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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 1d

Oh my God this made my day…

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 1d

On random things from childhood: this made me very happy this morning. Had to share it with someone and thought you might appreciate it too.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9G1...

Sesame Street: Happy Furry Monsters Song with R.E.M

YouTube video by Sesame Street

www.youtube.com

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 1d

Tolkien’s writings give me a lot of hope here. He argued that evil is its own undoing, it can’t help but destroy itself through its arrogance and pride. I believe that too, dark chapters in human history are always just that - chapters.

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 1d

They’re all the same, there are no ethical CEOs in this space

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 1d

I did a double take on that because I don't remember his original article saying this and fortunately I had printed it out. Indeed, it looks he has edited the blog post, so he is responsive! I would of course prefer a clear bold erratum at the top conceding the original version's issues.

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 1d

I actually wrote to Avi a couple hours ago about the fact I disagreed with his assessment that the Perseverance Navcam images were indeed 3I/ATLAS, and more likely to be Phobos. He responded quickly and "Yes, I have the same doubts about the Navcam images" and his essay had text accounting for that.

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 1d

Arecibo was destroyed in a storm and then the US declined to rebuild it, so no

David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 2d

👍 I’m going to leave my video unedited but add a comment about Phobos and link you. I think it’s good to leave it as is because it shows how someone can work through the problem even without an ephemeris to challenge a media narrative.

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 2d

Quel surpris! As I suspected, the Navcam “cyclinder” image bombarding social media, and subject to Avi’s last blog post, is not 3I/ATLAS, it’s Phobos.

Simeon Schmauß @stim3on.bsky.social · 2d

Short version: left is my processesed Navcam image, right is the Stellarium simulation for the image.
The bright elongated thing is Phobos being smeared by long exposure.
Acturus and the big dipper stars are also visible. 3I/Atlas is wayyy to dim to be seen in the image.

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Reposted by David Kipping

Simeon Schmauß @stim3on.bsky.social · 2d

Lastly, that bright streak in the Navcam images is actually Phobos. See below for a short analysis of this image.

It's very sad that NASA isn't able to put the record straight with the current political chaos.

bsky.app/profile/stim...

Simeon Schmauß @stim3on.bsky.social · 2d

Short version: left is my processesed Navcam image, right is the Stellarium simulation for the image.
The bright elongated thing is Phobos being smeared by long exposure.
Acturus and the big dipper stars are also visible. 3I/Atlas is wayyy to dim to be seen in the image.

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 2d

Thanks for that! Ye I strongly suspected it was Phobos too but didn’t have a chance to work through ephemerides. Good to hear about your stacking, makes sense, so your 3I/ATLAS position is a 10-minute average?

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 2d

I’m sorry to hear about that. I’ve been called everything under the Sun, trust me. I hope I’m wrong, really, but I have a dark foreboding that history is playing out again - that silence is all that’s needed for it to reach a terrible zenith.

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 2d

If we get through this, I predict that we’re going to look back at these days with confusion. How did anyone go along with all that? It will feel like a terrible and confusing nightmare, one we can hardly believe took hold as firmly as it did.

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 2d

When trying to address his claims in my videos & seeking quotes from relevant astronomers and planetary scientists, I’ve often been met with “I don’t engage with him” as a terse response. I get it. But this shit is out of control, if the community stays silence he fills the vacuum. We need pushback.

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 2d

3I/ATLAS, a quick update.

Be sure to follow @stim3on.bsky.social

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 3d

Stunning if confirmed…

Simeon Schmauß @stim3on.bsky.social · 4d

Last night, NASA's Perseverance rover looked up at the night sky once more, to capture interstellar #comet 3I/Atlas flying by the red planet.

The distance was "only" 0.2 AU or 30 Mio km, far closer than the comet ever got to Earth. 🔭 #3IAtlas

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Simeon Schmauß

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 5d

Do cats also think that aliens will look like them?

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 5d

youtu.be/TAQKJ41eDTs?...

Is the Sun Unusual?

YouTube video by Cool Worlds

youtu.be

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 5d

It’s a combination of their numbers (>80% are M vs 2.5% G) and their longevity (10,000 Gyr vs 10 Gyr). I explicitly calculate the odds is just “luck” in the paper and it comes out at 1600:1, which is outrageously high for a Bayes factor.

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 6d

Here’s my new paper which our last #CoolWorlds video discussed. Paper tackles two existential puzzles: why don’t we live around the most common star type, an M-dwarf, and, why do we live so early in cosmic chronology?

arxiv.org/abs/2510.01215

Solar Hegemony: M-Dwarfs Are Unlikely to Host Observers Such as Ourselves

With no firm evidence for life beyond our solar system, inferences about the population observers such as ourselves rests upon the Earth as a single input, at least for now. Whilst the narrative of ou...

arxiv.org

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 8d

I have been in the UK a couple of months now. Perhaps I was naive but I’m shocked how universal hate-fueled politics has become. I want to live somewhere that values compassion, tolerance and treating others with dignity. How did these messages of hate gain so much traction?

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 27d

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 29d

Yes I think a theory being excessively flexible is a flaw. “God did it” can explain everything but that’s actually what makes it impotent

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 29d

“If an explanation could easily explain anything, then it actually explains nothing. When theories are variable, experimental testing is useless. I call such theories bad explanations. Being proved wrong by experiment and changing to other bad explanations does not get one jot closer to the truth.”

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · Sep 9

New studies used JWST to probe TRAPPIST-1e, the most accessible potential Earth-like exoplanet. Data reveals the atmosphere is

1) Not hydrogen dominated (unsurprising)😌
2) Unlikely to be Venus-like🧐
3) Compatible with N2-rich😎

arxiv.org/abs/2509.05407
arxiv.org/abs/2509.05414

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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · Sep 6

#CoolWorlds Podcast Episode 25 just dropped with PBSSpaceTime's very own Matt O'Dowd

youtu.be/V7QjrsadlKQ

#25 Matt O'Dowd - PBS Spacetime, Science on YouTube, Quasars

YouTube video by Cool Worlds Podcast

youtu.be

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