Dan Burns
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the-physics-well.net
Dan Burns
@the-physics-well.net
Physics Educator, Space Enthusiast, Astrophotographer
https://the-physics-well.net/
Reposted by Dan Burns
Want to learn more about coronal holes, substorms, and how to chase the aurora? Sign up for my email list and automatically receive instructions on how to download my free e-book on aurora chasing. Click/tap here: go.theauroraguy.com/email
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Instantly receive a FREE aurora chasing e-book and stay up-to-date on all my latest content!
go.theauroraguy.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Reposted by Dan Burns
Astronomers discover the famous Pleiades star cluster could be 20 times bigger than we thought. #Astronomy #Space www.space.com/astronomy/as...
Astronomers discover the famous Pleiades star cluster could be 20 times bigger than we thought
Astronomers discover the famous Pleiades star cluster could be 20 times bigger than we thought
www.space.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:27 AM
I registered
Join us for the next AAPT Virtual Coffee Hour on "An Evening with Paul Hewitt" with presenters Paul Hewitt and John Suchocki, Conceptual Academy on November 18 at 7:30 pm EST. This event is open to the public. ow.ly/fJfn50XbSZy #AAPTCoffeeHour #PhysicsEducation #ITeachPhysics
November 14, 2025 at 2:18 AM
This hand-held iPhone image shows the view from 39 N latitude at 9:38 PM on 11/11/2025. The edge of the aurora (or possibly a SAR) reaches all the way to due east. Orion can be seen rising on the right as its reflection sets into the lake. #astrophotography
November 13, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Reposted by Dan Burns
My Must-Have Astronomy Apps 🧐

I have about 15 stargazing apps on my phone (seriously), but I only use about 3 of them daily.

I bet you'll find a good one you don't have yet: astrobackyard.com/astronomy-ap...

#astronomy
November 13, 2025 at 4:57 PM
After the outburst ended after 9:00, this Unchanging Red Band stayed in the sky until the midnight outburst. It's not an aurora, it is a Stable Auroral Red arc (SAR). They were named before we knew how they formed. I propose we call them URB spaceweatherarchive.com/2021/11/22/3... #astrophotography
November 12, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Reposted by Dan Burns
What if ALL the sun's power was focused in one place?

What the latest What If? video in collaboration with
@minuteearth.bsky.social!

youtu.be/qu8nx1qUwEU
What if ALL the sun’s power was focused in one place?
YouTube video by xkcd's What If?
youtu.be
November 12, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Reposted by Dan Burns
In case you suddenly find yourself (and/or your students) interested in northern lights / aurora, here’s a well-crafted documentary.

And I have questions.

Aurora: Fire in the Sky
www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Auro...
Aurora: Fire in the Sky [PBS]
Question set to accompany a documentary episode from PBS. AURORA: FIRE IN THE SKY [30 questions]The aurora - It's always struck people in the polar regions with awe. This is a visual journey around th...
www.teacherspayteachers.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Reposted by Dan Burns
Only 2-days left to take advantage of Early Bird registration rates! Don't miss out on the savings, register before 11:59 pm ET on Friday, November 14th! ow.ly/32Qt50X1LRM #AAPTConference #AAPTMeeting #ITeachPhysics
November 12, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Reposted by Dan Burns
Professor Oreskes has answers. And I have questions.

Merchants of Doubt
www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Merc...
Merchants of Doubt
Question set and answer key to accompany Merchants of Doubt (Sony Classic Pictures). The film is available for purchase on DVD/BD, YouTube, and Amazon Prime Video. It does not stream for free. MERCHAN...
www.teacherspayteachers.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:23 PM
A cropped still from the after midnight outburst shows the reflected aurora better as the lake was calmer, more lights have been turned off, and the red pillars were closer to the horizon. The Big Dipper shines through in the center. #astrophotography
November 12, 2025 at 7:49 PM
There was another outburst after the moon rose after midnight. I didn't see this one, but my camera did! 98x time-lapse, Sony Alpha 7 III, FE 14 mm f/1.8 lens, ISO 1250, 4s exposures. #astrophotography
November 12, 2025 at 7:08 PM
I was not paying much attention to the aurora alerts as it was supposed to be cloudy last night. I set up my camera after noticing the clouds were glowing red at 6:30 PM. They move out like a curtain rising just before the show starts! 98x time-lapse staring at 6:45 PM. #astrophotography
November 12, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Still processing my images of last night's aurora. This 98x time- lapse captures the major outburst in NorCal between 8:30 and 9:00. Sony Alpha 7 III, FE 14 mm f/1.8 lens, ISO 1250, 4s exposures. I have used these settings for bright aurora but never had the sensor saturate before! #astrophotography
November 12, 2025 at 5:01 PM
@ajamesmccarthy.bsky.social has done it again! Check out the amazing image here: cosmicbackground.io/pages/ea_the... #astrophotography
November 12, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Well at least the aurora is making our clouds colorful. Hoping for some clearing in a couple of hours.
November 12, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Reposted by Dan Burns
Wave on a String is now available in #PhETStudio. You can set up your preset, save its configuration, and send it as a unique link. It’s that easy.
Visit phet.colorado.edu/studio #interactYourWay #iTeachPhysics #physics
November 10, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Reposted by Dan Burns
NEW VIDEO! - Understanding Equipotential Surfaces
Check it out, eh! youtu.be/w5eqIyyRm8Y
#EquipotentialSurfaces #ElectricDipole #APPhysics2 #iTeachPhysics #stem
Equipotential Surfaces and Isolines
YouTube video by Flipping Physics
youtu.be
November 10, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Reposted by Dan Burns
Check out the exceptional lineup of Plenary and Award Speakers for #AAPTWM26! Learn more and add these great speakers to your meeting schedule. ➡ ow.ly/u07C50Xikt6 #AAPTConference #AAPTMeeting #PhysicsEducation #PhysicsTeachers
November 10, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Reposted by Dan Burns
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.

Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."

Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Reposted by Dan Burns
The Kilowatt! I love the Kilowatt. In the Mission. In SF. @mitchrocket.bsky.social Mitch Rocket 🚀 & Kyra Gordon & I are all performing there next Wednesday. Much bigger than the Megawatt.
November 8, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by Dan Burns
Friday #PhysicsFun! Can you guess the answer to this Figuring Physics question about "TWO BIKES and a BEE"? ow.ly/tCmM50XoFSS #PhysicsTeachers #ITeachPhysics #TPT
November 7, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Reposted by Dan Burns
On the event of James Watson's death, I highly recommend this 2023 commentary from @matthewcobb.bsky.social and Nathaniel Comfort with crucial new insights into the discovery of the double helix. (And also check out Cobb's brand new biography of Francis Crick) www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Reposted by Dan Burns
Minding the gap: your students have little awareness of things that happened more than a decade ago.

ISS might be something they should know about. It’s a good origin story well told, and I have questions.

Operation Space Station: High-Risk Build
www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Oper...
Operation Space Station: High-Risk Build [PBS NOVA]
Questions to accompany PBS NOVA's Operation Space Station: High-Risk Build. This was season 52, episode 19 of NOVA. Astronauts and Mission Control relive terrifying moments during construction of the ...
www.teacherspayteachers.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by Dan Burns
This month's Physics Teacher has a piece on the Physics Show (doi.org/10.1119/5.02...)! It's great to see our model disseminated. @barnettdreyfuss.bsky.social tells her journey in the American Journal of Physics (doi.org/10.1119/5.03...). We came up in the same ecosystem, it was a joy to read.
November 7, 2025 at 4:27 PM