Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 12h

Tomorrow is a double feature! First up, Dr Jenny Larson to talk joins us to talk about using science fiction to teach science fact, then @starstryder.space & @inaneenglish.bsky.social are calling out 9-1-1 for its science that looks so bad it's not even wrong (because it's not even science).

CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 14h

Hey, we're live on twitch.tv/CosmoQuestX While looking up info on Starship 11, we came across this awesome paper model. Pamela and R.Instro will build this on air on Monday! Check it out axmpaperspacescalemodels.com/index.php/up...

Starship SN-11 – AXM Paper Space Scale Models.com

axmpaperspacescalemodels.com

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 2d

It's stream time! Join Pamela for the Daily Grind: Twitch.tv/CosmoQuestX

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 3d

All our planes to celebrate 100 Hours of Astronomy and International Observe the Moon night got delayed along with Pamela's Saturday afternoon plane.

But the science must go on! Join us for this belated stream, and learn about our new Lunar Melt project.

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 9d

Normally, we'd be madly prepping for our Oct Hangout-a-thon, but with a gov't shutdown looming, we know a lot of folks are about to be in pretty dire straits. Our HAT can wait thanks to the support of so many of you on our Patreon.

Not following us on Patreon? Join free!
Patreon.com/CosmoQuestX

CosmoQuestX | Patreon

creating your place for us to explore the universe.

Patreon.com

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 20d

We have ACTUAL GOOD NEWS in planetary science.

Blue Origin has been selected to do mission planning for the launch and delivery of the VIPER Rover using New Glenn + Mk 1 rover. If all goes well, we'll see wheels on the ground late 2027.

youtube.com/shorts/h64TM...

VIPER Update: expected delivery now late 2027

YouTube video by CosmoQuest

youtube.com

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 20d

We're setting up on Twitch.tv/CosmoQuestX and YouTube to talk Xenomythology with Jason D Batt. Came join us!

www.youtube.com/live/c_dcLtE...

Xenomythology with Jason Batt

YouTube video by CosmoQuest

www.youtube.com

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 22d

Happy new podcast day, everyone!

(Every time we say that, we think of @astrokimcartier.bsky.social )

Tonight's #EVSN is wall-to-wall wild science. From stars eating black holes to asteroids invading Earth's personal space.

Catch it all at 9pm E / 6pm P

youtu.be/wHTwl3w79Pc

A black hole eating star has supernova-sized regrets

YouTube video by CosmoQuest

youtu.be

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 23d

Um... today's "Daily Grind" stream on twitch will happen... but it's going to take a bit to sort some electrical issues.

Dr Pamela L Gay @starstryder.space · 23d

I just discovered the front half of my house doesn’t have power. This is going to make streaming very difficult. Also, WTF house?

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 24d

Pamela has been eaten by the grant submission monster, so no AstronomyCast today! AC will record on Wednesday, same bat time, same bat channel.

CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 27d

Thanks to your support, CosmoQuest has not only vanquished Fiscal Year 2025 but brought in enough to carry us through the first pay cycle of FY26! Thank you thank you THANK YOUUUU for helping us pay our bills doing what we love: bringing you awesome news and community science. <3

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 28d

Ok, it's now time to vote. We know @starstryder.space uses Titanium White paints (yay #Titanite). But.... Is it wrong that we're considering voting for #Thortveitite in honor of its namesake's amazing mustache?

Vote on #mincup25, round 1 Match 11 NOW
www.mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r1...

Vote in Round 1 Match 11 — Mineral Cup

Click here to vote in Titanite vs Thortveitite Photo credit: Smithsonian Institution

www.mineralcup.org

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 28d

Thortveitite is is a crystal of Sc2Si2O7 or Y2Si2O7, but may include other atoms.

Sadly, this mineral is often processed for its Scandium. It can, however, also be used to make pigments that are non-toxic, super strong, & good with high temperatures.

news.oregonstate.edu/news/pigment...

Pigment researchers create vivid yellows, oranges, reds that are durable, non-toxic | Newsroom

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University pigment researchers are using a rare mineral discovered in Norway more than a century ago as a road map for creating new yellows, oranges and reds that are vi...

news.oregonstate.edu

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 28d

Swinging over to competitor number 2, #Thortveitite, we find a mouthful of letters & a story that made us smile.

Per mindat.org, Thortveitite was "Named in 1911 by Jakob Grubbe Cock Schetelig in honour of Gunder Olaus Olsen Thortveit, a feldspar and mineral exporter from Iveland, Norway.

