First, yes, i am a real live astronomer when people ask me what astronomers do, i tell them they astronom. Censorship science ive been banned from posting comments on the aptly named censorship advocacy website bad astronomy. Soonish dr kelly weinersmith, zach weinersmith bok. He has written two books, bad astronomy and death from the skies. Phil plait had no logical or scientific response to my questions so rather than attempt to answer them persuasively he just deleted the questions. Jan 15, 2015 welcome to the first episode of crash course astronomy. Phil plait, at the bad astronomy blog is celebrating carl sagan day. George church, harvard university space elevators, gold asteroids, and fusion. He has also appeared in several science documentaries, including phil plait s bad universe on the discovery channel. The talk then branches off into a dissection of hollywood movies, using specific clips from wellknown movies.
Phil plait writes slates bad astronomy blog and is an astronomer, public speaker, science evangelizer. Ive noticed over the years that internet traffic in general drops precipitously on this day, so as a scientist i can assure you that the odds youre reading this right now are very low. Shutterstock jurik peter in a paper just published on the astronomy preprint server called arxiv, a group of astronomers has made an astonishing claim. Philip plait is an astronomer who also runs the excellent bad astronomy website. Welcome to our new pup, whom we brought home today. If im on twitter, why be surprised that i use other s. Sep 22, 2018 in phil plait s excellent book, bad astronomy, 5 mr. Jul 28, 2017 artwork depicting a gas giant exoplanet with a gas giant exomoon. Phil plait is behind the bad astronomy on slate, where he deconstructs misconceptions and explores the wonder of the universe. Who is this guy who calls himself the bad astronomer. Her work in astronomy ushered in a revolution in how we saw the universe.
He formerly worked at the physics and astronomy department at sonoma state university. In the pictures taken of the lunar lander by the astronauts, the tv show continues, there is no blast crater. Welcome to the first episode of crash course astronomy. Sep 24, 20 phil plait, who goes by the name of the bad astronomer, has now written three articles in slate attacking two of my columns in the wall street journal on the topic of climate change. Death from the skies these are the ways the world will end. I didnt find his first book very engaging, and the strident skeptical tone that he sometimes adopts in that book and his blog is completely absent here. I know that acquiring that type of collegelevel knowledge and expertise takes time. Besides new material on old bad astronomy, there is also quite a bit of new bad astronomy. The seasons are caused by the change in the distance of the earth to the sun.
November 9 is the 76th anniversary of carl sagans birth, and is celebrated across the globe as carl sagan day in general, places that celebrate the day do so on the saturday previous. Your host for this intergalactic adventure is the bad astronomer himself, phil plait. As i wrote earlier, florida creationists are trying to dumbify students by putting forward a bill that lets students say the earth is 6000 years old, and the teachers cant mark. The sun is sending them out in all directions though, to be fair, more along the suns equator than at the poles, which well ignore, and your little net is. They have found evidence of the possible existence of an exomoon, a moon orbiting a planet orbiting another star. Plait points out that very simple math shows that our noncircular orbit counts for at most a 7f 4c difference, summer or winter. The idea is that if an exoplanet has a moon, you might see an irregularity in the transit data, an extra dip before or after the main one, if the moon leads or trails the planet at the time of the transit. Jan 12, 2015 phil plait writes slates bad astronomy blog and is an astronomer, public speaker, science evangelizer, and author of death from the skies. A guy in canada fell asleep in such a way that he developed a serious condition in his leg. Whats six miles wide and can end civilization in an instant.
He has also appeared in several science documentaries, including phil plaits bad universe and how the universe works on the discovery ch. Jul 14, 2016 phil plait writes slates bad astronomy blog and is an astronomer, public speaker, science evangelizer, and author of death from the skies. The change in distance of the earth to the sun is a very minor player. Im also a writer, and in fact in mid2007 i decided to write fulltime about astronomy. A rocket capable of landing on the moon should have burned out a huge crater on the surface, yet there is nothing there. Appalled that millions of americans dont believe in the moon landing, or that an egg stands on its end only on the vernal equinox, plait hilariously spills the truth and infor.
He debunks myths and misconceptions about astronomy. Introduction to bad astronomy debunking common misconceptions stay safe and healthy. Bad astronomy is phil plaits answer to dozens of myths and misconceptions people have about stars, the moon, the planets, meteorites, asteroids, comets, the universe, and the observers of all those things. Black holes growing faster than expected democratic. Bad astronomy by philip plait goodreads share book. I was amused the other day to get a message on twitter that basically said the writer was surprised i was on facebook. He subtitled misconceptions and misuses revealed, from astrology to the moon landing hoax, this book discusses misconceptions related to astronomy. There are chapters about ufos, astrology and creationism, why you cant see stars during the day, and why small meteorites are cold when they hit the ground, not hot. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. This is my last post for the bad astronomy blog on discover magazine. Its more than 100 times wider than the earth, and more than a million earths would fit inside it.
The seasons are mostly due to the axial tilt of the earth. Plait has worked as part of the hubble space telescope team, images and spectra of astronomical objects, as well as engaging in public outreach advocacy for nasa missions. Phil plait writes slates bad astronomy blog and is an astronomer, public speaker, science evangelizer, and author of death from the skies. Bad astronomy page 386 of 7 discover magazine blogs. Dec 27, 2016 vera rubin, a pioneering astronomer who discovered dark matter, has died. The reply to the bad astronomer phil plait that slate. Philip cary plait, also known as the bad astronomer, is an american astronomer, skeptic, writer and popular science blogger. Plaits bad astronomy blog, then you are already aware that hes an excellent writer and adept at explaining complex topics simply. My columns, and responses to critics are here and here. Bad astronomy more evidence piles up that were seeing an. I have no problem with mr plait disagreeing with me, but i am a little taken aback by his name.
Phil plait, astronomer, author, writer of the bad astronomy blog playful, yet deep dr. The bad astronomer is an astronomer and skeptic who runs the website. Phil plait, who goes by the name of the bad astronomer, has now written three articles in slate attacking two of my columns in the wall street journal on the topic of climate change. When someone driving a car pulls into a parking spot.
Which is no excuse for dialing in some lazy attempt at a short, droll, photoladen leasteffort article. If a little kid ever asks you just why the sky is blue, you look him or her right in the eye and say, its because of quantum effects involving rayleigh scattering combined with a lack of violet photon receptors in our retinae. Misconceptions and misuses revealed, from astrology to the moon landing hoax by philip c. In addition to setting the record straight on hundreds of astronomical errors, he also gives us a lesson on human perception, with and without the aid of lenses and mirrors. Oct 03, 2018 in a paper published in 2017, astronomers reported analyzing known exoplanet data to look for exomoons. Now, i know i shouldnt expect to be able to speak fluent chemistry gibberish after reading a couple of books overnight. Plait sets the record straight on many modern hoaxes and myths. From august 2008 through 2009, he served as president of the james randi educational foundation. Mar 01, 2002 philip plait is an astronomer who also runs the excellent bad astronomy website. You should read this book, sooner than soonish alexis ohanian, cofounder of reddit i love this book so much i 3d printed myself a second heart so i could love it more dr.