Mike Simmons

Astronomy for Equity, Blue Marble Space, DarkSky International Board, UCLA medical research (retired). Previous: Founder, Astronomers Without Borders.

[Mike Simmons @Astro_MikeS]

Same here. On many visits starting in 1999. I’ve taken tours of Americans there. I’ll see friends in Yerevan at a conference next week. I was going to go to Iran but I’ve been advised against it. Everything every US government has done has done the opposite of what they wanted.

[Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof]

On my trips to Iran, I've seen how many ordinary Iranians admire the US and despise their own regime. But they're also proud of their ancient civilization and independence, and Trump posts like this bolster the regime narrative. Trump offers a lesson in how not to conduct diplomacy.

[Human Spaceflight @esaspaceflight]

🦉 Find your night side.

🌃 Help map Earth's nighttime glow from space and track light pollution by locating images from astronauts on the International @Space_Station.

📍Pick your citizen science challenge on the app: https://t.co/mCcrNiILE3

[NASA Science @NASAScience_]

Earth is constantly immersed in a stream of charged particles flowing outward from the Sun: the solar wind. When it encounters Earth’s magnetic field, it creates a massive shock wave in space that can be chaotic or calm. Help scientists understand why as part of NASA's new Shock Detectives citizen science project: https://t.co/lzxG6ULI74

[Ali Hashem علي هاشم @Alihashem]

📌 New piece out today in Foreign Policy.

For 47 years, analysts and policymakers have been asking what the Islamic Republic wants. I argue that's the wrong frame entirely. Iran's strategic instincts — its obsession with deterrence, sovereignty, and global (not regional) projection — are five centuries old. They survived the Safavids, the Qajars, the Pahlavis. They will survive whatever comes next.
The 2026 war, Hormuz, the nuclear file — none of it makes sense unless you ask the right question.

Read here 👇
https://t.co/1EhfSMQ4Na

[GLOBE at Night @GLOBEatNight]

💡 We’re highlighting the 5 Principles for Responsible Lighting:

• Use light only when needed
• Target it
• Keep it low
• Control it (timers)
• Choose warm-colored lights

Small changes can reduce light pollution and protect the night sky. 🌙

📷Dark Sky International

[Mike Simmons @Astro_MikeS]

This is exactly why I’ve been saying since my first of many visits to Iran in 1999. Same in Iraq in 2003. Sanctions weaken the people and strengthen the dictators’ stranglehold on power. Give the people back the economic power and western economic influence inside the country.

[Trita Parsi @tparsi]

The BBC asked me if a US-Iran deal would betray the Iranian people. I pushed back hard: The question assumes that getting bombed helped the Iranian people. Nor has that been true in Ira, Afghanistan etc.

On the contrary, if sanctions are lifted, the Iranian people can breathe once more. Over time, Iranian society will grow stronger and enable the Iranian people to do what only they can do:

Change Iran in the right direction, from the inside, by themselves, for themselves.

[Cincinnati Zoo @CincinnatiZoo]

Today is World Migratory Bird Day! Millions of birds travel incredible distances each year, connecting ecosystems across continents. These journeys are becoming more challenging due to habitat loss, light pollution & building collisions. You can help: https://t.co/iA1L8biK5U

[Cincinnati Zoo @CincinnatiZoo]

It's Songbird Welcome Home Week and tonight is going to be a HUGE night for migration. Most birds migrate at night. City lights can disorient birds and interfere with navigation. Turn your non-essential lights off by 11pm to help your feathered friends along their way.

[Mike Simmons @Astro_MikeS]

Thank you @CincinnatiZoo!

[Cincinnati Zoo @CincinnatiZoo]

Reduce nighttime lighting by only using essential lighting that is directed towards the ground. Consider motion activated lights that only turn on when needed and close blinds and curtains during evening hours.

[Daniel Fischer @[email protected] @cosmos4u]

Recap videos of Artemis II from NASA and LockMart: https://t.co/Ej7gbY3Ij2 and https://t.co/iCPiY0wy9c. And what Gene Krantz thinks of all this: https://t.co/5tL6GDhIQl

[GLOBE at Night @GLOBEatNight]

🌙✨ It’s time for the April Globe at Night campaign!

Head outside after sunset and find this month’s constellation, Leo (you can learn how to spot it at https://t.co/Riryjv1LFb).

📲 Get started: https://t.co/Riryjv1LFb

[FAI 🖌️ @Fai_Ryy]

“Home 🌍”
Artemis II painting

[Mike Simmons @Astro_MikeS]

@Fai_Ryy @considercosmos Beautiful and evocative. Well done!

[GLOBE at Night @GLOBEatNight]

Why is the Milky Way so vibrant over NSF @KittPeakNatObs, but not over your backyard? Light pollution.

Submit a 5 sec video by 10 April sharing your love for dark skies to be included in a compilation debuting during International Dark Sky Week. 🔗 https://t.co/3JQLXZ3l8I

[Mike Simmons @Astro_MikeS]

@IntegralAnswers The lighting is amazing. All available? Or is the bright light from the right from you?

[Mike Simmons @Astro_MikeS]

It’s always great talking with Pamela, with an audience or not. You can watch the recording if you missed it.

[CosmoQuest @cosmoquestX]

We're getting ready to go live with an important episode of After Hours. Grab a beer and your empathy as we prepare to pull on your heartstrings for #STEM

https://t.co/AHFfWHzUYJ

[Mike Simmons @Astro_MikeS]

I’ve been here many times. Everything seems so normal. I was hoping to be back in Iran now for Nowrouz. 😢

[Borzou Daragahi 🖊🗒 @borzou]

Scenes from Northern Tehran‘s Tajrish Square ahead of Nowrouz

[Mike Simmons @Astro_MikeS]

@borzou @BahmanKalbasi I’ve been here many times. Everything seems so normal. I was hoping to be back in Iran now for Nowrouz. 😢

[Mike Simmons @Astro_MikeS]

This was exactly my experience during seven visits to Iran traveling around the country. And that of Americans I took there. I hoped to be there for Norouz (Persian New Year) this month. I found similar people in Pakistan in Nov and then realized they are also a Persian culture.

[Jonathan AC Brown @JonathanACBrown]

I lived and traveled in Iran for months. In Tehran I lived with the family of a retired bank worker who saw me looking for housing. I roomed with his son for months, ate all my meals with them, and they never accepted any money. Once I was sick and throwing up and they all came into the bathroom and the dad stroked my head while I barfed and told me “Aybi nadare” (no shame, it’s ok). I traveled around most of the country by plane, train, bus, shared taxi, etc. Eventually I stopped booking hotels because I’d always meet people on the train, bus etc who’d insist I stay with them. The family of Iran/Iraq war vets from Yazd who took me to Taft for bbq in the mountains. The taxi driver from Rasht who made a bed for me on the floor of his tiny apartment because all the hotels were full. The only time a police officer talked to me was once to make sure I was ok. I never felt in any danger day or night. The land of Iran is as incredibly diverse as its people. There are mountainous rain forests and desert salt flats. I met among the most liberal and most conservative people there, and everything in between. Everyone was so kind it makes me cry with shame.

[Mike Simmons @Astro_MikeS]

@fpleitgenCNN @tparsi My favorite country. I’ve been there several times since 1999, all over the country. I’ve taken other Americans there and they love it. And, ironically, they love America and Americans. Or did. Just not our government.

I hoped to be there this month for Norouz. Not this year.