Michael Busch
@michael-w-busch.bsky.social
Planetary astronomer, studying piles of rock in space. Reader of books. Drinker of tea. He/him. This is a personal account. To bigotry no sanction.
It remains way past time to stop letting corporations unilaterally make a mess of the sky. Especially not on the basis of blatant nonsense. Today on the #arXiv: Boley et al. 2026, "Rings in the Sky: Orbital Data Centres and Potential Impacts to Astronomy and the Sky" - arxiv.org/abs/2608.02757
Rings in the Sky: Orbital Data Centres and Potential Impacts to Astronomy and the Sky
Megaconstellations of orbital data centres (ODCs) have the potential to fundamentally change the sky without a concerted mitigation effort. Potential changes include producing large coherent structure...
arxiv.org
On August 3, Michigan reported two deaths associated with its cyclosporiasis outbreak. The state didn't say how either person died, how old they were, or what conditions they had. It did say both had "significant underlying health conditions." That was almost the only detail. 🧵
Who Gets to Feel Relieved When Sick People Die? Michigan Reports Two Deaths in Its Cyclospora Outbreak | Shouldn't Need to Be a Lawyer by Matthew Cortland
nb. CDC has added Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania to the list of Cyclospora outbreak states. I continue to urge caution, this o
shouldntneedtobealawyer.com
Reminder: if you are inside the green or dark green area of this map, watch the ~10 o'clock position of the moon tonight at 2:35am EDT/11:35pm PDT. More info here: https://spaceweather.com/archive.php?day=28&month=07&year=2026&view=view You probably won't […] [Original post on mastodon.social]
Zoom into the COSMOS field with NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory! 🔭🧪 Scientists have studied this field for decades using observatories across the electromagnetic spectrum. Rubin adds a wide-angle view while returning again & again to track changes over time. ➡️ skyviewer.app
BREAKING NEWS! The Senate has paused the OMB rule that would put Trump appointees in charge of federal spending. Next step - Contact your MoC and tell them to permanently REVOKE THE RULE: zurl.co/1SXEN Article: zurl.co/23mF8
Senate finalizes funding patch that would block Trump’s grant overhaul
Language is included to delay the president’s move to put political appointees in charge of grant approval.
zurl.co
We recognize the Minnesota Department of Health and the U's School of Public Health for their work. And I think I will not be eating any raw salsa for a bit. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Chipotle Pulled Jalapeños Tied to Minnesota Salmonella Cases
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. removed jalapeños from multiple stores in Minnesota after learning the peppers may be linked to a salmonella outbreak in the state that’s sickened 110 people.
bloomberg.com
30 million people should be reminding the senior Senator for #Texas that Congress can do its job, #ImpeachTrump, and remove him at any time.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · yesterdayCornyn: "There's nothing we could do to rein in the president"
🚨URGENT ADVOCACY ACTION - We can pause OMB's harmful rewrite of grant rules that insert political appointees into the funding process, but only if enough of us speak up THIS WEEK. 🚨 This is our best shot before senators leave for August recess. Send your letter: www.planetary.org/advocacy-act...
Advocacy Action Center
The Planetary Society is organizing a new space constituency that is educated, empowered, and loud.
planetary.org
"Much of science as we conceptualize it now was built on top of the framings of Verne’s era. Revisiting the exuberance, obliviousness, chauvinism, and optimism of Verne’s science-related worldview offers a useful reminder of where some of our own narratives come from." @mitpress.bsky.social
Jules Verne’s Empty Dream of Spaceflight
In “From the Earth to the Moon,” scientific advancement is treated as destiny — but no one quite asks why.
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
There is "social media as a political bubble" discourse again today. So I again point out how the political affiliations of people I follow range from classical liberalism to anarcho-communism. But that is not the set of opinions that the people complaining about supposed bubbles are thinking of.
Do not allow this or anything like it, #Minnesota. And, yet again, USA: #CloseTheCamps and #AbolishICE.
Sahan Journal@sahanjournal.bsky.social · yesterdayThe former private prison, Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, Minnesota, will reopen this year as a federal immigration detention center for ICE. By Katelyn Vue
This seems relevant to the interests of many people who follow my account.
