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Chelsea Whyte

@chelswhyte.bsky.social

2.7K followers 250 following 120 posts

US editor at New Scientist. Co-host of Dead Planets Society podcast

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Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Jun 14

Who wouldn't? Break open all the moons!!

Reposted by Chelsea Whyte

Karmela Padavic-Callaghan (they/them) @kpc.bsky.social · Jun 13

@chelswhyte.bsky.social went to see the Vera Rubin observatory and though I am known space hater, I could not be more excited for all we are about to see in the night sky www.newscientist.com/article/2483...

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is about to totally transform astronomy

With the ability to scan the entire southern night sky every three days, the huge Vera C. Rubin Observatory could be about to start solving the mysteries of the universe, from dark matter to Planet Ni...

www.newscientist.com

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Apr 28

ok i've been curious about it but now i'm afraid it will steal all my brainpower (what little i have)

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Apr 12

Yeah I went down a few Reddit threads hoping for an answer before I came back here. I really hope someone around here knows!

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Apr 12

What a curious expression. Do you know where it came from?

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Mar 26

This is all reminding me of that convo you had on Never Post like a year ago about when an email is important enough to use your computer vs the phone

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Mar 20

don't worry bout it, time isn't real

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Mar 19

Fair enough! Thanks for the chat, always nice to hear from scientists on their experiences with journalism

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Mar 19

I understand that position, and I'm curious how you feel about someone writing a story about a pre-print of yours without including your voice in it? Is a that a concern? I could see how it might not be, I'm just curious how it looks from your point of view

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Mar 19

Definitely. I'm mostly curious if researchers tend to prepare to talk about a pre-print the same way they would a paper, or if you see them as different enough to require different prep

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Mar 19

We should start with multiple infinities and go from there (ha)

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Mar 19

One of the problems, which I suffered myself, is that people are taught from a young age that maths is too hard or too boring for them. But when you get into it you find out it's so creative and amazing and delightful. But getting readers there can be tough! Worth keeping at it though :)

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Mar 19

Yeah, I totally get that. Our readers absolutely love maths stories, but explaining the incremental (though important) advances can be tough to get readers engaged, so it often tends towards the bigger findings or those with wider implications

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Mar 19

Yes, that's been my experience, too. Still, I find some scientists seem surprised we would read the arxiv and report on it at all, though plenty of people are willing to chat once we explain that's common in our line of work. It's just a difference in how we view pre-prints, I've noticed

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Mar 19

I'd be curious if you have thoughts to share on pre-prints, as that's often where I've seen friction. I've come across scientists who suggest a pre-print isn't published, as it hasn't been in a journal. While my colleagues and I see it as public information that has indeed been published.

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Mar 19

From the point of view of a journalist, this is fantastic and covers so many common misunderstandings of how the journalism side of things works.

Reposted by Chelsea Whyte

Jacob Aron @jjaron.bsky.social · Feb 20

Absolutely shocking and very worrying from NOAA www.newscientist.com/article/2469...

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Feb 11

When I was a kid I got banned from my school library for reading 6th grade books in 3rd grade so my mom took me to the city library and said I could take out any book I wanted

Reposted by Chelsea Whyte

Jacob Aron @jjaron.bsky.social · Feb 11

We've got a great special report on quantum computing this week. First up, @kpc.bsky.social runs through all the big players in this growing industry, and asks who will be the first to make a machine that actually does something useful? www.newscientist.com/article/2467...

Quantum computers have finally arrived, but will they ever be useful?

Hundreds of quantum computing firms around the world are racing to commercialise these once-exotic devices, but the jury is still out on who is going to pull ahead and produce a machine that actually ...

www.newscientist.com

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Feb 10

The only disappointment here is the Dead Planets Society part of me, which wants the asteroid to crack the moon entirely in half

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Feb 10

Listen, do I want the looming asteroid to hit anything? No, not deep down in my heart. But if it must, can it please hit the moon?? The DRAMATICS! The new crater! We could possibly see the explosion of impact!

www.newscientist.com/article/2467...

There’s a tiny chance the asteroid headed for Earth could hit the moon

If asteroid 2024 YR4 does smash down on the lunar surface, the explosion might be visible from Earth and would leave a new crater on the near side of the moon

www.newscientist.com

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Feb 10

If you were tested for flu, I think it would show up as influenza A, though it would take further testing to determine if it was H5N1

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Feb 5

plus a shocking amount of information about, let's see here, Trigger's broom in Only Fools And Horses? what is happening

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Feb 5

They have favorite things to be part of. Does that mean some of your atoms hate you? Yes.

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Jan 31

d) a mime getting ready to juggle
e) you drying your nails after a manicure
f) the beginning of a werewolf transformation