Good news for a change: It looks like WR 104, the potential source of a mind-vaporizingly powerful gamma-ray burst death ray, is not pointed exactly at Earth.
Bad Astronomy Newsletter
Is the WR 104 system pointing a gamma-ray burst at Earth? Probably not.
New observations indicate it’s aimed away from us
I dumped all things Meta. Zuck can kiss my ass.
Bad Astronomy Newsletter
Goodbye, Meta. Also, a first planetary discovery for JWST
Waving bye-bye to Zuck’s domain, and a new (to us) planet is tugging on others in its system
 Also, paid subscribers can learn about a new planet discovered by accident in JWST observations!
I've got an update on the exoplanet K2-18b, and it doesn't look good for the biosignatures. Also, I have opinions on how this has played out. As an assuagement, a gorgeous galaxy for Hubble's 35th.
Bad Astronomy Newsletter
UPDATE: Was *anything* seen from K2-18b? Also, a gorgeous galaxy for Hubble’s 35th
New study shows no sign of chemicals at all from the exoplanet, let alone biosignatures
Something very, very weird is going on over at Andromeda.
Bad Astronomy Newsletter
More cosmic weirdness: What’s going on with the Andromeda Galaxy’s satellites?
Why are all its satellite galaxies on one side — the side facing us?
With everything looking down, why not look up for a moment? This is, quite seriously, one of the most gorgeous astronomical images I have ever seen. And I've seen a *lot*.
Bad Astronomy Newsletter
An utterly gorgeous cosmic latte
A spiral galaxy’s light stirred, not shaken, by the gravity of another
An extremely distant galaxy — we see it as it was just 330 million years after the Big Bang! — is blasting out ultraviolet radiation. That in itself isn't surprising, but the thing is, *we shouldn't be able to see it*. How about some Monday science?
Bad Astronomy Newsletter
A mind-crushingly distant galaxy lights up the Universe around it
JADES GS-z13 is sending out ultraviolet light from nearly the dawn of time. That we can see it at all is shocking.
When was the first exoplanet discovered? You might read it was in 1992, but in fact the first evidence for the existence of alien worlds was found before then. Way before then. Like, in *1917*. I love this story.
Scientific American
When Was the First Exoplanet Discovered?
Evidence of alien worlds goes back farther than you think
The Universe is doing weird stuff again. If this pans out, and that looks likely, our understanding of the cosmos will have to fundamentally change. Again.
Bad Astronomy Newsletter
Is the Universe misbehaving again?
Dark energy is probably doing something weird, and we don’t know why
Sometimes, the most amazing photos from space are of objects close to home. Or even *of* our home. This is a lunar eclipse as seen from the Moon. That black disk? That's Earth. And the ring around it? Why, that's the magic.
Bad Astronomy Newsletter
INCREDIBLE SPACE PHOTO: The lunar eclipse seen from the Moon!
Also, come see me at GalaxyCon in Richmond, Virginia, March 27-29!
Astronomers have found a planet *as dense as lead*. Also, a new crater on Mars from an impact that occurred in 2021! Both stories? Metal.
Bad Astronomy Newsletter
An exoplanet that’s twice as dense as Earth, and a fresh impact crater on Mars
The planet K2-360b is likely metal, and the crater image is too.