See the complete profile on linkedin and discover philips. I am pleased to offer an interview with phil plait, the bad astronomer, on the release of his latest book, death from the skies. The first part is about things like tides, eclipses. Philip plait, using the latest in astronomical knowledge, takes us on exciting journey through our universe and enlightens us on the various cosmological hazards that are present. Four new doctor who audio dramas include one of the 9th doctors first. Asapscience book by mitchell moffit, greg brown official. A lot of good speakers will be giving talks, including my friend jeffrey bennett. Is phil plait the bad astronomer a complete wanker. These range from his opening chapter on balancing eggs on the equinox to bad science in movies. This particular issue is one near and dear to me, so please bear with me. I just got off the phone with phil plait ask me a question. I met and interviewed phil plait, aka the bad astronomer.
At his popular bad astronomy web site, phil plait has long corrected misconceptions about the universe, skewered crackpots, and chastised the news media for purveying pseudoscience netwatch, 2 june 2000, p. Surveys have found that even college graduates carry persistent misconceptions or even wildly incorrect ideas about the phases of the moon or the cause of the seasons. Well,it looks like it really may have been an impact. Celebrating his life is a great idea, and the folks at bccc have a full day planned the schedule is online in pdf and word formats. Jun 29, 2012 phil plait mentally ill blogging atheist liars bad astronomy atheistz warz. While it is primarily an astronomy blog, plait also posts about skepticism, pseudoscience, antiscience topics, with occasional personal and political posts. This blog was also a finalist for the 2006 weblog award the bloggie. He formerly worked at the physics and astronomy department at sonoma state university. Has anybody else found phil plait the bad astronomer to be a complete wanker. Where ill be doing things you can watch and listen to or read about. Last week, the european space agency landed a space probe on a comet. Its enjoyed a few printings since then, and still sells nicely.
Smaller black spots have been found, and the shape of the big spot indicates a trajectory for the incoming bolide. Aug 18, 20 an afternoon with phil plait, the bad astronomer former nasa man talks education, astronomy, and lots and lots of photons by richard chirgwin 18 aug 20 at 12. A weekend of bad astronomy with phil plaits science getaways march 9, 2014 blogger phil plait bad astronomy and his wife marcella setter founded science getaways, unique vacations that bring together science enthusiasts and scientific experts. Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news. The author of one book, the bad astronomer, phil plait is also a regular contributor to many online publications, including the huffington post. It makes me feel genuine sadness that, although i love astronomy, skepticism, and phil plait, this series may be unwatchable for me. At the moment, i have no desire to tackle here such thorny topics as astrology, alternate views of the universe that are clearly in contradiction to observations, and the like.
Plait is a born skeptic his blog regularly battles the misuses of science in daily life, in addition to praising the wonders of legitimate research. Based on the popular book and website, bad astronomy offers a unique approach to learning about the cosmos. Join the bad astronomer phil plait as he takes a critical look at popular myths and misconceptions. If theres a silver lining in all this, it may be the fact that short attention span media may indeed be effective at capturing an audience that would otherwise not watch something educational.
I know they are fiction, so i try not to take them too seriously. Phil plait is the bad astronomer who runs the internet site of that name. Join host phil plait and discover everything there is to know about the cosmos. Phil plait thinks the universe is trying to kill us. In july 2008, it moved to a new host, discover magazine. The bad astronomy web pages are devoted to airing out myths and misconceptions in astronomy and related topics. The chapters are laid out in a logical flow, with some fun narrative in between. Oct 27, 2008 caption we say it all the time here on astronomy cast. He writes the bad astronomy blog, which was recently chosen by as one of the best blogs of 2009. The talk then branches off into a dissection of hollywood movies, using specific clips from wellknown movies. On november 12, 2012, the bad astronomy blog moved to slate magazine.
