Once again "the death of the West" meant "the death of my secret bank account."

🕰️ Ever wish that you could check the time with a bit more pizazz? The ancient Athenians had the solution to that. The atmospherically named “Tower of the Winds” is the last surviving clock tower from antiquity. It stands as singular physical evidence of the water clock or ‘clepsydra’.

Photo of a longhaired tortie cat lying on a sunny sidewalk with grass lawn on either side. It has a round little dark object in front of it, a toy maybe.

Photo from my collection, writing on the back says “General Nuisance. Summer 1954”.

An astronomical image featuring the backdrop of the dark night sky with a faint grey-blue speckle at the centre. The nebulous cloud has the shape of a four-leaf flower. Four orange laser beams are pointing to it.

This isn't a scene from #StarWars.

What you're looking at is the Tarantula Nebula. While those beams come from the lasers installed on the telescopes that comprise our VLTI.

But why are we sending lasers into the sky? Find out: https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2616a/

🔭 🧪
📷 A. Berdeu/ESO

Huge thanks to everyone who's been sharing this today! You can download and print your own copies to hand out in your community - zinefun.fyi

Y'all are awesome! #MayDayStrong

84 NASA missions at risk under new proposal Proposed NASA cuts would reduce NASA’s workforce by thousands and cancel over 50 space missions.

#JournoRequest I am working on a story for @iflscience.com on the NASA cuts in Trump's budget proposal 🔭🧪

Is your mission directly affected, or will your research be affected if a mission is ended or cancelled? I want to hear from you; we will keep you anonymous.

DM me or signal: DrCarpineti.59

Back in July 2015 New Horizons sent us the first really close shots of Pluto and its moons. The team took that real data plus digital elevation models and turned them into these cool flyover videos — basically letting us “fly” over the surface closer than the spacecraft itself ever did. This still comes from the "Soaring over Pluto" flyover. You’re looking at tall water-ice mountains rising up from the big smooth plains of frozen nitrogen in Sputnik Planitia. The colors are mostly burnt brown and bright white, with some orange patches and darker rough areas off in the distance. Credit: NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI / LPI (PIA21863) https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia21863-soaring-over-pluto/

🧵1/5
Ever get that weirdly satisfying feeling when something finally goes way past its original plan?

Well, #NewHorizons just did exactly that. After 20+ years since launch, it's now farther from Pluto than it was back in 2006.

Really wild when you think about it.🔭 🧪 ⚛️

#Space

Veil Nebula

Crop of the Eastern Veil

Crop of the Western Veil

At some point I'm just going to have to accept that the full Veil Nebula just doesn't get high enough above the horizon for me to get it before dawn. Happy with the Eastern, but can never get enough data of the Western side so always looks choppy.

#Astro, #Astrophotography, #Photography

An image of the Sombrero Galaxy (Messier 104). It is a peculiar galaxy that features an edge on dark dust lane.

‪Sombrero Galaxy (M104)

Acquisition details and full resolution: app.astrobin.com/i/huqcie

#Astrophotography

A waxing crescent Moon in a black sky.

#Waxing #Crescent #Moon

Date: 2026 04 20
Time: 20:12:13 UTC
Altitude: 29° 56'
Distance: 360 214 km
Phase: 15%

Nikon Z8
Skywatcher 200P

Exposure: f/5.9, 1/50s, ISO-100
Focal Length: 1200 mm

#astronomy #astrophotography #craters #supercrescent

Too far off galaxies on a black background of stars

Had a beautiful clear night for a change, so these guys were calling me, I can’t help but wonder what kinds of people live there, and do they look at us and wonder the same?
#Astronomy #Astrophotography #Photography

Wake County Indivisible 101 YouTube video by Triangle Area Indivisible Collaborative

Watch our WCI 101 video to learn how to engage with our group and take action!

youtu.be/tSZb6U36J4o?...

Visit our website with the link below to view the slide deck and access the links.

www.wakecountyindivisible.org/resources

Federal Judge Vacates Kennedy Declaration, Permanently Blocks Trump's Trans Youth Care Hospital Threats The judgment overturns the Kennedy Declaration which has been used to force 40 hospitals to drop trans youth care.

Federal Judge Vacates Kennedy Declaration, Permanently Blocks Trump's Trans Youth Care Hospital Threats • The judgment overturns the Kennedy Declaration which has been used to force 40 hospitals to drop trans youth care.

BREAKING: We’re launching a campaign to educate voters on where Georgia Supreme Court candidates stand on civil rights and civil liberties issues, including abortion and voting rights.

Photo of an orange cat shaped fabric bag folded up inside a cardboard box and tied with a white and pink string.

Photo of a black-and-white, one eyed tuxedo cat lying on an orange cat bag that is spread out on the floor. He’s looking up at the camera.

Photo of a black-and-white tuxedo cat with one eye sitting with his forepaws on the inside of an orange cat bag. You can see that there is a yellow pocket on the inside that is shaped like the silhouette of a cartoon cat face.

I have been passively looking for a large kitty tote/purse for a while and finally found the perfect thing on Etsy. It came today and I LOVE IT. Cat-shaped inner pocket and magnetic snap closes the top. I might have to get more colors. Go check out their other kitties! www.etsy.com/shop/Circuso...

