Here you’ll find geekitude for blind and low vision space and astronomy enthusiasts. [email protected]

Toronto
Joined January 2022
The Invisible Universe retweeted
In the very middle of this #HubbleFriday image is a galaxy... but you might have to look very closely to find it. The newly discovered dwarf galaxy Donatiello II is seen nestled among a smattering of distant stars and even more distant galaxies: go.nasa.gov/3DUC4bb
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Ah the periodic table, like a blueprint for existance. Are there things we still don't know? I hope so.
Stars produce and disperse many of the chemical elements found in space, on Earth, and in people. This #PeriodicTable is color coded to indicate humanity's best guess as to the nuclear origin of all known elements. Happy #PeriodicTableDay!
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Oo, two of my favourite subjects, music and astronomy! Amid the description, there's a lovely little bit about what it's like to observe the same object over weeks. Objects move in the sky! Of course I know this, everybody does, but hearing it described is sweet.
Blind Lemon Jefferson is a favorite bluesman, and Fridays are for Blind Astronomy. And Blues. Here's the blog about Jupiter and Satellites. joshurban.substack.com/p/jov… #Blues #Blind #Astronomy #BlindAstronomy #Jupiter #Stargazing #Writing #Blog
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When my third party ap is snuffed out, probably tomorrow, I'll be waving goodbye to Twitter. This account can be found on Mastodon at [email protected]
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mmm, and even infographics!
We've discovered 5,243 planets beyond our own solar system – exoplanets – so far.💫 Each week we add to the known worlds. #MondayMotivation: Search for understanding wherever you can. exoplanets.nasa.gov
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Ah alt text, it gives us so much!
Catch a glimpse of the brightest star-forming area in our galactic neighborhood with this new @NASAHubble image of the Tarantula Nebula: go.nasa.gov/3jAeLMN
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The Invisible Universe retweeted
Today Chandra is studying galaxies in Cygnus. Nearby in the sky is a supernova remnant called the Cygnus Loop. This close-up image from @NASAHubble shows a small section of the Cygnus supernova blast wave, which continues to expand at roughly 350 kilometers per second.
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Such a nice mix of science and description here, plus the pervasive love of the act of observing.
I looked at the Green Comet and wrote about it. Here's an Alt-Text report of Comet ZTF for my fellow space lovers, plus some Mozart. #AltText #CometZTF #Comet #Blog #Astronomy #Blind #BlindAstronomy joshurban.substack.com/p/the…
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And like a new bright star added to the firmament, another description-rich astronomy gem from Josh Urban, mixaphorically speaking.
Today's Alt-Text description of observing the Moon with a telescope. Mare Crisium, "The Sea of Crises" is today's target. Plus, some Beethoven. joshurban.substack.com/p/sea… #AltText #Blog #BlindAstronomy #Blind #Moon #Lunar #Astronomy #BackyardAstronomy
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Great to see descriptions of infographics as well as images in the alt text!
Replying to @NASAWebb
Webb also revealed the first clear signatures of crystalline water ice in the Chariklo system (Chariklo and its rings). Most of this data comes from Chariklo rather than its rings, but future observations may help us isolate what the rings are made of.
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The Invisible Universe retweeted
Chariklo has two thin rings — the first rings ever detected (in 2013) around a small Solar System object. When Webb observed the occultation, scientists measured dips in the brightness of the star. These dips corresponded exactly as predicted to the shadows of Chariklo’s rings.
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Ah lovely!
#AltText Venus/Saturn conjunction: The clouds clear low in the west. Venus sparkles with a pure white, about 142 million miles away. Lower to the right, yellow tinged Saturn is much fainter, at nearly a billion miles distant. A young crescent moon joins the scene. #Blind #Stars
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As rocks and dust conglomerate into a planet orbitting a star, so this account follows the laws of the universe and processes to Mastidon. It can be found at [email protected]
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Look for the, play, button, and the explanation below.
Light can't escape from #BlackHoles, but surrounding material can produce intense bursts of electromagnetic radiation that can bounce off clouds of gas & dust in space. A new sonification turns these “light echoes” from black hole V404 Cygni into sound.🎧 s.si.edu/sonify6
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I was heartened to here a scientist with decades of visualization science under her belt say recently that she too is overwhelmed by distance and scale. And you can always count on Chandra for alt text!
Today Chandra is gazing at a galaxy in the constellation Boötes. Nearby in the sky, two galaxies have begun a lengthy dance that will likely end with them combining into one in as a grand finale. The larger galaxy, NGC 5754, is located about 220 million light-years from Earth.
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The Invisible Universe retweeted
Today Chandra is gazing at a galaxy in the constellation Lupus, the wolf. Nearby in the sky is galaxy NGC 5643. Located about 55 million light-years from Earth, the core of this galaxy glows brightly in X-rays where a supermassive black hole is feeding on vast amounts of matter.
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Here's a link where you can hear the full description spoken in rich, buttery audio. chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/30…
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Still exciting to see image descriptions written by @HeyHeyDoubleJ with a spec of consultancy from me, posted where everyone can read them. We're in the alt text!
The Tarantula Nebula (aka 30 Doradus) is a region of active star formation in a neighboring galaxy of the Milky Way called the Large Magellanic Cloud. This new image from Chandra & @NASAWebb combines X-ray & infrared light and spans about 360 light-years. s.si.edu/30Dor
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Loving the alt text image descriptions!
The first image released by @NASAWebb revealed thousands of galaxies in an area of sky equal to a grain of sand. It took the telescope less than a day to acquire the data, but scientists are still making discoveries in it! go.nasa.gov/3ilQHNh
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The Invisible Universe retweeted
There are many ways to explore the cosmos. @chandraxray’s Tactile Universe provides materials that are accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired through Braille, tactile techniques, 3D printing, audio, and more: chandra.si.edu/tactile/ #WorldBrailleDay
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