Keith Smith
@drkeithsmith.bsky.social
PhD, occasional astronomer, talking head, science geek, cynic. Senior Editor at @Science.org, responsible for research papers in astronomy and planetary science. Views own, duh. Bio: https://www.science.org/content/author/keith-t-smith
Reposted by Keith Smith
It’s a long shot, but scientists may have spotted exotic primordial black holes formed just after the Big Bang. https://scim.ag/43QhxBD
Curious gravitational wave may hint at primordial black holes—or just be noise
Astronomers approach unusual observation with caution and excitement
scim.ag
November 24, 2025 at 11:30 PM
It’s a long shot, but scientists may have spotted exotic primordial black holes formed just after the Big Bang. https://scim.ag/43QhxBD
Did no-one tell the players that the Ashes are in Test format? Eng 172 all out, Aus 123-9, all in the first day.
November 21, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Did no-one tell the players that the Ashes are in Test format? Eng 172 all out, Aus 123-9, all in the first day.
Reposted by Keith Smith
New from me for @science.org: A major planetary science conference will require submitted abstracts to comply with Trump's anti-DEI executive orders.
This conference, LPSC, is a big deal. It's been running since 1970 and is one of the biggest planetary science conferences out there. 🧪🔭
This conference, LPSC, is a big deal. It's been running since 1970 and is one of the biggest planetary science conferences out there. 🧪🔭
‘This is censorship.’ Conference requires abstracts to comply with Trump anti-DEI order
NASA-funded planetary science institute previously scrubbed hundreds of records from its archive
www.science.org
November 20, 2025 at 7:12 PM
New from me for @science.org: A major planetary science conference will require submitted abstracts to comply with Trump's anti-DEI executive orders.
This conference, LPSC, is a big deal. It's been running since 1970 and is one of the biggest planetary science conferences out there. 🧪🔭
This conference, LPSC, is a big deal. It's been running since 1970 and is one of the biggest planetary science conferences out there. 🧪🔭
A giant impact between proto-Earth and a planet called Theia produced the Moon. Hopp et al. use isotopic measurements of lunar samples and cosmochemical modelling to show that Theia formed in the inner Solar System, probably closer to the Sun than Earth. ☄️ #planetsci
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The Moon-forming impactor Theia originated from the inner Solar System
The Moon formed from a giant impact of a planetary body, called Theia, with proto-Earth. It is unknown whether Theia formed in the inner or outer Solar System. We measured iron isotopes in lunar sampl...
www.science.org
November 20, 2025 at 8:52 PM
A giant impact between proto-Earth and a planet called Theia produced the Moon. Hopp et al. use isotopic measurements of lunar samples and cosmochemical modelling to show that Theia formed in the inner Solar System, probably closer to the Sun than Earth. ☄️ #planetsci
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Keith Smith
Editors have a really hard job, and the good ones can make something unreadable readable, and the great ones can make something unreadable into something good. But they're basically invisible, until someone tries to write without one.
November 17, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Editors have a really hard job, and the good ones can make something unreadable readable, and the great ones can make something unreadable into something good. But they're basically invisible, until someone tries to write without one.
Reposted by Keith Smith
Giant telescope project, long planned for Hawaii, gets cozy with Spain | Science | AAAS 🔭🧪 @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...
Giant telescope project, long planned for Hawaii, gets cozy with Spain
Spain’s €400 million offer could induce Thirty Meter Telescope to switch sites
www.science.org
November 17, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Giant telescope project, long planned for Hawaii, gets cozy with Spain | Science | AAAS 🔭🧪 @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...
