Did you know there's a nebula (a glowing cloud of cosmic gas & dust) that looks like the Statue of Liberty? The accompanying long-exposure image is by talented amateur astronomer Logan Carpenter. #astronomy #astroed #space #spacephotography #astrophotography #amateurastronomy #astroimaging

My #sciencefiction story "I Swallowed a Martian," published in Flash Fiction magazine, has new relevance with recent #Mars research. You can read it free at: bit.ly/swallowedmar... #hardscifi #NASA #astronomy #astroed #space #marsexploration #planetaryscience #astrobiology #exobiology #scifi

I Swallowed a Martian

I didn’t mean to swallow a Martian. I didn’t even know it was there, for Pete’s sake. But there’s no question I swallowed it. I haven’t been the same since. Dr. Okito told me to record what happene…

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Sunday is not only #fathersday but also the #summersolstice -- the day with the longest daylight (in the Northern Hemisphere). We have seasons due to an ancient accident. For full story, ee www.fraknoi.com/astronomy/su... #astronomy #astroed #science #sky #amateurastronomy #weather #cosmos #summer

Sunday is Both Father's Day and the Summer Solstice

June 21 is not just father's day but the day of the summer solstice

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My latest sci-fi story, "Elegy," just published in #Penumbric Magazine is at: bit.ly/elegystory It is about love at a time in the far distant future, when even the stars have gone out. #astronomy #astroed #hardsiencefiction #scifi #sciencefiction #cosmology #science #astronomyeducation

With Spielberg’s film Disclosure Day coming, there'll be lots of UFO questions. I put together a new guide to resources on what skeptics know about UFO claims & cases, including Roswell & recent military photos, at: bit.ly/ufoskeptic #astroed #UFO #UAP #skeptics #astronomy #scienceeducation #UFOs

A real ad I just saw on a bus in San Francisco. I wish it were only science fiction! Is this the way humanity begins its voluntary slide into oblivion? #AI #science #politics #currentevents #sciencefiction

My new #sciencefiction story "Who Speaks for Earth" was just published in The Worlds Within magazine: bit.ly/speaksforEarth It's about a Congressional hearing to investigate the aftermath of receiving an alien message. #SETI #astronomy #hardSF #space #technosignatures #aliens #scifi #sfbyscientists

Heads Up: Lunar Eclipse March 3 Total #lunareclipse coming early morning of March 3. Very democratic, everyone in N America can see. My explanatory sheet in everyday language: bit.ly/2026eclipse #astronomy #astroed #science #scienceed #amateurastronomy #sky #eclipses #space #outerspace

Sunday is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year. Why does our planet have seasons, when other planets like Venus and Jupiter do not? I posted a full explanation at: www.fraknoi.com/.../winter-s... #astronomy #astroed #sky #scienceteaching #scienceeducation #science

Winter Solstice Arrives on Sunday Dec 21

We explain the reason for the seasons and what it means to have winter solstice.

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Nice surprise. The editor of Worlds Within magazine nominated my science-fiction story "The Lurker" for a Pushcart Prize. It's about a probe from another civilization waiting on an asteroid; at: theworldswithin.net/the-lurker/ #sciencefiction #SETI #astroedu #science&fiction #science #astronomy

The Lurker - The Worlds Within

By Andrew Fraknoi Janice is asleep when I see the alien artifact. We are circling a small carbon-rich asteroid, evaluating whether its resources would be worth staking a claim, when I glimpse the unus...

theworldswithin.net

Sat night, the #astrosociety of the Pacific gave the 2025 Fraknoi Award for extraordinary support of the Society's educational work to Connie Walker of #NOIRLab For more on her work see: bit.ly/2025fraknoia... #astronomy #astroedu @conniewalker.bsky.social #lightpollution #scienceawards

Teaching a fun, illustrated Zoom course on atomic science for poets (meaning everyone.) Tuesdays Oct & Nov through the SF State OLLI program. For details & how to register: bit.ly/atomscourse #science #physics #atomic #scienceeducation #astroedu #onlinecourses #Zoomcourses #sciencefiction #quantum

This wonderful cartoon was sent out today in an email from The New Yorker magazine. All teachers will especially appreciate this. #cartoons #teaching #astroedu #education #teachers #politicalcartoons #humor

My latest astronomical #sciencefiction story (my 11th) was recently published. It's a new twist on doomsday & advanced #extraterrestrials - "In Conversation with the Downloaded Me." It's at: bit.ly/downloadedme A list of all my published stories: bit.ly/sfbyfraknoi #astroedu #hardsf #space #scifi

The 136-year old Astronomical Society of the Pacific is holding an exciting one-day nontechnical symposium on the future of #astronomy Aug. 21. Great speakers, time for breakout groups. See: bit.ly/ASP2025SYMP (Early bird pricing ends 7/31) #astroedu #space #telescopes #amateurastronomy #science

ASP2025 Virtual Symposium: Eyes on the Cosmos - Embracing the Future

Join us August 21, 2025 to explore the evolving relationship between humanity and the universe.

