Brad Snowder @Skywise@octodon.social

Ironically it was not big and not a bang. The theory is that there was a minuscule primal belching forth of the entire essential underlying effluvium that constitutes energy and matter and time and space, and what not.

Hey, worship whichever god floats your boat, although it seems to me Poseidon would be ideal in that particular case.

The galaxy M105 is hideous. Like bad coffee and no Internet. Don't look at it.

M96 is okay I suppose, if you happen to like face-on spirals of hundreds of billions of stars displaying a full array of the myriad stages of stellar evolution.

M65 and M66 in Leo are two galaxies preparing to merge. Galaxies do this all the time, just like banks. Once they've signed off on the relative momenta of their investments they will combine assets and enjoy subsequent dividends, the birth of new star systems (real estate).

M13 is one of the all-time best globular clusters. It has more than 300,000 stars all living in one house. It's like if the Brady Bunch kept having kids and none of them died for billions of years.

In 1974 Carl Sagan orchestrated an effort to send a radio transmission towards M13 that cryptically describes the Earth's location and the nature of human biology. The message will reach any aliens there in about 25,000 years.

Look on Hercules' right side, which is actually his left side. You will see a faint fuzzy blob, M13. In binoculars it will appear as a slightly brighter fuzzy blob.

The biggest mystery in astronomy is why Orion wears a belt but no pants.

Look for Hercules in the summer sky. His torso is a keystone-shaped thing which astronomers call "The Keystone-Shaped Thing."

In the constellation Vulpecula, near the business end of the Swan, is M27 the Dumbbell Nebula, which is totally shaped like an apple core.

Gravity organizes the universe and it does so with great patience.

The summer star Altair is the one they go to in Forbidden Planet. They should remake that movie. "I'm tired of these MF'ing monsters on this MF'ing planet!"

When observing a planetary nebula if a star hopper asks "Does it look green tonight? Does it look green to you?" Always answer "Yes, it looks quite green to me."

Part of science is like preparing a beautiful feast. Part of it is like doing the dishes. Guess which part we get to do today?

Speaking of summer stars, I really like the Coathanger (Brocchi's Cluster) in the constellation Vulpecula. It can be a bit tricky to find but once you see it in binoculars you will absolutely know you found it. It really does look like a tiny coathanger.

The North American Nebula is shaped like North America with Florida being attacked by a giant pelican.

If you have a test in astronomy and there's a question you don't know the answer to, just write "It depends on the mass."

The bright star Algol does dim for a few hours about every three days. The ancient practice was to wear a hat during this time to avoid the influence of an "unlucky star."

There's a star in Perseus named Algol, which literally means The Ghoul but a more appropriate translation is Demon. It's not so much an eater of the dead as it is a general agent of evil. Not as aggressive as a Balrog from the 9th level, more like a clerk or an intern on the 7th.