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There Is No Such Thing as a "Nuclear Scientist". There Are Only Physicists

Let’s bury the dangerous, lazy, and politically convenient idea that there exists a distinct...

The Thirty Meter Telescope May Be Cancelled Not by Ordinary People's Protest, but by Wealthy People's Whim

Astronomy, it seems, finds itself at the mercy of political caprice and economic machinations yet...

NASA Predicts Asteroid 2024 YR4 Might Hit The Moon.

According to observations made by NASA using the James Webb Space Telescope, there is a three point...

Basically No chance 2024 YR4 will hit Earth.

Recent observations have virtually eliminated any concern about an impact from asteroid 2024 YR4...

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Hontas FarmerRSS Feed of this column.

My research focuses on astrophysics from massive star formation to astroparticle physics. Born and raised in Chicagoland I have lived in Bellwood, IL since 1984 and attended public schools here... Read More »

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Oumuamua was hypothesized by Avi Loeb to be an alien probe due to its apparent very flat shape and hyperbolic path through the solar system.  It was almost certainly not an alien probe.  The orbit indicates that it is an object that was never gravitationally bound to the Sun, and it is hard to imagine how a natural asteroid can appear to be quite so flat but while this makes it an odd ball it does not make it a space probe.  How can you as a reader or producer of science know this?  Occam’s razor, given competing explanations that fit the data equally well the simpler one is more likely to be true.  What leads many non-scientists astray is blind “belief” in prestige and expertise.

A Theory of Everything has been the subject of many pages of journals and of much more ink spilled. Sean Carroll makes the point that at low energies, and within a domain of validity that applies to every day physics, we have such a theory already.  Everyday high energy physics, every day astrophysics and of course the physics of your daily life are all well understood.  A Theory of Everything would really be a theory about that singular event from which everything we can know of sprang, the big bang. Also good luck and godspeed to Jim Bridenstine, Lady Gaga inagurated the first Hunger Games Quarter Quell.  I will also expalin why scientists must be political while remaining true to objective scientific facts. 

The following is an evolving news story. It seems that a disgruntled staffer changed the website of the department of state to indicate that the President has resigned. This appears to be false. I have sought comment from the White House, the personnel on the phone had no idea this was even an issue. While a formal comment or press release about this is hopefully going to occur, it can be said that Buzz Feed's reporting is likely accurate. Now it is abundantly clear that the hack of the department of states website was not a leak of any kind. Mike Pence and Donald Trump are going to work together to the end of his term. Per business insider.

Jan 6 th 2020 will be remembered as a day of farce and tragedy in close proximity.  Right now, passions are high, tensions are high.  Right now, is the time when scientist and academics must hew to our basic principles and the principles embodied in the constitution.  Even as leaders, especially but not exclusively Trump, not exclusively Republican fail to do so.  We are voices of reason who the general public greatly respect even when they disagree.  The very rancor of the anti-science people left and right comes from the fact the value what we say.  Their anger comes from the fact that people whose training they understand the value of

Space Force has chosen the term guardians for what to call them.  As in Army soldiers, Navy sailors, Marines…marines.  What gets tricky now a days is calling Airmen, airmen. Some have said that guardians are too sci fi.  The truth is it really is not, and a space focused military force would look like science fiction until it was commonplace.  The name is thoughtful anyone can be a guardian if they have the right stuff.

It is not sexist to avoid calling Jill Biden Doctor Biden in situations where her doctorate is not relevant.