Shanil Virani

Happy #MoonDay? It’s been 56 years since humanity first walked on the #Moon. Are we still #explorers? My new essay reflects on #Apollo, what we’ve forgotten, and what’s still possible.🔭🧪 🛰️ tiny.cc/MoonDay 🔗 📣 What are your thoughts? #MoonDay #HumanFutures #Exploration #STEM #TheFutureWeChoose

To 36 years and beyond 🌠 📸: Lance Mercer, Anton Corbijn, Danny Clinch, Geoff Whitman

Astronomy classes move remarkably quickly from ancient Greek astronomy to Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo. What happened in astronomy in the ~1300 years between Ptolemy & Copernicus? Join our new 90-min virtual workshop where we will explore some of what gets lost in that gap. bit.ly/Islamic-Gold...

What happened in the 1,000 years between Ptolemy & Copernicus? 🧪🔭 People never stopped looking up. Join us Oct. 17 for a new Learn@ASP workshop exploring astronomy’s Islamic Golden Age — and a richer story of how humanity came to know the cosmos. 🌍 ⁠Register 𝗧𝗢𝗗𝗔𝗬: bit.ly/Islamic-Gold...

Astronomy classes move remarkably quickly from ancient Greek astronomy to Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo. What happened in astronomy in the ~1300 years between Ptolemy & Copernicus? Join our new 90-min virtual workshop where we will explore some of what gets lost in that gap. bit.ly/Islamic-Gold...

Crazy idea: Democrats should defend immigration and immigrants, run on the idea that immigrants make America great, and stop Homer Simpsoning themselves into the shrubbery every time Republicans try to demagogue it.

A day at the beach should be for everyone. 🌊 Help keep Westport wild: submit an online comment to Washington State Parks by tomorrow, Thursday, October 15, at 5 pm PT. Tell them why public parks and beach access matter to you. https://washington.surfrider.org/keep-westport-wild

This plot doesn't pass the smell test. The two putative El Niño records show essentially no agreement. That's unsurprising: The tree-ring record is not a reliable annual reconstruction of past events (see: bsky.app/profile/mich...). The coral record I've discussed elsewhere: bsky.app/profile/mich...

Thanksgiving in Canada. Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the USA. One Earth. One shared sky. The trees know no borders. The sunlight recognizes no nations. May gratitude deepen our generosity, knowledge inspire humility, wisdom lead our stewardship, & wonder remind us that we belong to one another.

Northern Spirit 24x48 acrylic on canvas Available!

Chris Murphy: "Donald Trump was so fundamentally unprepared for this war that within days of the war starting, our billion dollar air bases and naval bases in the region were obliterated by the Iranians. Every single American should be furious about that."

Happy World Teachers’ Day! 🌟 Celebrating educators who spark curiosity and inspire tomorrow’s innovators. Thank you for bringing physics to life! Enjoy these free articles from AJP and TPT: American Journal of Physics (ow.ly/7B7l50ZUAAm) The Physics Teacher (ow.ly/QLBs50ZUAAt)

Checked Twitter for first time in ages to see if there were any trade updates. Immediate regret.

Every story the Universe tells, is a history. Danish astronomer Ole Rømer was born #OTD in 1644. His observations of Jovian moons confirmed that light propagates at finite speed. This profound conceptual shift opened the door for work by Huygens, Fresnel, and Maxwell. 🧪 🔭 A thread:

The PM's statement that Canada is mapping out scenarios for US military violence is a game changer. There is no pretending that things will somehow go back to normal as long as the White House believes it can threaten violence against neighbours. charlieangus.substack.com/p/a-reminder...

Hubble Telescope finishes 200,000 Earth orbits in style, studying a star explosion www.space.com/astronomy/hu...

What happened in the 1,000 years between Ptolemy & Copernicus? 🧪🔭 People never stopped looking up. Join us Oct. 17 for a new Learn@ASP workshop exploring astronomy’s Islamic Golden Age — and a richer story of how humanity came to know the cosmos. 🌍 ⁠Register 𝗧𝗢𝗗𝗔𝗬: bit.ly/Islamic-Gold...

Bring the Universe to your community. The @aas.org Shapley Visiting Lectures Program brings astronomers to schools, libraries, planetariums, observatories & community groups across North America. $400 Honorarium provided.🧪 Apply to host in 2027 by Oct. 2: bit.ly/ShapleyLectures #Astronomy #SciComm

Watch the full episode of Bulwark Takes with Sam Stein and @timmiller.bsky.social:

@samsteindc.bsky.social reacts to Pierre Damas Bel’s suicide after he lost his temporary protected status: “He wasn't a criminal. He went by the books; he followed the law. I cannot believe that this is how we are treating people.”

