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14 Aug, 11 tweets, 3 min read
Thanks everyone for your questions! I have stopped answering now but check out the tweets below to see if any of your own questions have been asked by someone else and answered here! I'll quote tweet a few.
In response to "why are we here?"
On the "edge of space"
On whether dark energy affects Earth
"Can black holes be portals to another universe?"
On the debate about the "Hubble Constant" (see more here: cosmosmagazine.com/space/how-quic…)
On the most important discoveries I hope to see in my lifetime
"what is the universe expanding into?"
A common misconception
Explaining the Big Bang to a 5-year-old
On why dark matter theorists "refuse to accept" that there might be another solution

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More from @AstroKatie

Katie Mack Profile picture
10 Aug
TBH I would rather risk hurting someone’s feelings by changing my behavior in response to a choice they have made than risk inadvertently passing a potentially deadly virus on to anyone I might come in contact with
Isolation from your friends is terrible but an isolation ward in a hospital is worse
So anyway yes I will be rude to you if that rudeness might down the road save the life of a stranger; I wish you a speedy and painless recovery from the slight
Read 4 tweets
Katie Mack Profile picture
20 Jul
I'm quoted in this great NYT piece by @MaryRobinette: "Selection of space crew based on whim and money rather than based on selections by governmental agencies is a shift I’m still struggling with." nytimes.com/2021/07/19/sci…
Tomorrow, Wally Funk, one of the people most prepared for space flight of any human in history, will go briefly to space, for the first time, after a six-decade wait, alongside three vastly less qualified but extremely wealthy men.
I am told again and again by reliable and respected sources that this is a step toward the democratization of space flight and greater access to space for everyone and this may be true but it does make me wonder if it is really the only possible path from here to there.
Read 4 tweets
Katie Mack Profile picture
11 Jul
Watching the @virgingalactic launch this morning 🚀 #Unity22
My feelings about the whole billionaire space race thing are, shall we say, mixed. I’m watching the launch because I’m interested in spaceships but there’s a lot going on with this whole endeavor that a tweet can’t really encapsulate.
Wow this livestream is really putting the “commercial” into “commercial spaceflight”
Read 5 tweets
Katie Mack Profile picture
10 Jul
A lot of people who worry about vaccines wonder why we shouldn’t just rely on our natural immune systems, instead of some artificial substance.

Here’s the thing: vaccines are FOR your immune system. And they’re not artificial. Vaccines are a way for your body to HELP ITSELF.
Your immune system’s job is to see some pathogen — a virus or bacteria — recognize that it’s bad, and create specialized weapons to destroy it. When a virus enters your system, that’s like a pop quiz. Your immune system has to scramble to respond before the virus wreaks havoc.
The way a vaccine works is by letting your immune system study for the test before it happens. It gives your body information about the virus (BEFORE the virus gets in) so your immune system will be ready, knows what to do, & can use its OWN tools to save you before you get sick.
Read 5 tweets
Katie Mack Profile picture
27 Jun
Extrapolating from the rest of the world, seems likely if the US doesn’t get to MUCH higher vaccination rates VERY soon we’ll either have emergency lockdowns in low-vaccine areas or a lot more death. The Delta variant is literally a different beast. We haven’t seen this before.
Given the options, I vote for vaccines, personally.
The vaccines are safe, effective, free, and available to everyone in the US age 12 or older. We need to make it easier for people who want them to get access to them and encourage those who are on the fence to get their shots ASAP.
Read 4 tweets
Katie Mack Profile picture
9 Jun
There are two equally distressing possibilities for explaining this.

1) Gohmert thinks we can adjust the orbits of the Earth or Moon or tweak solar activity.

2) He’s knows that’s impossible & is being sarcastic because he thinks addressing climate change is always impossible.
The first possibility is distressing because it suggests that despite being in conversations with NASA officials about them, he does not understand how orbits work. The second is distressing because it suggests he will oppose all attempts to address climate change as futile.
The most dangerous current strategy employed by those who oppose doing anything about climate change is to convince us that we can’t do anything & will only harm ourselves by trying. Don’t let them convince you we’re helpless. We know exactly what to do. We’ve known for decades.
Read 5 tweets

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