Kiwi Donkey

@JohnBarentine youtube.com/clip/UgkxezdHe…

@kiwidonkey Oh, could be coincidence, then. I figured that if he were to just casually notice something in the night sky it would be pretty bright, consistent with a re-entry. Also, spacecraft re-entries are a LOT slower than meteors, which disappear within a few seconds.

👀 "Britain’s mobile networks have now been asked to check that their emergency alert system is operational, in case the debris crashes in Britain and a message needs to be sent to people living near to the impact site." telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/2…

@JohnBarentine Think he saw the long trail on this map from last night. tammojan.github.io/meteormap/?sta…

@JohnBarentine This was very bright with a long, slow tail of green / teal colour. Just checking fireballs.nz

@JohnBarentine Actually, I think from videos it was heading to the South West (not South East) of NZ. So maybe a meteor instead

@JohnBarentine My son was in Ngaio, Wellington and saw a streak through sky ~11:27pm NZ time. Lot of webcam footage and descriptions, but nobody has linked to the spacecraft re-entry despite direction being consistent with where it landed in Pacific. reddit.com/r/Wellington/c…

@JohnBarentine You basically live in the encyclopedia of nature book I remember from primary school :)

Urban wildlife: a juvenile bobcat (Lynx rufus) casually strolling along the top of our block fence this morning. 😺

@JohnBarentine @BBCNews Looks like a growing problem. bbc.com/news/uk-englan…

"It turns out the source of the pink skies were simply LED lights being used on the pitch at Birmingham City's football ground." They're grow lights for grass on the football pitch, and they look like this at night. (@BBCNews photos)

@JohnBarentine After 12hrs of happy new years with relatives around the world, UTC approach makes a lot of sense!

Happy UTC New Year! ⏰#HappyNewYear

@PostOffInquiry "In Your Own Words" will have long term value to society. After the Canterbury earthquakes in NZ, the university captured video, photo and voice footage. More than a decade later this is being updated, researched and used for education and history. ceismic.org.nz/news/quakebox-…

📍What were the Inquiry’s milestones in 2025? Leila Pilgrim, Secretary to the Inquiry, highlights the Inquiry’s key moments in her 2025 newsletter. Read more: postofficehorizoninquiry.org.uk/news/end-year-… #PostOfficeInquiry

@rbrooks45 @PrivateEyeNews Have asked for as christmas present !

My book on the Post Office scandal, published by ⁦⁦⁦@PrivateEyeNews⁩. Shows how a state institution and a multinational IT company persecuted thousands, and how sub-postmasters fought back. Out on 27th November. uk.bookshop.org/p/books/privat…

@JohnBarentine @unicomplutense That's a great photo! Good to see you and @cefalopodo

Thanks to everyone I met today at @unicomplutense for hosting me on campus!

@JohnBarentine @TucsonAirport @KittPeakNatObs Cool landscape. Reminds me of Airwolf TV show :)

At @TucsonAirport waiting on my first flight on the way to Ireland for #ALAN20205. And there, in the distance to the right, is @KittPeakNatObs, where my lifelong adventure in astronomy began one summer day long ago.

@JohnBarentine I suggest a little pseudo science, bolstered by marketing, could distract these people to focus on a dyson sphere instead...

"Sunlight as a service" represents an audacious plan to provide renewable energy from space, but it comes with many unknowns and potential drawbacks. Read more about the associated challenges it presents for conserving natural nighttime darkness on Earth. darkskyconsulting.com/blog/the-dange…

@Apple just cancelled my Apple TV subscription as your login via Chrome on linux no longer works...

@NASAWebb @JohnBarentine

We’re not sitting on this one, Uranus has another Moon! Webb discovered an unknown moon orbiting the planet, expanding its known satellite family to 29. go.nasa.gov/4mKUe2V

@JohnBarentine Wow is this heading your way?

Man, this is nuts. #wx

@JohnBarentine Frosty this morning here in NZ, need to share some warmth / ice in opposite directions!

It’s already so hot here in Tucson that wild animals are brave enough to venture onto the patio for water. Here, a juvenile desert spiny lizard (Sceloporus magister) takes a long sip. It's 43°C at 1pm local time. Forecast is for 45° — would tie hottest August temp ever recorded.

@JohnBarentine Often the economic value of the dark sky status hasn't been quantified to counter the perceived value of other initiatives too. Woud help, alongside a metric for potential value. Then you have both ecomomic and environmental arguments to leverage.

What I don't like is how these projects are sold to communities. In essence it's "don't look at environmental concerns; look at all the tax revenue and jobs!" People are constantly asked to trade away a clean/healthy environment for short-term financial gain.

Increasingly I feel like there *should* be repercussions, up to and including loss of @IDADarkSky status, in situations like this in order to make clear the seriousness of the concerns involved. bbc.com/news/articles/…

@JohnBarentine @IDADarkSky Ah I see you are one step ahead ofe as always @JohnBarentine

.@IDADarkSky program guidelines: "Any designated IDSP that no longer meets these conditions ... will be included in a List of Endangered IDSP Sites published on the IDA website." darksky.app.box.com/s/4aujya0ms58m… To date, that list has not been set up.

@JohnBarentine @IDADarkSky 100% agree. I remember when we turned up to stay in Tekapo and saw many outdoor uplights. Also the "Minecraft Beacon" in Greytown within latest reserve. Perhaps a status alongside the designation of "At Risk", "Improving", "Excellent"? Would need fair assessment criteria though