This county jail in Florida is supposed to detain immigrants for only up to 72 hours, per DHS. One woman was rebooked 10 times, spending a cumulative 26 days in jail. Read the full story: https://propub.li/4y7RORJ

A 76-year-old man holding permanent US residency and grappling with stage four prostate cancer is reportedly being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention in Tacoma, Washington. What the fuck are we doing here? www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Democrats have re-gained a vote in the House as Dr. Everton Blair Jr. fills the vacancy in Georgia left by the death of Rep. David Scott when he was officially sworn into Congress today. Mike Johnson has his grubby hands full holding his caucus together for the rest of this term - and I love that.

A social media post by Hegseth body-shaming female members of a Canadian youth development program sparked furious backlash on both sides of the border

From across one small world, we gathered beneath the same sky. They came for community, learning & connection. They left with inspiration, hope, ideas, love & gratitude. Thank you #StreamAlive, @astrosociety.org’s Official Audience Engagement Partner, for helping #Astronomy250 bring us together.🔭🧪

From across one small world, we gathered beneath the same sky. They came for community, learning & connection. They left with inspiration, hope, ideas, love & gratitude. Thank you #StreamAlive, @astrosociety.org’s Official Audience Engagement Partner, for helping #Astronomy250 bring us together.🔭🧪

Day 2 of #Astronomy250 begins! Yesterday reminded us that no single culture owns the cosmos, nor the stories we tell beneath it. Today we ask: Who gets to discover the Universe — and how have new ways of seeing transformed what humanity knows? The conversation continues. The Universe awaits. 🧪🔭👨🏾‍🔬

30 years of No Code today and the 144 polaroids lining its art.

Day 2 of #Astronomy250 begins! Yesterday reminded us that no single culture owns the cosmos, nor the stories we tell beneath it. Today we ask: Who gets to discover the Universe — and how have new ways of seeing transformed what humanity knows? The conversation continues. The Universe awaits. 🧪🔭👨🏾‍🔬

Six years old and already worried about grad school. 😅 #CalvinandHobbes #TooReal

We are thrilled to have your support as always! Plus: Dr. Tom Rice, AAS Director of Education Programs, is scheduled to moderate Plenary 4, "Why Astronomy? Imagining the Next 250 Years" on Saturday, 8/29 at 9am PT/noon ET. Excited to have him on board! 🔭

Astronomy@250 Conference 🔭 Attend virtually from anywhere in the world on 27-29 August. Three days with some of the top names in astronomy, five programming tracks & networking w/ larger space & astro community. AAS is glad to be an event sponsor! astrosociety.org/events-home/... @astrosociety.org

Sunrise, Sunday, 23 August, from Okitu Beach, Aotearoa / New Zealand. I thought I’d go portrait mode today to better frame these beautiful wild freesias that have begun to bloom on the dunes. Ata mārie / Good Morning ☀️

Midnight Sun Over the Norwegian Fjord #nature #relaxing #calm #landscape #naturephotography #earthporn

Woke up to this masterpiece. Grateful for mornings that start this beautiful.🌅 #sunrise #Photography #nature #morning #landscape

One week until #Astronomy@250! Nancy Grace Roman helped build an astronomical future she would never live to see. On Thurs, Aug. 27, join us for a FREE celebration of her life, legacy, vision — and what one generation can make possible for the next. 🔭🧪👩‍🔬 🌌 5pm PT / 8pm ET 🔗 bit.ly/nancygraceroman

BOSTON…😕 ✈️

George Carlin demonstrated that genuine control requires questioning pre-packaged choices. Cultivating critical analysis within your current projects eliminates operational illusions, empowering your team to design truly autonomous, high-impact strategies based on objective reality.

It's really, really hard to remain civil these days is all I have to say.

Vote like your life depends on it, or the life of a friend, relative, or neighbor. Because it does. We’re the decoys now.

“[Gaza is] a moral question for so many voters.” Usamah Andrabi of the @justicedemocrats.com PAC tells @mehdirhasan.bsky.social that standing up to Gaza's genocide represents “clear moral clarity" when deciding which candidates to support. Watch: zeteo.com/p/unbought-a...

The US is bleeding STEM talent Other countries are beneficiaries www.nytimes.com/2026/08/17/b...

Jeff Bezos : so you're saying Elon Musk is the most hated billionaire Obsequious toady : yes my liege Jeff Bezos : we'll fuckin see about that

Wishing a happy 90th birthday today to living legend Margaret Hamilton! She led the team that created Apollo's guidance computer software, coined the phrase "software engineering", developed software for Skylab, and founded two computer companies of her own. #WomenInSTEM #NASA #WomensHistory