@jeffhecht profile picture
Jeff Hecht @jeffhecht

science and technology writer

Joined February 2009
  • Tweets 359
  • Following 78
  • Followers 396
9 Photos and videos
Jeff Hecht@jeffhecht
17 Dec 2024
NASA's Perseverance rover has reached the rim of the Jezero crater and is on its way to explore Witch Hazel Hill skyandtelescope.org/astronom…

Perseverance Reaches Rim of Jezero Crater

It’s been a long upward climb for NASA’s premier rover. But the commanding view — and the geology — were worth it.

skyandtelescope.org
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By far the oldest and largest impact crater has been found on Venus skyandtelescope.org/astronom…

Oldest and Largest Impact Crater Found on Venus

Scientists have found possibly the oldest and largest crater on Venus — and it's like none they've ever seen on our sister planet.

skyandtelescope.org
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Jeff Hecht@jeffhecht
23 Oct 2024
We finally have found where most meteorites come from skyandtelescope.org/astronom…

We’ve Found the Source of Most Meteorites

Scientists have traced 70% of meteorite falls to three collisions that occurred in the asteroid belt within the past 40 million years.

skyandtelescope.org
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Jeff Hecht@jeffhecht
24 Sep 2024
Did Earth have a ring long before dinosaurs roamed? It looks possible. skyandtelescope.org/astronom…

Did a Ring of Rocks and Dust Orbit Earth Before the Dinosaurs Roamed?

A team of scientists thinks a clustering of ancient impact craters points to a temporary ring around Earth hundreds of millions of years ago.

skyandtelescope.org
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Jeff Hecht retweeted
NatureFutures@NatureFutures
2 Aug 2024
Today is the day. The hearing. A chance to put the case. To convince them that this is imperative. That it is worth the cost. That we owe the debt to those who went before. That it is our destiny. We must create a new colony on Mars. #scifi by @jeffhecht nature.com/articles/d41586-0…
An astronaut, bearing Earth on their shoulders like Atlas, stands on the red rocky surface of a planet

ALT An astronaut, bearing Earth on their shoulders like Atlas, stands on the red rocky surface of a planet

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Jeff Hecht retweeted
Sky & Telescope@SkyandTelescope
2 Aug 2024
“Leopard spots” on a Mars rock could come from life — or they could simply be a sign of a type of chemical reaction that requires water. Read more from @jeffhecht here: buff.ly/3SDlOTd
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Jeff Hecht@jeffhecht
25 Jul 2024
Training AI on AI-generated documents churns out gibberish, reports a Nature paper. nature.com/articles/d41586-0…? Pretty damn obvious and very dangerous.

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Jeff Hecht retweeted
Eugenie Reich@EugenieReich
12 Jul 2024
This was a tragic (but really well reported) article in Tech Review. When I was working on Plastic Fantastic, some physicists said, this (2002 fraud) case was isolated and will be unlikely to recur as we can easily address the enabling factors. Go figure. technologyreview.com/2024/05…
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Jeff Hecht retweeted
Jim Kirkland@Paleojim
1 Jul 2024
Ai has no place in science or in scientific illustration!!!
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Jeff Hecht@jeffhecht
12 Jun 2024
Very sorry to hear of the passing of Ed Stone, jpl.nasa.gov/news/ed-stone-f… Voyager project scientist, former JPL director and one of the greats of space science. Before that he was my freshman physics TA at Caltech, and a great teacher as well. He will be missed.

Ed Stone, Former Director of JPL and Voyager Project Scientist, Dies

Known for his steady leadership, consensus building, and enthusiasm for engaging the public in science, Stone left a deep impact on the space community.

jpl.nasa.gov
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Jeff Hecht@jeffhecht
30 May 2024
A surprise in the inner part of the main asteroid belt -- NASA's Lucy mission found the 720-meter asteroid Dinkinesh has a contact binary moon with two twin lobes locked in orbit. skyandtelescope.org/astronom…

NASA's Lucy Mission Reveals Asteroid's Strange Moon

The asteroid Dinkinesh surprised NASA’s Lucy mission when it turned out to have a moon. Now, scientists are taking a closer look at the pair’s formation.

skyandtelescope.org
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Jeff Hecht retweeted
WitmerLab@WitmerLab
6 May 2024
There are few things as exciting in our little corner of science as a new specimen of Archaeopteryx...with a skull...in a major, easily accessible museum! Congratulations to @FieldMuseum & @Paleontologista! These lovely photos are from this great article: bit.ly/44w9Z64
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Does using GPS rot your brain? Not exactly, but finding your own way around may exercise it enough to stave off dementia. zdnet.com/article/worried-ab…

Worried about dementia? Here's why I'm ditching GPS for a road atlas

The thinning of the hippocampi, a part of the brain responsible for spatial navigation, has been conclusively linked to the onset of dementia due to its under-utilization thanks to an over-dependence...

zdnet.com
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Jeff Hecht@jeffhecht
18 Apr 2024
Astronomers at four sites spotted a sun-grazing comet during the April 8 eclipse. skyandtelescope.org/astronom…

Amateur Astronomers Caught Sungrazing Comet during Solar Eclipse

Wide-field photos of the total solar eclipse taken by several astronomers along the path of totality, caught a comet approaching the Sun.

skyandtelescope.org
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Jeff Hecht@jeffhecht
11 Mar 2024
Terror birds roamed Antarctica after the dinosaurs died, when the climate was like modern New Zealand. newscientist.com/article/242…

Flightless terror birds stalked Antarctica after the dinosaurs' demise

Two fossil claws found on Seymour Island reveal that phorusrhacids, or terror birds, lived in Antarctica 50 million years ago and were probably the apex predator

newscientist.com
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Jeff Hecht@jeffhecht
27 Feb 2024
Hit a rubble-pile asteroid hard and the impact spreads lots of debris skyandtelescope.org/astronom…

NASA's DART Impact Reshaped the Asteroid Dimorphos

Models of the NASA's DART impact reshaping the asteroid moon Dimorphos show that this object is "rubble all the way down."

skyandtelescope.org
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Jeff Hecht@jeffhecht
22 Feb 2024
Went to the local electronics store today and found they are selling vintage -- no, antique -- vacuum tubes for electronics. I hadn't see vacuum tubes on sale in decades. Are they coming back?
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Jeff Hecht retweeted
Paul Marks@PaulMarks12
6 Jan 2024
That's more like it.
Boeing Airplanes
@BoeingAirplanes
6 Jan 2024
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Jeff Hecht@jeffhecht
19 Dec 2023
Sad to hear of the passing of Wolfgang Kaiser, one of the last of the early laser pioneers.
John Dudley@johnmdudley
19 Dec 2023
RIP Wolfgang Kaiser, laser pioneer at @BellLabs then @TU_Muenchen died 20 October 2023 aged 98. He built the second laser in July 1960 & independently invented the autocorrelator! @jeffhecht @OpticaWorldwide bio: optica.org/History/Biographi… Laser history here: pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/ar…
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Jeff Hecht@jeffhecht
29 Nov 2023
The US Postal Service is selling stamps celebrating the Osiris-REx mission to Bennu and successful return of a sample to Earth. store.usps.com/store/results…
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