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Hello world (and universe)! I'm a journalist from who writes about and whatever else is trending that day.

I'm a full-time staff writer at Space.com and freelance for numerous other publications. I also teach communications at the post-secondary level.

My favourite stories cover , and other ways to make our universe a little bit more inclusive. Here's an example:
space.com/world-space-week-lea

In my spare time I enjoy and learning .

Drop by and say hi!

I've been thinking for weeks about what this announcement means for , and for diversity, in the context of .

My editor kindly trusted me with a ~2,000 word "think piece" that strays into things like Greek/Roman mythology about the moon.

space.com/artemis-2-announceme

I recently had the incalculable privilege of not only witnessing Canadian Jeremy Hansen receive a mission at a capacity event in Houston ... but sitting down with him and 3 astronaut colleagues hours later.

The goodwill surrounding Jeremy comes from his generosity, and the comments here really show it.

space.com/artemis-2-canada-ast

, spacecraft mods and more! I spoke with astronauts about how things have been going on the
International Station since they arrived in October.

space.com/spacex-crew-5-astron

Thanks to the for our exclusive talk regarding Vice-President , & tech for Space.com.

"We have this enormity of data that's collected in space. What's the best way to be able to coordinate that information?" Chirag Parikh, National Space Council executive secretary and deputy assistant to President .

space.com/vice-president-kamal

of once tried to go to . His new podcast 'The Last Soviet' heads back with a famed cosmonaut.

My exclusive video and interview with Bass at Space.com:
space.com/nsync-lass-bass-canc

NASA names moon mountain after Black mathematician and 'Hidden Figure' Melba Mouton: Melba Mouton worked during the era of "Hidden Figures" at NASA. The newly named Mons Mouton overlooks an area that will also be targeted by an ice-hunting rover in 2024 or so.

My latest in Space.com:

space.com/nasa-artemis-3-poten

Falling sparks brilliant over Europe just hours after discovery (video): It's just the seventh time that astronomers spotted a small body in before it entered our planet's atmosphere.

space.com/fireball-europe-foun

The Leo Triplet, from my backyards last night.

I am not a big fan of over-saturated colors we often see in #astrophotography , let me know what you think of this one!

Full: astrobin.com/full/35rqn2/0/

This is my first, very feeble, unstacked test-image of the Orion Nebula. Will be testing the whole stacking thing later on for the first time. But first, dinner.

#Astrophotography #Astrodon

Last night's effort at imaging the Orion Nebula included some sort of optical flaw. Very frustrating as processing this was difficult enough already. *Image has been retouched* to remove the most obvious flaw. Since the telescope is still set up I'll probably try again tonight -- despite freezing temperatures! The #OrionNebula, due to its size and brightness, is an excellent target for burgeoning deep space astrophotographers. Still not as easy as one might think! #astrophotography #M42

'Black history is American history': NASA celebrates African Americans and space achievements at Smithsonian event: The Black History Month event Friday (Feb. 10) included astronauts, NASA directors and a discussion of why diversity matters, with high schoolers making up much of the audience.

space.com/nasa-smithsonian-cel

How astronaut diversity changed for the better in a single NASA class recounted in 'The New Guys' book

space.com/the-new-guys-book-as

The Moon reflecting the cloudy haze last night prevented proper autoguiding to get more subframes to do the Flaming Star nebula justice.
#astrophotography

Collecting some space horse photons tonight… my main project right now is taking a short break because the moon is almost full making it impossible to discern between photons from the sun, reflected by the moon and those of dim deep space nebulas.

The space horsey is relatively bright and with a hydrogen alpha narrowband filter gives pretty decent results even with the moon really bright.

This is a single 10-minute exposure.

#Astrophotography

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