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Riding With Robots

@ridingrobots

Robotic solar system exploration, astrophotography, exasperating earnestness. My day job is impersonating your favorite planets and spacecraft on social media for one of your favorite government agencies. Opinions are my own.

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Latest posts by Riding With Robots @ridingrobots

More info and guides in this thread. SpaceX comment period closes today!

bsky.app/profile/phil...

06.03.2026 21:24 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Snowy pine trees under a starry night sky filled with the colorful clouds and stars of the Milky Way core. Photo: Bill Dunford. Fuck Musk.

Snowy pine trees under a starry night sky filled with the colorful clouds and stars of the Milky Way core. Photo: Bill Dunford. Fuck Musk.

Want to say FU to Musk and save worldwide skies from two supervillain plans to disfigure them?

SpaceX wants to launch a million sats. Reflect Orbital wants to provide "sunlight on demand" using huge space mirrors.

Step-by-step how-to for FCC comments. Takes 15 min:

darksky.org/news/two-sat...

06.03.2026 21:20 πŸ‘ 21 πŸ” 18 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

SHOULD THE U.S BLOT OUT THE SUN AND USHER IN AN AGE OF ETERNAL DARKNESS? - Gallup 2/20/26-3/5/26

NO - 41%
YES - 38%
UNSURE - 21%

06.03.2026 19:09 πŸ‘ 9292 πŸ” 2042 πŸ’¬ 249 πŸ“Œ 134

More info and guides in this thread. SpaceX comment period closes today!

bsky.app/profile/phil...

06.03.2026 21:24 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Snowy pine trees under a starry night sky filled with the colorful clouds and stars of the Milky Way core. Photo: Bill Dunford. Fuck Musk.

Snowy pine trees under a starry night sky filled with the colorful clouds and stars of the Milky Way core. Photo: Bill Dunford. Fuck Musk.

Want to say FU to Musk and save worldwide skies from two supervillain plans to disfigure them?

SpaceX wants to launch a million sats. Reflect Orbital wants to provide "sunlight on demand" using huge space mirrors.

Step-by-step how-to for FCC comments. Takes 15 min:

darksky.org/news/two-sat...

06.03.2026 21:20 πŸ‘ 21 πŸ” 18 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
NASA’s DART Mission Changed Orbit of Asteroid Didymos Around Sun - NASA New research reveals that when NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) spacecraft intentionally impacted the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos in September

Also from NASA

Having an impact on the effort to protect Earth: In 2022, NASA's DART mission tested a technique for deflecting a hazardous asteroid by impacting tiny Dimorphos. Now, new research reveals that DART also changed the orbit of its larger companion, Didymos. go.nasa.gov/3MYP5Ix

06.03.2026 20:21 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
New NASA Asteroid Observations Eliminate Chance of 2032 Lunar Impact - NASA Science Using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observations collected on Feb. 18 and 26, experts from NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at the

From NASA

β˜„οΈWe're happy to announce that on Dec. 22, 2032, asteroid 2024 YR4 will sail by the Moon at a distance of 13,200 miles based on new data from JWST. Our Planetary Defense Program has tracked this potentially hazardous asteroid since late 2024.

science.nasa.gov/blogs/planet...

06.03.2026 20:21 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Curiosity proudly brandishing her instrumented turret, somewhere on the eastern edge of the boxwork unit. What a sight, looks like scifi!

This is just another small part of the Sol 4821 Mastcam 360Β° panorama. #Mars πŸ§ͺπŸ”­

06.03.2026 14:48 πŸ‘ 28 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

Looking forward to catching one someday.

06.03.2026 04:00 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
An ochre toned image capturing a Martian landscape, acquired by Perseverance on March 3, 2026, on the 1790th sol (martian day) of her mission. The rover casts her shadow on the foreground. A small nearby rocky mound occupies the centre of the image. A landscape of soft hills is seen in the background.

An ochre toned image capturing a Martian landscape, acquired by Perseverance on March 3, 2026, on the 1790th sol (martian day) of her mission. The rover casts her shadow on the foreground. A small nearby rocky mound occupies the centre of the image. A landscape of soft hills is seen in the background.

Martian vista with shadow selfie, captured two days ago by Perseverance

#Mars πŸ§ͺπŸ”­

πŸ“· areo.info/mars20/ecams... @areoinfo.bsky.social

05.03.2026 09:40 πŸ‘ 84 πŸ” 26 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 3
An image of the Earth from space.

An image of the Earth from space.

05:55 on Tuesday March 3rd, over the Indian Ocean

05.03.2026 04:59 πŸ‘ 21 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Not as much as Europa, but yeah :)

05.03.2026 00:57 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Our tax dollars were being used to save children and now they are being used to murder them

05.03.2026 00:32 πŸ‘ 410 πŸ” 106 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
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2/2

Here's one of Juno's views of Ganymede's day side.

Image processed from raw JunoCam data by Kalleheikki Kannisto missionjuno.swri.edu

04.03.2026 22:15 πŸ‘ 15 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
A bright crescent slices through a mostly dark frame. It's interrupted by a dark round silhouette. Image: NASA/JHUAPL

A bright crescent slices through a mostly dark frame. It's interrupted by a dark round silhouette. Image: NASA/JHUAPL

From NASA

A slice of exploration. OTD in 2007 while en route to Pluto, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft captured this look at Jupiter's moon Ganymede silhouetted against the planet's crescent. Today, our Juno mission orbits Jupiter, and Europa Clipper is on its way: science.nasa.gov/jupiter/expl...

