Lee Billings

Now on @sciam, by @nadiamdrake: The U.S. just axed CMB-S4, its boldest cosmology experiment in generations. Meant to confirm cosmic inflation, instead the project was doomed by tight budgets and crumbling infrastructure. What comes next? Read our story! scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-en…

Now on @sciam: Scientists superheated gold to almost 19,000 °C, and astonishingly the gold didn't melt. The discovery seems to upend longstanding predictions of thermodynamics, defying what's known as the "entropy catastrophe." By @ClaraMoskowitz. scientificamerican.com/article/physic…

While we're posting fresh space vids, I've gotta give a shout to this excellent @WIRED Q&A with NASA astrobiologist @DrFunkySpoon fielding all the internet's burning queries about alien life. Watch it! youtube.com/watch?v=1r_p_Z…

What's the deal with private spaceflight? What are the pros & cons? Is it just turning space into a playground for the ultra-wealthy, or are there benefits for all? Check out my chat with @CNN's @claresduffy on her "Terms of Service" podcast to find out: youtube.com/watch?v=iXnvLi…

Very cool update on 3I/ATLAS: the Vera Rubin Observatory (which hasn’t even got its survey going yet) has found images of the interstellar object going back to June 21, clearly showing a coma (that’s also expanding over time). Deffo a comet. (Not aliens.) arxiv.org/pdf/2507.13409

Now on @sciam: 3I/ATLAS, the third known interstellar object to enter our solar system, is full of mysteries. Here's what scientists are trying to learn about it before it boomerangs back to the void. By @Astro_Jonny. scientificamerican.com/article/new-in…

It’s bleakly funny just how anemic/suppressed my reach is on X (unless I cough up $) vs other places where info still spreads freely (and for free). Comparisons of near-identical tweets vs skeets shows >10x engagement on skeets. Anecdata, but… Why do I post here, again? Lol.

Now on @sciam: The Large Hadron Collider has, against considerable odds, detected a long-sought asymmetry between matter and antimatter (CP violation) in subatomic particles called baryons. Our own @ClaraMoskowitz has the news. scientificamerican.com/article/the-la…

Now on @sciam: Observations of a baby star called HOPS-315 may show the earliest stages of planet formation that astronomers have ever seen. Yet another example of the almost miraculous feats that modern astro kit (JWST+ALMA+compute power) can pull off. scientificamerican.com/article/astron…

This has never happened before. Every living former NASA Science Chief united to sign a joint letter to Congress, urging them to reject a devastating 47% cut to NASA’s science budget. Led by our board member and former NASA Associate Administrator of Science John Grunsfeld, we…

Now on @sciam: Detected on July 1, the comet 3I/Atlas is only the third interstellar object ever witnessed passing through the solar system. It'll have its closest approach to the sun on October 30. Stay tuned, the science is just getting started! scientificamerican.com/article/new-in…

I keep this sorta thing pretty light on my socials, but promos occasionally come along that're too good not to mention: @sciam's running an Independence Day Deal, with 40% off subscriptions from now thru 7/14. Get yours and support independent journalism! Sciam.com/getsciam

Now on @sciam: Breakthrough results from two rival experimental reactors—the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator and the Joint European Torus tokamak—offer hope that the elusive dream of fusion power is within reach. By @HHAspasia. scientificamerican.com/article/record…

New paper shows that, while high CO2 destroyed the Permian world in the biggest mass extinction in Earth history, the die-off of tropical rainforests kept CO2 high--and this miserable planet sweltering--for some 5 million years afterwards. nature.com/articles/s4146…

Now on @sciam: It's looking increasingly likely that China will win the "Mars sampling" space race, as its Tianwen-3 mission approaches a 2028 launch and a more ambitious U.S.-Euro rival effort flounders. By @AJ_FI. scientificamerican.com/article/chinas…

Very useful charts illustrating the magnitude of the cuts at NASA from Casey Dreier at The Planetary Society.

Voyager launched in 1977 and still managed to outlive its Twitter account

"You’re punching a generation-size hole, maybe a multigenerational hole, in the scientific and technical workforce. You don’t just Cryovac these people and pull them out when the money comes back. People are going to move on.” scientificamerican.com/article/propos…

NASA will continue to execute upon the President’s vision for the future of space. We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the President’s objectives in space are met.

Didn’t realize this was a prophecy