In a recent episode of SETI Live, Communications Specialist Beth Johnson spoke with Ian Pamerleau, lead author of a new study diving into the mysteries of Ceres published in Nature Astronomy. Pamerleau, a graduate student and researcher at Purdue University, used advanced computer simulations to investigate the physical structure of Ceres’ crust. His findings suggest a significant reevaluation of how we perceive this small yet complex world.
science
“I think the driving thing was curiosity about the universe. That fascinated me. I didn't think anything about being famous or anything like that, I was just interested in the concepts involved.”
Pluto was discovered #OTD in 1930 by Clyde W. Tombaugh, making it the first known object in the Kuiper belt. It was immediately hailed as the ninth planet. However, its planetary status was questioned when it was found to be much smaller than expected. via @wikipedia
The Drying Planet
—
A new study finds that freshwater resources are rapidly disappearing, creating arid “mega” regions and causing sea levels to rise.
https://www.propublica.org/article/water-aquifers-groundwater-rising-ocean-levels?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Science #Climate #Environment #ClimateChange #Water #Earth
Could play have evolutionary benefits? From sledding crows to roughhousing wolves to bees rolling balls, we examine how play shapes the animal kingdom. Plus, why children need risky play. It’s “The Play’s the Thing” this week on Big Picture Science.
Listen here: https://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/the-plays-the-thing
Me: my superpower is I always get free food when I least expect it
Orcas:
#PPOD: Naturally erupting dust streaks on Mars create structures that look surprisingly like trees near the planet's north pole. These streaks are dark basaltic sand pushed to the surface of sand dunes by sun-heated solid carbon dioxide ice, or dry ice, sublimating directly into vapor. The sand dunes form a nearly complete ring around Mars' north pole and are covered by a thin layer of reddish Martian dust and patches of dry ice. Credit: NASA, HiRISE, MRO, LPL (U. Arizona)
Open letter from #EPA employees says their boss has
has been "adopting the messaging of political propaganda, rather than the #science that the EPA’s work relies on. This includes spreading misinformation about science through official EPA channels, claiming science is a 'religion,' praising 'clean coal'(which does not exist), and attacking members of Congress (which may have violated the Hatch Act, which disallows political campaigning by federal employees)."
https://electrek.co/2025/07/01/hundreds-of-epa-employees-have-asked-their-boss-lee-zeldin-to-stop-lying/
#PPOD: This series of images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope of the fragmenting #comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) was taken over the course of three consecutive days: Nov. 8, 9, and 10, 2025. This is the first time Hubble has witnessed a comet so early in the process of breaking up. Credit: NASA, ESA, Dennis Bodewits (AU); Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
👋 Hey all... trying out life at the beige.party
David Mitchell (he/him)
Married, dad to a set of mostly grown young people (but they still eat my food).
Edmonton string instructor (will wear any hat related to music).
Promoter of:
basic public health measures;
strong, integrated, compassionate communities;
simple humanitarian values.
Every person is inherently, uniquely, and infinitely valuable.
Interested in #music #art #design #civics #history #abpoli #cndpoli #yegcc #canada #yeg #edmonton #ableg #PublicHealth #science #education #WearAMask ... so like everything except professional sports I guess.
Been at mstdn.ca since 2022, moving proactively to protect my connection to y'all, just in case.
My cartoon for this week's @newscientist.com #science #mattdamon
Scientists and engineers ask questions that lead to discoveries we can’t yet imagine, sometimes even trillion-dollar breakthroughs. And yet today, we're systematically undercutting their work.
https://open.substack.com/pub/sheril/p/the-end-of-american-dominance?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web #uspol #science
Breaking: Astronomers have found a likely new interstellar object passing through our solar system.
A11pl3Z seems to have the most extreme hyperbolic orbit yet measured. More observations coming soon.
