Science is good. We should fund it.

I will waste no time reminding everyone that the President has again proposed an extinction-level budget for NASA.

47% cut to science.

And even though Congress sets budgets, NASA will---like last year---start planning as though this were the real budget.

Stupid. Pointless. Destructive. Insulting.

Poem about ceaselessly loving the Moon and accompanying art by Seth (The Art of Seth)

Moon mood

From theartofseth.com

Guangzhou Circle, a building in Guangzhou, China. It is a gold O-shaped building on a river

Structurally, it's a marvel. Reminds me of the Guangzhou Circle. But it misses the point of a bread sliced bagel (maximizing the cream cheese to bagel ratio)

Earth

Okay. This is a much better quality from NASA's site of Earth.

www.nasa.gov/image-articl...

NASA's Artemis 2 pilot Victor Glover listens to 'Whitey on the Moon' every Monday. This is why. "It ain't about racism. It's about the human condition."

"And so it's a reminder to me that there are more perspectives and more stories out there than you'll hear from the people cheering for NASA on a regular basis," Glover said. "But those people? We work for them too." www.space.com/space-explor...

This is beautiful, Andy

Tycho, Aristarchus, Giordano Bruno are definitely up there. Floss is the best one though 💕

Messier & Messier A too!

If defunding NASA could end war or pay the national debt, then we should do that. But it won’t. Great societies do many things at once. 🧪🔭🌎🛰️

ok, that's fine, but the NFL should know that it was a lot of science and engineering that put people on the Moon along with generous support from taxpayers

(g) (1) Any driver's license issued prior to July 1, 2026, that identifies the gender of the individual named on such license in a manner that is contrary to the definition of such term as defined in K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 77- 207, and amendments thereto, shall be invalid. (2) The director shall correct any driver's license records that identify the gender of the individual named in such record in a manner that is contrary to the definition of such term as defined in K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 77- 207, and amendments thereto. The director shall send written notice to each such individual notifying such individual that such license is invalid and to surrender such license to the division of vehicles. Upon the surrender of any such license, the director shall issue a new driver's license to such individual with the correct gender identification for such individual.

It plainly invalidates all driver's licenses held by trans people if they've changed their gender markers. It requires them to turn those licenses over.

They don't have a list to check but now any out trans person could be ratted out by family, friends or coworkers and have their licenses revoked.

Make it viral.

NYT Chronicles a Death Their Moral Panic Caused — Assigned The New York Times published a story covering the death of trans athlete, Lia Smith, but takes no responsibility for the ways their coverage of trans issues has fed the moral panic that caused it.

The New York Times described a harrassment campaign that helped drive a young trans woman to suicide as "online criticisms."

Today on Assigned, @evanurquhart.bsky.social responds with contained fury to New York Times piece on the suicide of Lia Smith.

www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...

An Open Letter Regarding LPSC blog.planetary-research.org/2026/01/06/an-open-lette...

Instead of an LPSC abstract, a few of us posted our concerns about the censorship of the conference at blog.planetary-research.org/2026/01/06/a..., with some suggestions for other conferences you can attend to discuss planetary science. (Definitely shorter than 2 pages 10 pt font, too!)

Two ancient humans, including famed ‘Iceman,’ had cancer-causing virus Findings from ancient DNA may shed light on HPV’s history in our species

Ötzi and a 45,000-year-old Siberian were both infected with a cancer-causing strain of HPV.
This is fascinating, and a reminder that we have a vaccine that *prevents cancer* and everyone eligible should get it.

Carl Sagan’s famous “pale blue dot” quote alongside the picture that inspired the quote of the Earth taken from millions of miles away by the Voyager spacecraft.

i know i post this a lot, but these are truly some of the most beautiful words ever spoken about our planet.

thank you, carl sagan, we miss you 🌎✨

14 two-year postdocs for academics of any nationality who cannot continue their research due to US politics. Do share if you know of such.

The anti-Semitic mass shooting in Australia will cause a national conversation and policy change. We know this because the 1996 Port Arthur massacre led to significant restrictions on guns.
The shooting at Brown will do nothing. We know this because it occurred on the anniversary of Sandy Hook.

Uni Bern: Professor in Planetary Sciences The Division of Space Research and Planetary Sciences of the Physics Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland, invites applications for a full-time position as a Professor in Planetary Sciences.

Hi #planetaryScience folks, we have an open position for a *Professor in Planetary Sciences* at the Space Research & Planetary Sciences Division of the @unibe.ch.

Application deadline: *Jan 31, 2026*

Full ad: ohws.prospective.ch/public/v1/jo...

Reach out to me if you have any questions!

🧵 1/5

Stuff like this makes me miss Tucson. The lights in my neighborhood are on the far left.

Pink aurora in the night sky, with some houses in the foreground

Pink aurora in the night sky, with some houses in the foreground

This is my first time seeing aurora, it's just as lovely as I imagined, but next time I'll put on socks and shoes instead of just running outside in flip flops. (Middle TN)

Transgender Student-Athlete Lia Smith Remembered as a Friend and Fierce Advocate — Assigned Lia Smith, a 21-year-old trans student-athlete in Vermont, took her own life last week. Her friends, family and community mourn, and remember her as a bright young woman who spoke on behalf of her com...

Rest In Peace Lia Smith.
You deserved a whole, full, beautiful life.

#nasa is shuttering the Goddard #space #flight center in a move that may not be entirely legal, according to critics. For months, our #staff #writer @joshdinner.bsky.social interviewed NASA #employees, read #senate reports and more to give you the deepest dive yet.

www.space.com/space-explor...

"doch" seems to be a word you season a sentence with like chili flakes

Ehh it's confusing but only annoying if I intend to go see what most of the references are

It would imply to me that they don't use a reference manager. It'd also be shorter to write [1-6,17-19] so on a proposal especially that's just a poor use of space.

30 September 1928 | Elie Wiesel was born in Romania. A Jewish writer, Auschwitz & Buchenwald survivor, Peace Nobel Prize laureate.

"Indifference is the epitome of evil." / „We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."