UK science and technology is suffering from a lack of investment, a hostile immigration system, and fragile university finances, reports @cathleenogrady.bsky.social 🧪 #scipolicy
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
U.K. science sector is ‘bleeding to death,’ lawmakers say in report
House of Lords committee urges government to stem exodus of science and technology companies
www.science.org
November 10, 2025 at 10:08 PM
UK science and technology is suffering from a lack of investment, a hostile immigration system, and fragile university finances, reports @cathleenogrady.bsky.social 🧪 #scipolicy
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Keith Smith
November 10, 2025 at 6:46 PM
🔭 ☄️ #instrumentation
Blue Skies Space will sell data from its tiny, low-cost UV telescope. https://scim.ag/47B6eyc
Startup pioneers subscription service for space-based astronomy
Blue Skies Space will sell data from its tiny, low-cost UV telescope
scim.ag
November 7, 2025 at 5:45 PM
🔭 ☄️ #instrumentation
Reposted by Keith Smith
Vital piece of investigative reporting from Sky. They've uncovered the X algorithm which feeds users extremist right wing material from the moment they join the site. It is a far-right radicalisation engine, by design.
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
news.sky.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Vital piece of investigative reporting from Sky. They've uncovered the X algorithm which feeds users extremist right wing material from the moment they join the site. It is a far-right radicalisation engine, by design.
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
No astronomy per se in this week's issue of @science.org, but there is a fascinating study by Pavia et al. that uses cosmic dust to trace sea ice coverage in the Arctic. 3He from micrometeorites records when the ocean was ice free, over the last 30,000 years. 🧪🌊
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
November 6, 2025 at 7:33 PM
No astronomy per se in this week's issue of @science.org, but there is a fascinating study by Pavia et al. that uses cosmic dust to trace sea ice coverage in the Arctic. 3He from micrometeorites records when the ocean was ice free, over the last 30,000 years. 🧪🌊
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Keith Smith
The horror of the night sky being destroyed by Starlink (and other LEO) satellites.
Still from time-lapse video of comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) by Michael Jäger and Gerald Rhemann.
Video at spaceweathergallery2.com/indiv_upload...
Cleaned up images at skyweek.wordpress.com/2025/10/
#Astronomy #Comet
Still from time-lapse video of comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) by Michael Jäger and Gerald Rhemann.
Video at spaceweathergallery2.com/indiv_upload...
Cleaned up images at skyweek.wordpress.com/2025/10/
#Astronomy #Comet
October 28, 2025 at 2:20 PM
The horror of the night sky being destroyed by Starlink (and other LEO) satellites.
Still from time-lapse video of comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) by Michael Jäger and Gerald Rhemann.
Video at spaceweathergallery2.com/indiv_upload...
Cleaned up images at skyweek.wordpress.com/2025/10/
#Astronomy #Comet
Still from time-lapse video of comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) by Michael Jäger and Gerald Rhemann.
Video at spaceweathergallery2.com/indiv_upload...
Cleaned up images at skyweek.wordpress.com/2025/10/
#Astronomy #Comet
Editor's choice: Some spiral galaxies have a central bar feature. How do those form? Ewa Łokas uses cosmological simulations to show that bars can form after a flyby encounter with another galaxy. ☄️ #extragalactic
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Image of NGC 5335 from esahubble.org/images/heic2...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Image of NGC 5335 from esahubble.org/images/heic2...
In Other Journals
Editors’ selections from the current scientific literature
www.science.org
October 30, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Editor's choice: Some spiral galaxies have a central bar feature. How do those form? Ewa Łokas uses cosmological simulations to show that bars can form after a flyby encounter with another galaxy. ☄️ #extragalactic
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Image of NGC 5335 from esahubble.org/images/heic2...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Image of NGC 5335 from esahubble.org/images/heic2...
Construction of the 40-m China-Argentina Radio Telescope (CART) has halted, when already 90% complete.
The facility is caught up in Argentine president Javier Milei's attempt to secure an economic aid package from the US, which objects to China's involvement. 🔭
www.science.org/content/arti...
The facility is caught up in Argentine president Javier Milei's attempt to secure an economic aid package from the US, which objects to China's involvement. 🔭
www.science.org/content/arti...