European Space Agency@esa.int · yesterdayFor World Space Week 2026, we're teaming up with Pokémon to unite space exploration and a universe of imagination. More to come soon. ⚡https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Branding_and_Partnerships/ESA_and_Pokemon_team_up_to_celebrate_World_Space_Week #WorldSpaceWeek2026 #PokemonxESA
July is the last month of darkness at the #southpole, the skies are noticeably getting brighter. Still time for some #aurora, here is a pic from winterover Anjali showing some during the walk from station to the Dark Sector (with a person walking in distance) @NSF @doescience
Anybody at @moderation.bsky.app want to try to explain why they suspended @matthewcort.land, ANOTHER of the most prominent people out here fighting for disabled and marginalized people? Like… are y'all planning to suspend/ban literally every disabled legal scholar/policy worker out here, orrrr…?
ali alkhatib@ali-alkhatib.com · 2d agoanyway, if you're looking for Matthew Cortland, you should sub to their patreon since they're a disabled lawyer evidently getting deplatformed from places.
"Gov. Bob Ferguson’s FEMA aid request hasn’t been granted" www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...
More than 700 to 1,100 structures lost in three Spokane fires; officials searching for 14 people
More than 700 structures have been lost from weekend fires in Spokane County, and another 400 properties need to be further evaluated, officials said at a news conference Monday morning.
spokesman.com
Michigan health officials are reporting the first two deaths caused by the current cyclosporiasis outbreak, the worst ever on record.
#BepiColombo is approaching Mercury 🛰️🌑☀️ And we’re here for it! 🙌 On 3 September, the @esa.int / #JAXA mission will carry out its first arrival manoeuvre, kicking off the Mercury Arrival Phase. Want to watch live on 3 Sept? ️️Stay tuned here and on @science.esa.int for more details on 27 August 🗓️
On Jan. 11, Gregory Bovino watched as his Border Patrol agents dragged a man out of his car at a St. Paul Speedway, knelt on his back until he lost consciousness, and dragged his limp body into the back of a van. The man's name is Orbin Mauricio Henriquez Serrano and this is his story.
Orbin Mauricio Henriquez Serrano survived a violent arrest in St. Paul. It still haunts him. • Minnesota Reformer
The morning of Jan. 11 began for Orbin Mauricio Henriquez Serrano with an ominous warning: The gas light on his Jeep Cherokee was glowing yellow on the dashboard. He didn’t want to go to work at the r...
minnesotareformer.com
I have been gently reminded that I can link to reviews (and probably should, because Marketing), so here's that lovely review. ***runs away*** mastodon.online/@leece@aus.s...
Mastodon
mastodon.online
On August 5, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is predicted to crash onto the Moon. What has crashed on the Moon before? The very first human object to touch the Moon - Luna 2 in 1959. A probe, 3 bombs, and a rocket body! 🧪 🔭
1959: Luna 2 (USSR)
YouTube video by International Astronautical Federation
m.youtube.com
#PPOD: NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured these clouds just after sunset on March 19, 2021, the 3,063rd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission. The image is made up of 21 individual images stitched together and color corrected so that the scene appears as it would to the human eye. 🧪 🔭
Yet again, USA: Require that Congress ensure that the Department of Education operate as it has ordered and that it #ImpeachMcMahon. Instead of allowing anything like this.
Liam Knox@liamknox.bsky.social · 2d agoScoop: The Trump administration is sending a letter to college presidents asking them to pledge a series of policy changes by the end of the year. Unlike last year's Compact, this effort was devised with input from higher ed leaders. Free link to my exclusive: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
I needed a little heart surgery in 2021. It was delayed by a few months because of a wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and the anesthesiologists needing to be handling urgent cases instead of monitoring patients in the cath lab. I could wait. But I keep thinking about everyone who could not.
Yo Seattle SMOKE INCOMING. Worst likely Wed-Thu. Exposure to wildfire smoke harms your health—don't tough it out. Air purifiers are your friend. Many free apps show you local air quality (AQI). Exerting yourself outdoors when it's high is a bad call. Be safe! emeraldcityweather.com/heat-wildfir...
Heat and wildfire smoke set to return to Seattle and Western Washington this week - Emerald City Weather Blog
(I know this is super long but it’s a lot to discuss, but here’s a TL;DR/ “Too Long;
emeraldcityweather.com
But this is as clean & unambiguous a signal that this is, ultimately, a winnable fight as we could hope for. If your university, college, professional association, learned body, etc. has been on the side-lines? This is a sign to every high-powered institutional actor to get in this winnable fight