My columns, and responses to critics are here and here. When a person assumes the role of class clown, abdicating every principle of reasoned communication, theres something fitting in the kind of treatment that this video gives to phil plait and his ilk bad astronomy vs good science. Bad astronomy is actually plait s first book, and grew out of his blog by the same name where he debunked bad science and pseudoscience in the area of astronomy. Season 5 of the science channels series spaces deepest secrets has started up, and if you like astronomy documentaries youll see some familiar faces including my shiny pate. Elijah wood and his come to daddy director were terrified by the titular daddy offscreen, too. I had an opportunity to do that on august 9th this year, during a trip to boulder, colorado. Bad astronomy audio book now available discover magazine. My first contact with phil s work on bad astronomy was after listening to him in skepticality, but i only started to follow his blog recently the following linked post is from his series of ten things you dont know about posts, this one bringing forth a lot of information i was not aware about our planet. This is not about just how much this ebook bad astronomy. The night sky strange new worlds with phil plait youtube.
Prepare to debunk pseudoscience headon with bad astronomy. A skeptic by nature, his first book, called unsurprisingly, bad astronomy attacks all those myths about the subject and thoroughly debunks them. Then the book moves on to things like astrology and the purported moon landing hoax. Phil plait is an astronomer, author, blogger, and skeptic. Escreveu dois livros, bad astronomy e death from the skies. Celestron s free planetarium app is an astronomy suite that redefines how you experience the night sky. I am so behind on news stories that im going to ignore my usual rule of keeping this news from around the blogosphere chunk to only a few stories in order to play catchup over the next few days. Misconceptions and misuses revealed, from astrology to the moon landing hoax.
New black spot on jupiter bad astronomy discover magazine. 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. This book describes all the ways the earth could be destroyed, by the sun, by asteroids and so on. Just how hard was it to detect gravitational waves. Death from the skies these are the ways the world will. Misconceptions and misuses revealed, from astrology to the moon landing hoax ebook written by philip c.
Misconceptions and misuses revealed, from astrology to the moon landing hoax is a nonfiction book by the american astronomer phil plait, also known as the bad astronomer. The movies may not be bad, but sometimes the science is. In march 2006, science magazine celebrated the bad astronomy website, praising plait s blog, begun in march 2005. Plait began a career in public outreach and education with the bad astronomy website and blog, debunking bad science and popular misconceptions. Plait s television show, phil plait s bad universe premiered on the discovery channel in september 2010. Death from the skies the science behind the end of the. 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. Misconceptions creep into the science of astronomy perhaps more than any other science. Phil plait writes slates bad astronomy blog and is an astronomer, public speaker, science evangelizer, and author of death from the skies. Many topics are covered, including the blue sky, white stars, pseudoscience, the moon, and astrology, among others. 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.
Plait bad astronomy is phil plait s 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. Still a favorite after five years and i update it when i can, this talk starts off with me standing an egg on end and discussing this legend and using it to talk about misconceptions in general. The show claims that 20% of americans have doubts that we went to the moon. The bad astronomer, author of bad astronomy and death from the skies.
Astronomer phil plait has found a great niche for himself debunking bad science, specifically bad astronomy. The perverts like phil plait are wiping my posts at communities. A 1999 gallup poll showed it was more like 6%, a number which agrees with a poll taken in 1995 by timecnn. Stephen maran, author of astronomy for dummies and editor of the astronomy and astrophysics encyclopedia thank the cosmos for the bundle of star stuff named philip plait, who is the world s leading consumer. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read bad astronomy. Bad astronomy is the work of phil plait, a good astronomer who used to work on the hubble space telescope, a device which started off bad but ended up good.
View philip plaits profile on linkedin, the worlds largest professional community. We got some massive starcruiser hotel news and mandalorian spinoff speculation. 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. Arrival is a terrific science fiction movie, and our own phil plait had an admittedly small influence on it. Your eyepieces are the first accessories you should learn to use with your telescope. Bad astronomy blog is devoted to airing out the myths and misconceptions. Phil plait about his revealing 2007 skepdude calendar photo. Phil plait mentally ill blogging atheist liars bad astronomy.
