

www.thequantumcat.space

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Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · Jul 16

It's going to be an incredible moment if or when we snap a picture of an interstellar comet from the surface of another world.

Kevin Olsen @drksolsen.bsky.social · Jul 16

The interstellar comet 3I-Atlas trajectory. We'll take a look with the cameras on ExoMars TGO!!
🧪🔭 #planetsci

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Reposted by Alastair Williams

ESA Space Science @science.esa.int · Jul 4

Our Ariel mission will take us from 'discovering' towards 'studying and understanding' exoplanets.

The mission will survey about 1000 exoplanets, ranging from rocky planets to gas giants, to better understand the link between exoplanets and their parent stars 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

🔭 🧪

This is an artist's impression of ESA’s mission Ariel, shown here to study the atmosphere of an exoplanet orbiting another star. Four other exoplanets are visible in the image.

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Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · Jul 4

In ten years time, when Americans are asking what went wrong, the last six months will be the answer.

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Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · Jun 17

Is this like the Pope Mobile?

Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · Jun 17

It certainly feels like America is on the verge of a mistake that will be felt decades into the future.

Elizabeth N. Saunders @profsaunders.bsky.social · Jun 17

A hugely important point: this is the most inexperienced natsec team in history and they're loyalists who will not stop Trump's final decision. We love to complain about elites, who can make terrible mistakes. But elites, including advisers, are a *vital* source of constraint on elected leaders. 1/

Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · Jun 17

Hard to overstate the degree to which there appears to be literally no one in the president's current circle who has any experience, even at a low level, managing ANY kind of national security crisis or even situation. talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/thoug...

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Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · Jun 9

In 2012 the NRO gave NASA two 2.4m diameter mirrors. One is part of the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope. What happened to the other? Is it forgotten in some warehouse somewhere, awaiting the funds to build another Hubble? Or did something else happen to it?

🔭

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Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · Jun 6

Have you already looked at this: www.esa.int/Science_Expl...?

Europe has also been involved in building modules for Gateway and did quite a bit for the Orion capsule.

Argonaut: Europe's lunar lander programme

The European Space Agency (ESA) lunar lander programme, Argonaut, represents Europe’s autonomous, versatile and reliable access to the Moon. The programme is a key part of ESA’s lunar strategy and wil...

www.esa.int

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Reposted by Alastair Williams

Adam Rogers @jetjocko.bsky.social · Jun 5

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s hilarious, but my laughter would be less nervous if one of the guys didn’t have control of the biggest military in the world and the other one didn’t have rockets, a satellite network, and thousands of tactical-ready pickup trucks just sitting around.

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Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · Jun 5

I admit, I did have to pause the article as I was listening to it and put some Wu-Tang Clan on instead to make up for this shocking omission.

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Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · May 31

Yes, I'd heard from a few people inside NASA that they were reasonably positive about him. I imagine they'll try to replace him with someone more pliant, more willing to cut climate science, and who cares less about science. Isaacman was probably as good as we could hope for under Trump.

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Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · May 31

I fear we're going to end up with a court astrologer in his place...

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Reposted by Alastair Williams

Casey Dreier @caseydreier.bsky.social · May 31

Our statement on the full FY2026 NASA budget proposal:

www.planetary.org/press-releas...

The Planetary Society reissues urgent call to reject disastrous…

The Planetary Society, the world's largest and most influential space advocacy group, issued a statement following the release of the Trump…

www.planetary.org

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Reposted by Alastair Williams

David Blanchflower BSc @davidbflower.bsky.social · May 30

Waxing Crescent Moon. 2048UT 30 May 2025. 🔭 🧪 🎨 #astrophotography #SciArt #photography #StormHour #ThePhotoHour

The Moon at waxing crescent phase on a dark background.

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Alastair Williams @alastairwilliams.bsky.social · May 29

Eleven thousand years a star exploded about nine hundred light years away. It was probably spectacular, but today all that remains is a tangled cloud of gas and dust with a fast spinning ball of neutrons hidden in its midst.

This image is from ESO.

🔭 #space #art #eso

Filaments of red and purple gas and dust tangle in the night sky.

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