A scan of an old amber and white photo of Thortveit. He is in a suit and tie with a vest. A balding man, he has a magnificent mustache that tries to hide an unsmiling mouth.

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 28d

Ultimately, it's that Titanium in Titanite that makes it a standout for creating Titanium White paints, spacecraft, & other goods (like medical devices) that need to be non-corrosive & handle extreme temperatures.

It's also a thermobarometer, meaning it preserves info rocks' past Temp & Pressure.

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 28d

Weirdly, titanite keeps showing up in video games, but not in Minecraft. Check out Astroneer, Dark Souls, Barotrauma, Titanite the Game, and Titanite Games.

We're not quite sure what this mineral did to land such popularity in games (that aren't Minecraft).

(Did you know we Minecraft?)

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 28d

#Titanite is a crystal that comes in a lot of different colors. Its base formula is CaTiSiO5, but it can integrate in a bunch of other atoms (part of the color variation), & this leads to some of its different uses.

Awesome example: Titanite is a geochronometer, with people looking at U-Pb ratios.

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 28d

We miss astronomy, where it's just Hydrogen, Helium, and METALS (which is everything else).

Now back to Titanite v Thortveitite.

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 28d

melagabbro means "A form of gabbro that is relatively darkly colored."

(not helping wiktionary)

Gabbro means "generally a coarsely crystalline, igneous rock consisting of lamellar pyroxene and labradorite."

Igneous means "With rocks, it could also mean formed from lava or magma."

we'll stop here

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 28d

BTW @starstryder.space would like you to know that geologists use way more unique words than astronomers. The paragraph in this screen capture from the USGS page on Thortveitite had us googling all the terms. All. The. Terms.

How is melagabbro a real word?

www.usgs.gov/publications...

Quoter from USGS page: The rare Sc mineral thortveitite, (Sc,Y)2Si2O7, occurs as ??m- to mm-sized crystals in fluorite-bearing granitic pegmatites and the host melagabbro within the Crystal Mountain fluorite deposit, Ravalli County, Montana. Thortveitite is found as colorless and clear to smoky and translucent, subhedral to euhedral prisms up to 3 mm in length in the massive fluroite, as mm-sized anhedra to subhedra in diopside and edenite, and as ??m-sized droplet-like crystals in actinolite. Micrometric textures suggest that some thortveitite exsolved from actinolite, which contains between 1.2 and 2.9 wt.% Sc2O3. The source of the Sc is believed to be magmatic. The physical, optical and crystallographic properties of thortveitite are described. -from Authors

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 28d

It is once again time to pit mineral vs mineral in #MinCup.

Today's competition of Titanite vs Thortveitite has us mispronouncing all the geology / mineralogy terms and learning soooo many new words.

Things that unite these rocks: Both are used in pigments, both vary in color, & both are rare.
🧵

Mineral Cup #MinCup25 @mineralcup.bsky.social · 29d

#MinCup25 Round 1 Match 11: It's a pair of T-minerals with as versatile #Titanite faces off against the home of rare earth elements #Thortveitite.

VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r1...

Check results: www.mineralcup.org/2025/results...

Vote in Round 1 Match 11 — Mineral Cup

Click here to vote in Titanite vs Thortveitite Photo credit: Smithsonian Institution

www.mineralcup.org

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 28d

We are LIVE: Join us on Twitch.tv/CosmoQuestX to first look at today's #mincup challenge, and to then continue our mission to Science the s*** out of #MtG #EdgeOfEternities

CosmoQuestX - Twitch

Science of Magic the Gathering Cards - Proxy time!

Twitch.tv

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 29d

Alright, ah, you have 7 minutes to vote.

VOTE!

Because #mincup is the best cup. (We are definitely over caffeinated... And now wonder if coffee can grow crystals in sufficient concentrations.

www.mineralcup.org/2025/vote/r1...

Vote in Round 1 Match 10 — Mineral Cup

Click here to vote in Dioptase vs Wavellite Photo Credit: Smithsonian Institution

www.mineralcup.org

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 29d

We mean "fools' emerald" pretty literally. Early samples were thought to be emeralds, but it was found to be far too soft. It's found in desert regions around copper sulfide (thus green) deposits.

Beyond its use as a pigment, it's just pretty. And maybe that's enough, considering its competition!

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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 29d

This brings us to (with 15min to vote), #dioptase. While its name sounds like an enzyme, we promise this is a mineral. It too has 2 formulae: Cu6Si6O18·6H2O & CuSiO2(OH)2. Otherwise, it's straightforward in shades of green. Used as early as **7200BC** to color pottery, it is a fools emerald.

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