Patricia Daukantas, Science Writer/Editor

08/12/2026

08/12/2026

If you've ever wondered just how dark the sky gets during a total solar eclipse, here's a new article in Applied Optics that studies the issue in detail: https://opg.optica.org/ao/fulltext.cfm?uri=ao-65-9-C66.

And if you're trying to view today's eclipse from one of the areas of partial eclipse, DO NOT STARE DIRECTLY AT THE SUN!!! Use the pinhole projection method or a pair of "eclipse glasses" left over from the total solar eclipse of April 2024.

I'm in a place where the sun will be only 4% covered, so I'm not getting too excited over it...

08/11/2026

I'm hoping this launch is by-the-book successful, just like JWST's launch!

One step closer to deep space discoveries!🚀🔭

Teams have begun integrating Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope with SpaceX hardware ahead of launch targeted for no earlier than 7:26 am EDT on Sunday, Aug. 30.

Roman is set to explore dark energy, dark matter, and look for exoplanets. https://go.nasa.gov/4cAa9hV

04/23/2026

For my friends who live with ME/CFS or long covid.

A disease like chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME), can fundamentally change a person's life.

04/23/2026

All these wavelengths make up the sunlight you see every day.

This looks like a rainbow… but it’s actually the Sun broken into its ingredients 🌈☀️

This high-resolution spectrum shows sunlight spread out by wavelength, from about 400 to 700 nanometers. Each dark line you see is where specific elements in the Sun absorb light, leaving behind a kind of fingerprint.

The data come from observations with the Fourier Transform Spectrometer at NSF Kitt Peak National Observatory, turning sunlight into something we can read and study in detail.

📸 N.A. Sharp/KPNO/NOIRLab/NSO/NSF/AURA

04/23/2026

Congratulations to these scientists from my physics alma mater!!!!