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squigglyvolcano.bsky.social
Award-Winning Science Journalist | Volcanology PhD | Stories in @nytimes @sciam @NatGeo etc | Author: SUPER VOLCANOES 🌋 and HOW TO KILL AN ASTEROID 🚀☄️💥☠️
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here's my review (in the february issue of bbc sky at night magazine) of one of the best popsci books i've read in quite a while (by @squigglyvolcano.bsky.social) 🔭

submitted 7 days ago • 1 comment

psst hey, you We’re very happy that the asteroid is all but certain to miss Earth in 2032. But it’s still got a 1% chance of hitting the Moon, and that would be awesome. Come on, 2024 YR4. Give us the lunar fireworks show we all deserve!

submitted 18 days ago • 1 comment

NEW: asteroid 2024 YR4 has a 3.1% chance of striking Earth in 2032—a new record for a dangerously sized asteroid. The odds will likely drop eventually. But if they don’t, this is what might happen if the space rock strikes water, or land. Me @NYTScience www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/s...

submitted 20 days ago • 1 comment

NEW: asteroid 2024 YR4 has a 3.1% chance of striking Earth in 2032—a new record for a dangerously sized asteroid. The odds will likely drop eventually. But if they don’t, this is what might happen if the space rock strikes water, or land. Me @NYTScience www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/s...

submitted 20 days ago • 1 comment

I don’t have any cellular service where I am right now, but via WiFi: asteroid 2024 YR4 now has a 3.1% chance of striking Earth in 2032. That’s a new record for a dangerously sized asteroid! I prepped a story for this moment that should pop up soon.

submitted 20 days ago • 0 comments

That people are effectively taking bets on Earth’s chance of being hit by a nearby asteroid is a reason to be genuinely optimistic about the future of the world, writes @squigglyvolcano.bsky.social:

submitted 27 days ago • 35 comments

Asteroid 2024 YR4 will probably stop being a threat very soon but until then, many people are planning how to face it. This is an exclusive look at what’s happening. Thanks to @esa.int and @squigglyvolcano.bsky.social for the insights! 🔭🧪

submitted 27 days ago • 1 comment

The threat of an asteroid crashing into Earth isn't just a favorite sci-fi storyline - it's reality. But just how likely is it that a "city-killer" will strike Earth? We discuss with science journalist @squigglyvolcano.bsky.social, author of "HOW TO KILL AN ASTEROID" https://buff.ly/3QizS2N

submitted 27 days ago • 0 comments

Also, when 2024 YR4 has been observed for long enough, it'll get a cool name, right? My vote? "Caleuche". It was discovered by a telescope in Chile, and in Chilote mythology, Caleuche was a ghost ship. Apt, given 2024 YR4 snuck up on us then vanished, the sneaky space rock.

submitted 27 days ago • 1 comment

NEW: Asteroid 2024 YR4 may threaten Earth. It won't be the last. But, there's good news: we're about to get two new anti-asteroid weapons. For @theatlantic.com, I wrote about Vera Rubin Observatory and NEO Surveyor—and how both will make the world safer. www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...

submitted 27 days ago • 1 comment

Right, I'm off on a travel adventure for a few weeks. Back in March! But before then, just one more story...

submitted 27 days ago • 0 comments

Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! You can try to silence or erase us, but we aren’t going anywhere. We will keep fighting and being awesome 😤

submitted 27 days ago • 6 comments

hey everyone, quick, let’s introduce a bill to rename a random place in America as “fart mountain”, quick!!

submitted 27 days ago • 0 comments

Hey asteroid 2024 YR4 watchers! I'm seeing a lot of people claim that, if it is going to impact Earth in 2032, we can use a DART-like spacecraft to ram it out of the way. Well, not necessarily. The DART mission was fab, but might not be able to stop 2024 YR4. Let me explain 👇

submitted 28 days ago • 1 comment

Here are 70 clones of #asteroid 2024 YR4 that do hit Earth, highlighting the impact risk corridor. There are some big cities along that line: #Bogota, #Lagos, #Mumbai.

submitted 28 days ago • 11 comments

NEW: Everyone’s hoping asteroid 2024 YR4 doesn’t hit Earth. It probably won’t; the odds are 2.1%. But, rather awesomely, there’s a (slim) chance that it hits the Moon instead, with the force of hundreds of atomic bombs. And we’d see it happen! Me @newscientist www.newscientist.com/article/2467...

submitted 28 days ago • 2 comments

ew

submitted 28 days ago • 0 comments

Here’s a question about asteroid 2024 YR4 that’s being emailed to me a lot: how can such a small asteroid, perhaps just 40m (130 feet) long, unleash a blast wave similar to a nuclear bomb? How can a rock like that devastate a city? Let me explain, with a some basic physics 👇

submitted 30 days ago • 1 comment

Hey US-based astronomers! Are any of you able to answer a politically focused question about planetary defense for me? I know this sort of thing is troublesome to address, but it’s a good question to ask. Private message me if so. It’s for a story I’m working on today/tomorrow.

submitted 29 days ago • 1 comment

So far, there is a 2.2% chance of the asteroid 2024 YR4 impacting Earth in 2032. There is also a 0.3% chance that the asteroid crashes into the Moon. The Moon taking the hit for Earth would be…a pretty incredible plot twist.

submitted 29 days ago • 0 comments