Argentina’s move to woo Trump has derailed South America’s largest radio telescope
U.S.-Chinese tensions have left nearly complete observatory in limbo, jeopardizing research into pulsars and other celestial objects
www.science.org
October 29, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Construction of the 40-m China-Argentina Radio Telescope (CART) has halted, when already 90% complete.
The facility is caught up in Argentine president Javier Milei's attempt to secure an economic aid package from the US, which objects to China's involvement. 🔭
www.science.org/content/arti...
The facility is caught up in Argentine president Javier Milei's attempt to secure an economic aid package from the US, which objects to China's involvement. 🔭
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Keith Smith
🚨Important announcement🚨
The @royalastrosoc.bsky.social is seeking to appoint a new Editor-in-Chief of Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society to provide outstanding leadership to the Journal and its Editorial Board. 🔭🪐
Want to find out more or apply?👇
ras.ac.uk/mnras-eic
The @royalastrosoc.bsky.social is seeking to appoint a new Editor-in-Chief of Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society to provide outstanding leadership to the Journal and its Editorial Board. 🔭🪐
Want to find out more or apply?👇
ras.ac.uk/mnras-eic
October 29, 2025 at 2:42 PM
🚨Important announcement🚨
The @royalastrosoc.bsky.social is seeking to appoint a new Editor-in-Chief of Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society to provide outstanding leadership to the Journal and its Editorial Board. 🔭🪐
Want to find out more or apply?👇
ras.ac.uk/mnras-eic
The @royalastrosoc.bsky.social is seeking to appoint a new Editor-in-Chief of Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society to provide outstanding leadership to the Journal and its Editorial Board. 🔭🪐
Want to find out more or apply?👇
ras.ac.uk/mnras-eic
Reposted by Keith Smith
A new genetic study in Science overturns the myth of the “London Underground Mosquito,” revealing that this common urban insect originated not below the cities of modern Europe, but in ancient Mediterranean civilizations more than a thousand years ago. https://scim.ag/43xWovB
Ancient origin of an urban underground mosquito
Understanding how life is adapting to urban environments represents an important challenge in evolutionary biology. In this work, we investigate a widely cited example of urban adaptation, Culex pipie...
scim.ag
October 28, 2025 at 7:38 PM
A new genetic study in Science overturns the myth of the “London Underground Mosquito,” revealing that this common urban insect originated not below the cities of modern Europe, but in ancient Mediterranean civilizations more than a thousand years ago. https://scim.ag/43xWovB
In @science.org Expert Voices, @e-astronomer.bsky.social discusses the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which is currently passing through the Solar System. Where did it come from, and why is it exciting?
Spoiler: it’s not aliens.
☄️ #planetsci
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Spoiler: it’s not aliens.
☄️ #planetsci
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Interstellar visitors: Smoking and nonsmoking
As a third interstellar visitor, the comet 3I/ATLAS, has entered the Solar System, there is a huge community effort underway to study it.
www.science.org
October 23, 2025 at 10:11 PM
In @science.org Expert Voices, @e-astronomer.bsky.social discusses the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which is currently passing through the Solar System. Where did it come from, and why is it exciting?
Spoiler: it’s not aliens.
☄️ #planetsci
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Spoiler: it’s not aliens.
☄️ #planetsci
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A reminder that @science.org is a learned society journal, owned & published by the non-profit @aaas.org. It's green open access, with no article processing fees for authors - compatible with all major funder mandates. All subscription revenue is reinvested in science, not paid to shareholders.
🔭⚛️🧪
🔭⚛️🧪
October 17, 2025 at 11:27 AM
A reminder that @science.org is a learned society journal, owned & published by the non-profit @aaas.org. It's green open access, with no article processing fees for authors - compatible with all major funder mandates. All subscription revenue is reinvested in science, not paid to shareholders.