Astronomy picture of the day every day a new and amazing astronomy related picture is presented along with a professionally written description crammed full of links to more information bad astronomy blog phil plait s wellwritten and frequently updated blog discussing astronomy misconceptions, astronomy news, and science in general a leader in space astronomy. Philip plait clears up every misconception on astronomy and space you never knew you suffered from. The sonoma state university astronomer offers a daily dose of his insights and opinions at the yearold bad astronomy blog. An afternoon with phil plait, the bad astronomer the register. Misconceptions and misuses revealed, from astrology to the moon landing hoax kindle edition by plait, philip c download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. I myself was banned from his forum bacause i wasnt posting enough messages there. Long a debunker, phil of the bad astronomy web site was challenged on the apr 25, 2003 coast to coast radio show by george noory to debate nancy on the planet x issue. Apr 06, 2014 as part of national science week 20 in australia, dr katie mack university of melbourne and dr alan duffy swinburne university of technology headed to. He combines wit and nononsense skepticism with the kind of creative reflex that makes fundamental science concepts understandable by virtually everyone who doesnt hate getting a little smarter. Astronomy, space exploration, the effect of politics on science. Phil plait to discuss his new book, death from the skies.
Phil plait of bad astronomy fame has been a science 2. The book bad astronomy was released in 2002, followed in 2008 by death from the skies. In general, withholding hubble space telescope data is a bad thing. Death from the skies is the entertaining book about how the universe is trying to kill you. In short chapters, plait tackles misperceptions about why the moon looks larger on the horizon and why stars twinkle before moving. He debunks myths and misconceptions about astronomy. Phil harts 10 astounding astrophotos whats up with the name phil and astronomy top 10 amazing animal videos amazing. Philip plait is an astronomer who also runs the excellent bad astronomy website. Skeptics in the tub with phil plait internet archive. When a person assumes the role of class clown, abdicating every principle of reasoned communication, theres something fitting in the kind of treatment that this video gives to phil plait and his ilk. Most of us strive to be good at what we do, but phil plait, who has a ph. Too cold, too hot, no air, supernovae exploding, galaxies colliding, black holes gobbling matter the universe is awful, said plait, the scientistturnedwriter known for his prolific bad astronomy blog of those, plait said, the deadliest threat to earth looks like a potato hurling through space. The book was published in 2002 and deals with various misunderstandings about space and astronomy, such as sounds being audible in space a misconception because in the.
Phil starts the planetbyplanet tour of the solar system right here at home, earth. The bad astronomy blog is all about realworld science it covers the entire universe, from subatomic particles to the big bang itself. The book was published in 2002 and deals with various misunderstandings about space and astronomy, such as sounds being audible in space a misconception. Phil plait still states apophis will miss the earth in 2036. Phil plait is behind the bad astronomy on slate, where he deconstructs misconceptions and explores the wonder of the universe. For the past several years, astronomer phil plait has been battling these misconceptions, as well as the flood of just plain bad astronomy. Also, the 911 issue of skeptic magazine hits the stands, the why darwin matters lecture is now on dvd, and roy zimmerman. The gallup site has been rearranged, and though i can no longer find this quotation, it still jibes with what is on the.
Interview with the bad astronomer, phil plait, about death. The gallup site has been rearranged, and though i can no longer find this quotation, it still jibes with. Interview with the bad astronomer, phil plait, about death from the skies. I didnt own a computer at the time and was doing the best i could. Besides new material on old bad astronomy, there is also quite a bit of new bad astronomy. Mar 01, 2002 for example, various false explanations to why the sky is blue are talked about. Phil plait s top 10 astronomy pictures of 2008 the bad astronomer rocks man, admit it. In 2008 he became the president of the james randi educational foundation, a nonprofit educational foundation dedicated to promoting critical thinking. The bad astronomer is an astronomer and skeptic who runs the website. Thats why i find a recent article posted on the bad astronomy blog at discover magazine to be endlessly interesting.
Check out the last kruger park video, itll blow your mind. Blogs bad astronomy guiding skeptics to the universe what apollo means to me. September 23, 2003 if you are coming from the astronomy picture of the day, welcome. It airs mondays at 10 check your local listings etc. Bad astronomy unveils the true and false of star trek. A weekend of bad astronomy with phil plaits science getaways. Phil plait, also known as the bad astronomer and author of the bad astronomy blog, asks the question, is the earth special. These guys answer the questions you had no idea were bugging you all your life. Bad astronomer phil plait argues that asteroids are evil.
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