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🚀 Register now for #ASP2025 #Virtual #Symposium: Eyes on the Cosmos -- Embracing the Future (Aug 21)! Save with early bird registration by July 31. Explore 4 themes: Questioning, Investigating, Adapting & Connecting. Explore discoveries, strategies & shared sky stories. 🔭🧪 🔗: bit.ly/ASP2025SYMP

ASP2025 Virtual Symposium: Eyes on the Cosmos - Embracing the Future

Join us August 21, 2025 to explore the evolving relationship between humanity and the universe.

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This uncanny image shows LDN43, the cosmic bat nebula -- a region of dark dust & dense gas, where new stars are forming. The nebula is 1400 lightyears away and about 12 lightyears across. #astronomy #astroedu #astrophotos #space #spacephotos #spaceimages #astrophotography #nebula #spacepictures

Beautiful image from Gemini Observatory: the dome of their telescope on Maunkea peak, Hawaii. In this time exposure, see the stars circle the north pole of the sky as our planet rotates. Laser beams that probe atmospheric distortion add interest. #astronomy #astroedu #astrophotos #spacephotos #sky

Friday will be the #summersolstice -- the longest day and shortest night for the Northern Hemisphere. For the full story of how an ancient cosmic accident is responsible for our seasons, see: www.fraknoi.com/seasons/frid... #astronomy #astroedu #space #science #seasons #sky #solstice

Amazing star-forming region, the Tarantula #Nebula, 160,000 lightyears away & 600 lightyears wide. Another great composite image produced by noted amateur astronomer #RobGendler. Massive, luminous baby stars help it to glow. #astronomy #astroedu #space #spacephotos #astroimaging #sciencephotos

This coming weekend the summer meeting of the American Astronomical Society #AAS starts. If the administration's budget is passed by Congress, the science of #astronomy will be decimated in the U.S. #astroedu #sciencefunding #UFOs #extraterrestrials #cartoons #sciencecartoons #astronomycartoons

My latest #sciencefiction story "The Lurker" is just out in "The Worlds Within" online magazine: theworldswithin.net/the-lurker/ Just as we send probes to other planets, might advanced aliens not send AI probes to our system? Please check it out. #astronomy #astroedu #SETI #scifi #extraterrestrials

My latest (short) science-fiction story "Eclipsed" was published today. It's about how rare total eclipses might be, not just in the solar system, but the universe. See: bit.ly/eclipsedsfst... #astronomy #astroedu #scifi #sciencefiction #hardsf #hardsciencefiction #eclipses #eclipsechasing

For those who enjoy #StarTrek and fine art, this is a T-shirt you can buy. (I am not involved with the company, just amused.) #astronomy #astroedu #sciencefiction #art #scifi #VanGogh #sciencehumor #astroart #scienceandart

We see the Veil Nebula, a small part of a vast ancient remnant of an exploded star, still glowing with colorful emissions from hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur atoms. #astronomy #astroedu #astrophotography #space #spaceimages #spacephotos #astroimages #NASA #sciencephotos

Today is the birthday (in 1900) of Cecilia Payne, the astronomer who wrote what some historians call the most important PhD thesis in astronomy -- showing that stars were made mostly of hydrogen and helium. #astronomy #astroedu #astronomyhistory #historyofscience #womenastronomers #womeninscience

#Astro4Earth and #debrafischer just posted a 1-min public video: huge cuts in proposed US budget for #NSF and #NASA & about the beauty and value of astronomy, at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZsQ... Please share if you resonate with it. #astronomy #astroedu #space #science #sciencebudget #budgetcuts

Support U.S. Science!

YouTube video by Astronomers for Planet Earth

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Beautiful image by Robert Fesen & collaborators showing a Wolf-Rayet star (WR8) -- a massive star violently letting go its outer layer (blue) against a background of glowing gas. #astronomy #astroedu #astrophotography #space #spacephotography #astroimages #sciencephotos #spacephotos #astrophotos

Complex, beautiful image, assembled by Rob Gendler, from several visible-light & Infrared telescopes, shows the Ring Nebula, with its many shells of material emitted by a dying star. #astronomy #astroedu #space #spacephotos #astroimaging #stars #sciencephotos #astrophotography #spaceimages

Beautiful new #HubbleTelescope image of the "death-shroud nebula" with catalog designation #NGC2899. The central star is giving off its outer layers in dying. What does the cavity in the gas look like to you? #astronomy #astroedu #space #spacephotos #astroimaging #astronomyphotos #sciencephotos