The copper Buddha on a bright sunny day. You can actually go inside it.

This is a temple to a different aspect of the Buddha. You can’t take any photos inside the main shrine but there’s a large beautiful statue made of camphor wood.

Same temple but lower down the hill, it’s a cave with carvings and shrines. Some of the passages are low and you have to walk doubled over.

A large lovely Shinto shrine. I couldn’t see all of it because I couldn’t make it up the stairs to the upper part.

We’re having a fantastic time in Japan. This is all from Kamakura.

The Saki barrels that are donated to the Shinto shrine.

The shrine with the steps I couldn’t go up without dying.

The Tori gate on the main approach to the Shinto shrine.

The bamboo forest around another Buddhist temple. You can do a matcha tasting in a little tea house in the forest.

More from Kamakura. It was the seat of the first Shogunate and you can see a lot in a relatively small area. Highly recommended if you ever have the chance. It’s a beautiful city.

BLOW! - A Short Film - Film and Storytelling | Seed&Spark If you can’t get justice, sometimes you have to settle for vengeance... and this blow-up sex doll is ready to deliver. BLOW! is a blood & guts, feminist & camp short film showcasing underrepresented v...

Help BLOW! up the patriarchy, one predator at a time.

We're raising money for a horror short, and you do not want to miss being on Doll's good side...

Support if you can or just share the link!!! Cannot wait to bring you this fresh feminist nightmare 🔪🎈

seedandspark.com/fund/theblow...

TONIGHT | 9:30PM ET

Enter #TheBlackLodge

Only at dumb-industries.com/lodge

Cat Jam for Charity A game jam from 2026-03-25 to 2026-05-01 hosted by Whimsy Machine. Cats are great. Let's celebrate that! The Cat Jam invites creators to make media about or prominently featuring cats. This includes t...

Ten days left of the Cat Jam for Charity! Open to all project types, new and existing, so long as they feature or are about CATS! Everything's getting bundled up for a cat rescue non-profit, so I'd love to see lots and lots of entries!

#gamedev #comics #ttrpgs #catjam

itch.io/jam/charity-...

TONIGHT | 8PM ET

What better way to celebrate 4/20 than by hopping in the Mystery Van?! Matt & Chris found a bunch of crappy Scooby-Doo games and they'll be playing them for an all-new Super Dumb Bros.!

Watch on Twitch w/ ads: dumb-industries.com/twitch

MST3K - "Hey Nelstone, Wake and Bake!" - Frank Conniff - TVs Frank - Happy 420 YouTube video by CORE

Happy 4/20 to everyone but especially to @frankconniff.bsky.social

No Wrongful Execution for Tony Carruthers Tony Carruthers was convicted without physical evidence, based solely on testimony from informants. Now, Tony is scheduled for execution on May 21st by Tennessee after being forced to represent himsel...

Crucial forensic evidence from the crime scene doesn't match Tony's.

Tell Tennessee to test the evidence before they put a potentially innocent man to death.

We are looking at a painting of St Liphardus - a 6th-century lawyer, hermit and abbot in Meung-sur-Loire near Orléans, France. He is wearing bishops clothing including a surplus and mitre and is holding a crook. On a lead is a small knee high green and blue dragon.

We’re very sorry sir but you cannot bring your emotional support dragon in here.

Enhanced color image shows a close-up of extensive, large dunes in the north polar region of Mars. There is seasonal, bright ice on the slipface of many of the dunes, and dark patches between the dunes as well.

HiPOD: Translucent Ice on Dunes

At the time of year we took the image, the whole scene was probably covered in carbon dioxide ice. Some of this ice is translucent, so you can see the dark dunes through it.

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_076844_2550
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
#Mars

A clip from The New York Times reads: "But only the entities that officially paid the tariffs are eligible to recover that money. That means that the fuller universe of people affected by Mr. Trump’s policies — including millions of Americans who paid higher prices for the products they bought — are not able to apply for direct relief. The extent to which consumers realize any gain hinges on whether businesses share the proceeds, something that few have publicly committed to do. Some have started to band together in class-action lawsuits in the hopes of receiving a payout."

The average American family paid $1,700 in tariffs last year, according to the bipartisan Congressional Joint Economic Committee. Few will ever see any of that money back. The refunds will go to companies, if doled out at all. What a joke.

📚Call for 8 Summer 2026 #ReadingGroup & #MasterClass Leaders! Volunteer Position.
🗓 Deadline Extended! April 25th, 2026
✨ PhD students & Early Career Scholars build your CV, engage w/ public & help us to Save Ancient Studies!
➡️saveancientstudies.org/reading-groups

🥳 Check out the full lineup of events during our Birthday Bash, and RSVP today!
https://www.saveancientstudies.org/events

#SASA #AncientHistory #Archaeogaming #OpeningTheAncientWorld #Fundraising #DonateNow #SupportUs #Birthday #Anniversary #Celebration#Goals

If not losing, why losing shaped?

Excited to see the TACO rationale that emerges if the war goes hot again and we start exchanging fires with Iran, but my guess here is that Trump actually does extend the ceasefire despite saying it is 'highly unlikely.'