04.03.2026 22:14 πŸ‘ 43 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1

Yep. And a treasure trove of results.

04.03.2026 22:09 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I, too, always measure things in Cassinis.

(It's a *very* depressing exercise these days.)

04.03.2026 22:00 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Thoughts & prayers to the EPA :(

04.03.2026 20:02 πŸ‘ 1979 πŸ” 673 πŸ’¬ 45 πŸ“Œ 42
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Sweet dreams, everyone πŸ–€ (art Lucy Campbell)

04.03.2026 21:35 πŸ‘ 40 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 0

gonna need a bigger hague

04.03.2026 19:41 πŸ‘ 29 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
How Lebanon, TN Rejected an ICE Detention Center - City Cast Nashville After weeks of confusion and public outcry, ICE is no longer planning to put a detention center that could house up to 16,000 immigrants right down...

After weeks of confusion and public outcry, ICE is no longer planning a mega detention center in Lebanon, TN. Many are relieved, including Wilson County mayor Randall Hutto, who joins us today to explain how the whole thing went down, and why he pushed back.

04.03.2026 16:50 πŸ‘ 22 πŸ” 11 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

This is what weak and insecure people think confidence looks like: buffoonish bluster and swagger, like a 12-year-old bully. It doesnβ€˜t inspire trust or security. It inspires grave concern for the lives of the people serving our nation whose fate is in the hands of these overcompensating oafs.

04.03.2026 16:35 πŸ‘ 3366 πŸ” 754 πŸ’¬ 163 πŸ“Œ 24

When someone says β€žScientists do not want you to knowβ€œ you can dismiss everything from there on. Scientists want you to know. They are desperate that you know. They can’t shut up about what they found out and want you to know.

03.03.2026 12:10 πŸ‘ 9412 πŸ” 4093 πŸ’¬ 77 πŸ“Œ 162

Niiiiice!

04.03.2026 04:59 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Click the fish.

04.03.2026 04:31 πŸ‘ 505 πŸ” 64 πŸ’¬ 11 πŸ“Œ 3
View of Jupiter's mid-high latitudes, featuring countless turbulent cloud systems near the planet's pole and further into the cloud bands.

View of Jupiter's mid-high latitudes, featuring countless turbulent cloud systems near the planet's pole and further into the cloud bands.

A bit of #Jupiter (NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Justin Thompson)

04.03.2026 04:00 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
The full, eclipsed Moon glows red amid a patch of cloud in a star field that includes the bright stars of the constellation Leo. Photo: Bill Dunford

The full, eclipsed Moon glows red amid a patch of cloud in a star field that includes the bright stars of the constellation Leo. Photo: Bill Dunford

Blood moon near the heart of the Lion

03.03.2026 23:35 πŸ‘ 23 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
This composite image from New Horizons shows Jupiter and its moon Io during the 2007 flyby. Jupiter, in false-color infrared, displays swirling cloud bands with the Great Red Spot as a prominent bluish-white oval storm. Warmer lower clouds appear reddish, higher hazes blue, highlighting atmospheric dynamics. Io, in near-true color, is superimposed. Its night side reveals a bright red glowing lava eruption at Tvashtar volcano, with a 330-km-high blue-tinged plume rising above, lit by scattered sunlight. The montage contrasts Jupiter’s vast atmosphere with Io’s intense volcanic activity during the gravity-assist maneuver.

This composite image from New Horizons shows Jupiter and its moon Io during the 2007 flyby. Jupiter, in false-color infrared, displays swirling cloud bands with the Great Red Spot as a prominent bluish-white oval storm. Warmer lower clouds appear reddish, higher hazes blue, highlighting atmospheric dynamics. Io, in near-true color, is superimposed. Its night side reveals a bright red glowing lava eruption at Tvashtar volcano, with a 330-km-high blue-tinged plume rising above, lit by scattered sunlight. The montage contrasts Jupiter’s vast atmosphere with Io’s intense volcanic activity during the gravity-assist maneuver.

In Feb 2007, New Horizons passed Jupiter & its active moon Io. βš›οΈ

In this nice montage, Jupiter was captured in 3 bands of infrared light making the Great Red Spot look white.πŸ§ͺ

Io is digitally superposed in natural color, showing an ongoing eruption.πŸ”­

➑️ apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap08010...

#science 1/3

02.03.2026 23:08 πŸ‘ 73 πŸ” 27 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
I just left a classified briefing with the Trump Admin about the war in Iran.
I just left a classified briefing with the Trump Admin about the war in Iran. YouTube video by Senator Elizabeth Warren

I just left a classified briefing with the Trump Administration about the war in Iran.

I was worried before, but I’m more worried now.

03.03.2026 22:58 πŸ‘ 3169 πŸ” 1044 πŸ’¬ 148 πŸ“Œ 80

I feel like we typically see these sorts of completely outraged opinions from federal judges a couple times a year across the whole country, maybe a little more often in last few years. Now, in cases stemming from Trump's immigration crackdown, judges are ringing the alarm bell several times a week.

03.03.2026 21:00 πŸ‘ 1827 πŸ” 531 πŸ’¬ 24 πŸ“Œ 5