https://earthsky.org/space/new-interstellar-object-candidate-heading-toward-the-sun-a11pl3z/ #science #nature #space
Call for papers:
(Un)natural Stevenson: Wild transgressions across literature, ecology, science & gender
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 11–12 May 2026
This conference aims to explore the concept of nature/natural in Robert Louis Stevenson’s work, & to investigate Stevenson both as a writer of dichotomies/dualisms & of their wild transgressions
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EoselkYayxzSXzW36aDZTbZv_SQt8cCG/
#Scottish #literature #19thcentury #Victorian #RobertLouisStevenson #LiteraryStudies #ecology #science #gender
The #FDA’s top #vaccine & #GeneTherapy official resigned on Tues after a public campaign against him led by the #FarRight influencer [& unofficial #Trump adviser] #LauraLoomer…
Over the past week, Loomer had taken to #socialmedia to attack the Dr. Vinay Prasad for a series of decisions denying approval of new drugs for rare #diseases. She highlighted past statements of support he had made for figures on the left, including #BernieSanders…
#science
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/health/vinay-prasad-fda-resigns-loomer.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
8 Things to Know About New Research on Earth’s Rapid Drying and the Loss of Its Groundwater
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Decades of NASA satellite data reveal how quickly the planet’s underground stores of fresh water have been depleted and how their use is contributing to rising sea levels. Here are the key takeaways.
https://www.propublica.org/article/groundwater-fresh-water-depletion-research-science-advances-takeaways?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Science #Climate #Environment #ClimateChange #Water #NASA #Data
Christiaan Huygens and the Scientific Secrets of Saturn
Seventeenth-century science was so competitive that Christiaan Huygens used a cipher to conceal his Saturn observations when sharing them with interlocutors.
By: Danny Robb
https://daily.jstor.org/christiaan-huygens-and-the-scientific-secrets-of-saturn/
Christiaan Huygens at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/5648
🏆The European Physical Society is happy to announce that the 2026 EPS QEOD Prize for Research In Laser Science And Applications is attributed to:
• Dr. Carlo Callegari
• Dr. Kevin Prince
• Prof. Giuseppe Sansone
👏Congratulations to all the winners!
https://www.europhoton.org/
#physics #physik #research #laser #science #europe #awards
Our bodies are marvels of evolution, yet evolution is not a perfect engineer. It works with what it’s got, which explains our sore feet and aching backs. We look at our complicated evolutionary past and What Moves Us on this week’s Big Picture Science.
Listen here: https://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/what-moves-us
For decades, SETI Institute scientists have turned to Earth’s most extreme environments to understand how life persists at the edge of what biology allows. Now, scientists have revived microscopic worms frozen in Siberian permafrost for roughly 46,000 years, revealing how life can survive extreme cold through a state of cryptobiosis. Simon Steel spoke with evolutionary biologist Philipp Schiffer about the discovery.
Learn more: https://www.seti.org/news/life-after-ice/
As I split my time between SF and Monterey:
If what I keep hearing in SF is ‘AGI’ (lol) what I keep hearing about in Monterey is ‘sea star wasting disease’
And they have finally found the cause for it. It’s a huge deal for climate, etc
https://apnews.com/article/sea-star-wasting-disease-epidemic-f2ab802ae8787618a5905c566d38e0c5
Edited 1y ago
Rare 'planetary parade' will return to the evening sky this week — but you'll have to look at exactly the right time
By Jamie Carter
Six planets will shine together in the evening sky on Feb. 28. Here's how to get the best view before they disappear.
The SETI Institute invites nominations for the 2026 Jill Tarter Award for Innovation in the Search for Life Beyond Earth, an international honor recognizing individuals whose ideas, work, or leadership have meaningfully advanced humanity’s efforts to understand life and intelligence in the Universe. Artists, journalists, media, scientists, educators, law & ethics, philosophers, and more – all disciplines are welcome.
This morning's science-experiment-gone-wrong
Had some hard boiled eggs which were not boiled long enough (dyed for Easter).
Decided I did not like soft boiled eggs
Cracked the egg, and put it in the microwave for a minute
Looked fine. Took it back to the table, started to peel it... moments later, EGG EXPLOSION EVERYWHERE. EGG ACROSS KITCHEN.EGG IN HAIR. EGG ON FACE. EGG ON WALL. EGG ON CEILING.
(that is all)
One of these is better than the others... you know the one I mean 😁
@bookstodon @books
@worldbuilding @humor @humor@lemmy.world @aiop
#SpeculativeFiction #FantasyBooks
#FantasyMemes #Worldbuilding #Fantasy #SciFi #Meme #Memes #Humor #Humour #Funny
#Low #High #Epic #Science #Opera #Hard #CottageCore #SolarPunk #Comedic #Whatever #GiveMeAllYouveGot
#Book #Books #Novel #Novels #Bookstodon #Bookworm #Bookwyrm #BookLove