🔭⚛️🧪
🔭⚛️🧪
☄️ #planetsci
An analysis of martian dust devils shows the planet’s near-surface horizontal winds are stronger than previously thought.
Learn more in #ScienceAdvances: https://scim.ag/48ux7Gc
Learn more in #ScienceAdvances: https://scim.ag/48ux7Gc
October 15, 2025 at 6:29 PM
☄️ #planetsci
Reposted by Keith Smith
This year’s Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences has gone to three researchers who revealed how innovation drives economic growth. https://scim.ag/4745XUd
Economics Nobel celebrates researchers who showed how science and technology drive growth
Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt explained why the last two centuries have seen sustained economic growth rather than stagnation
www.science.org
October 13, 2025 at 2:18 PM
This year’s Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences has gone to three researchers who revealed how innovation drives economic growth. https://scim.ag/4745XUd
Reposted by Keith Smith
Do we really want 250,000 mirrored satellites in Low Earth Orbit? Hasn't the Starlink megaconstellation already done enough damage?
🧪 @mjibrown.bsky.social
🧪 @mjibrown.bsky.social
A US startup plans to deliver ‘sunlight on demand’ after dark. Can it work – and would we want it to?
Satellites beaming sunlight down to Earth sound like science fiction – and they have astronomers very worried.
theconversation.com
October 10, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Do we really want 250,000 mirrored satellites in Low Earth Orbit? Hasn't the Starlink megaconstellation already done enough damage?
🧪 @mjibrown.bsky.social
🧪 @mjibrown.bsky.social
How can we tell what's inside an #exoplanet? @timlichtenberg.bsky.social et al review how a planet's atmosphere interacts with its interior. Atmospheric observations can distinguish between lava worlds, water worlds, temperate surfaces or supercritical interiors. ☄️
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
October 9, 2025 at 6:20 PM
How can we tell what's inside an #exoplanet? @timlichtenberg.bsky.social et al review how a planet's atmosphere interacts with its interior. Atmospheric observations can distinguish between lava worlds, water worlds, temperate surfaces or supercritical interiors. ☄️
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Keith Smith
In an analysis of 1.2 million news stories about scholarly research, men-led papers were found to receive more attention overall and were heavily overrepresented in the top 5% of most covered studies. https://scim.ag/4o7l5a5
When women researchers publish, media attention doesn’t always follow
Men-led papers receive more media coverage than women’s, new study finds
scim.ag
October 9, 2025 at 4:16 PM
In an analysis of 1.2 million news stories about scholarly research, men-led papers were found to receive more attention overall and were heavily overrepresented in the top 5% of most covered studies. https://scim.ag/4o7l5a5
Editor's choice: little red dots (LRDs) are compact distant galaxies with unusual properties, of uncertain origin. Taylor et al. have found an LRD at redshift 9.2, and show it contains a supermassive black hole >5% of the stellar mass in the galaxy. ☄️ #extragalactic
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
October 8, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Editor's choice: little red dots (LRDs) are compact distant galaxies with unusual properties, of uncertain origin. Taylor et al. have found an LRD at redshift 9.2, and show it contains a supermassive black hole >5% of the stellar mass in the galaxy. ☄️ #extragalactic
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Keith Smith
Please don't vandalise @wikipedia.org. It's one of the most useful resources ever produced. Don't deliberately damage it.
You might think you're just having a laugh, but you're making the encyclopaedia worse for everyone else, and wasting the time of other users who have to tidy up after you.
You might think you're just having a laugh, but you're making the encyclopaedia worse for everyone else, and wasting the time of other users who have to tidy up after you.
October 7, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Please don't vandalise @wikipedia.org. It's one of the most useful resources ever produced. Don't deliberately damage it.
You might think you're just having a laugh, but you're making the encyclopaedia worse for everyone else, and wasting the time of other users who have to tidy up after you.
You might think you're just having a laugh, but you're making the encyclopaedia worse for everyone else, and wasting the time of other users who have to tidy up after you.