Megan Watzke
@mwatzke.bsky.social
I write about science, particularly space and space-related topics. I've written some books already out there and another is on the way. https://www.arcandwatzke.com/
Scientists keep doing amazing things. current.fas.harvard.edu/stories/clos...
For a closer look at the sun, scientists ready 5,000-pound device for balloon launch
Forget about the ancient Greek myth of Icarus. For the last 10 years, Jenna Samra, Ph.D. ’18, and her colleagues have been pushing technology to fly closer to the hottest part of the sun. Samra, an as...
current.fas.harvard.edu
A new space-"craft" from Chandra, Hubble, and Webb! Remember those colored cellophane sheets that you could layer on top of each other? Here's a cosmic version of the Tarantula Nebula: chandra.si.edu/photo/2026/3...
How well do we know our own Galaxy? New results suggest we need to consider it at arms' length. chandra.si.edu/photo/2026/a...
When the first person quoted is a woman. 🤦♀️ Really, @nytimes.com? I thought we were over this term. We should be.
Dan is the best. We can't keep losing these excellent science journalists.
Andrea Pitzer@andreapitzer.bsky.social · 2mo agoDan is my husband, as well as a phenomenal science reporter and editor with experience at not just SciAm but NatGeo, USAT, BuzzFeed, and Science News, too (and has a background in aerospace engineering to boot). You should definitely hire him. I don't know anyone who hustles more to get a story.
🛰️ ⬇️ 🔥 🌏 ☠️ but wait 🚀 🤖 + 🛰️ ⤴️ will it work? Words by me 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
A spacecraft is falling to its doom — can NASA save it?
A successful rescue of the Swift space observatory could be a good omen for the Hubble Space Telescope.
nature.com
“A single Tomahawk cruise missile runs about $3.6 million, roughly what it takes to fund one scientist’s multiyear grant. The entire National Science Foundation budget is less than what we spent in the first week of the war with Iran.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/20/o...
Opinion | The Science That Turned Lizard Venom Into GLP-1s Is Under Attack
nytimes.com
Want to learn about soccer *and* astrophysics? You're in luck. Our new Cosmic Pitch project does that. chandra.harvard.edu/cosmicpitch/ Posters, videos, and text will explain the connection via physics concepts from the pitch to the cosmos.
If the supernova remnant is confirmed, it would be one of the closest to the supermassive black hole that lies in the center of the Milky Way
NASA spots the possible remains of a massive supernova in the middle of the Milky Way
If the supernova remnant is confirmed, it would be one of the closest to the supermassive black hole that lies in the center of the Milky Way
scientificamerican.com
As a former astronaut, I’ve got high standards for space movies. Here are my favorites.
Despite living in Seattle, our 13 yr old son has been a major Jalen Brunson fan for a few years. See his bookshelf. Needless to say, he’s a happy kid right now.
news.ucsc.edu/2026/06/blac... The press release is here! @blackinastro.bsky.social #BlackInAstro
Celebrating a shared cosmos and advancing Black equity in space science
Black in Astro, co-led by an astronomy postdoc at UC Santa Cruz, welcomes all to join the grassroots organization’s virtual conference to find inspiration and connection in a vibrant global community
news.ucsc.edu
Did a giant space cat step in some x-rays? 🐾 This image of the Cat’s Paw Nebula shows infrared data from #NASAWebb and X-rays from Chandra (in pink). A patch of pink at the center reveals young stars tucked behind thick rings of dark orange cosmic dust: https://bit.ly/4shXmWk
MIT (endowment: $27B) shuttering three of its four main libraries is one of those news items that just knocks you off balance, auguring, as it does, profound and permanent changes to the entire institutional apparatus of higher education in this country.
eileen chengyin chow@chowleen.bsky.social · 3mo ago“I write with dismay, grief and sorrow for the permanent closure of MIT Libraries Barker, Dewey and Rotch, and termination of library staff in those libraries. For MIT to be closing three of its four major libraries..." fnl.mit.edu/may-june-202...
This sucks. @npr laid off Nell Greenfieldboyce today. So few legacy outlets left with science journalists ... www.npr.org/2026/05/27/n...
NPR's newsroom shrinks through buyouts and layoffs
At least 18 NPR journalists have accepted buyouts and another 10 have been laid off as the public media network attempts to save money and reorganize the newsroom.
npr.org
Thanks to Butler's Pantry, the online presence of the Butler Children's Literature Center at Dominican University, for selecting "Why Space Will Freak You Out" for their summer reading list! butlerspantry.org/2026/05/12/b... @kimberlykowal.bsky.social @sbkslibrary.bsky.social
"I have made you a book with a bunch of tidbits on the oddities of the universe," @chanda.blacksky.app said. "The universe is stranger and more queer and more wonderful and more full of possibility than whatever limitations you might be experiencing." www.nytimes.com/2026/05/13/s...
A Physicist Who Thinks in Poetry From the Cosmic Edge
nytimes.com
I wrote about why I space science in this free post on @cosmoquest.org 's patreon.
CosmoQuest@cosmoquest.org · 4mo agoDid you know McDonald’s advertising budget is larger than NASA’s astrophysics budget? You don’t go into science for the money. We went into it for the stories. patreon.cosmoquest.org/posts/why-we...
Martin Weisskopf, who helped shape modern X-ray astronomy and was the Chandra Project Scientist for many years, died last week at the age of 84. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that people write letters of support to sustain the mission. www.berryhillfh.com/obituaries/m...
Martin Charles Weisskopf Obituary May 2, 2026 - Berryhill Funeral Home & Crematory
View Martin Charles Weisskopf's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.
berryhillfh.com
How can people critically evaluate disinformation and misinformation if they literally don't know how to read at an adult level?
So happy about the perfect landing & safe return of the Artemis II astronauts. They showed us so much beauty and wonder this week when we needed it most. Congratulations to everyone involved in this historic mission!
NASASpaceflight.com@nasaspaceflight.com · 5mo agoARTEMIS II: SPLASHDOWN! Welcome home, astronauts! youtube.com/live/_veRvxj...
Another master class in offering a positive vision for public service
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani@mayor.nyc.gov · 5mo agoEver wonder how to get rid of a mattress? Or how to find resources for a neighbor in need? Call 311. 311 is contacted 100,000 times every day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. No call is too small. So on the anniversary of 311 (3/11), I decided to answer some of those calls myself.
The other day, my 12-year-old daughter called something “hidiotic” meaning a combo of “hideous” and “idiotic”— thus creating the perfect word for our times.
Thrilled to get such a positive review for "Why Space Will Freak You Out" from @slj.com! “Informative and attention-grabbing…this book will delight and attract children who enjoy scary stories and outer space.” @kimberlykowal.bsky.social & @sourcebooks.bsky.social
TIL Before her astronaut career, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, circa 2006, worked as an Electrical Engineer in SAO's Central Engineering Division developing X-ray detectors. SAO is part of the Center for Astrophysics -- the people that built Chandra.
With journalism struggling to survive, can someone explain why *any* resources need to go to a story like this? OK, why would you need to do this even if independent journalism was thriving?
The New York Times@nytimes.com · 5mo agoWant to look like a billion dollars? A spate of popular social media accounts offer tips on how their followers can project wealth, even if they don’t have much money.