Darren Spain

Reads more than Tweets. Interested in humanity's two defining characteristics: Our curiosity about what is beyond & our propensity for violent conflict within.

[Darren Spain @spaino]

Kudos to the @ehtelescope team for giving humanity our first complete image of the centre of our galaxy. The Milky Way black hole Sagittarius A* is the size of Mercury's orbit. #SgrABlackHole
Press Release: https://t.co/wqG8ujBPQs
Live Press Conference: https://t.co/adTLPL1VxO

[Event Horizon 'Scope @ehtelescope]

We finally have the first look at our Milky Way black hole, Sagittarius A*. It’s the dawn of a new era of black hole physics. Credit: EHT Collaboration. #OurBlackHole #SgrABlackHole
Link: https://t.co/Ax7ECRVg8A

[Reid Wiseman @astro_reid]

Only one chance in this lifetime…

Like watching sunset at the beach from the most foreign seat in the cosmos, I couldn’t resist a cell phone video of Earthset. You can hear the shutter on the Nikon as @Astro_Christina is hammering away on 3-shot brackets and capturing those exceptional Earthset photos through the 400mm lens. @AstroVicGlover was in window 3 watching with @Astro_Jeremy next to him.

I could barely see the Moon through the docking hatch window but the iPhone was the perfect size to catch the view…this is uncropped, uncut with 8x zoom which is quite comparable to the view of the human eye. Enjoy.

[Aadil Brar @aadilbrar]

Australia and Japan have now formally launched their landmark A$10 billion warship deal, with contracts signed for the first three upgraded Mogami-class frigates to be built in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries from 2029, before production shifts to Australia for eight more vessels.

It is Japan’s most consequential military export since lifting its arms export restrictions in 2014, and a clear marker of Tokyo’s steady move away from the constraints of postwar pacifism. For Australia, the deal strengthens maritime defense capacity across the Indian and Pacific Oceans at a time of intensifying strategic competition and growing concern over China’s expanding naval reach.

The agreement also shows how U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific are building denser bilateral defense ties among themselves, rather than relying solely on Washington as the central hub. In that sense, the Australia-Japan frigate deal is both an industrial partnership and a strategic signal.

[Mike Martin MP 🔸 @ThreshedThought]

The US-Israeli attack on Iran

A few thoughts in a 🧵

[Zena Cardman @zenanaut]

The @Space_Station rarely makes big changes to its orientation, but we were lucky to experience such maneuvers (flipping around to fly butt-first, then flipping back again) before and after each @spacex CRS-33 reboost. This 60x speed timelapse was one of my favorites since it captures a little of everything - sunset, lightning storms, air glow, moon glint, stars, and sunrise - as we did one (actually very slow) orbital cartwheel from Atlantic to Pacific.

[Dana En @danaen803]

1/ The potential Mars Settlement has been narrowed down by @elonmusk to 7 locations on Arcadia Planitia Region first identified at LPSC-21 in the attached paper. In this thread I will go into depth on what we know and how you can research these sites.

https://t.co/dvu9Bx5YFm

[Mr.O² 🇸🇩 @OXzoneX]

♦️رسالة إلى الشعب الإماراتي الأصيل واركز على كلمة (الأصيل) ولكل عقلية واعية تدرك الحقائق والوقائع بصورتها الصحيحة وليست بتلك السرديات التي يتم تغييب بها الرأي العام في الامارات من قبل نظام ابوظبي.

♦️أيها الأشقاء في الإمارات،
من قلب السودان، نبعث إليكم رسالة محبة صادقة ممزوجة بلهجة شعبية ودبلوماسية قوية.

نحن السودانيون نحبكم ونجلّكم، نحب الشعب الإماراتي الأصيل الذي عرفناه بالكرم والشهامة والوفاء و عايشناه من زمن زايد الخير الله يرحمه، ونعتبره جزءاً من نسيجنا العربي والإسلامي المشترك. هذه المحبة ليست مجاملة، بل هي امتداد طبيعي لعلاقات الأخوة التي لا تهزها العواصف ولا تغيرها السياسات.

♦️لكننا نقولها بوضوح وبصوت قوي: ممارسات حكومة أبوظبي هي ما تجعلنا نهاجمها دائماً ونرفض تدخلاتها في شؤون السودان. استمرار تمويلها لمليشيا "الدعم السريع" التي قتلت الأبرياء وانتهكت الأعراض وسرقة ثرواتنا، هو جرح غائر في وجدان السودانيين، ولا يمكن السكوت عنه. هذه السياسات لا تمثل الشعب الإماراتي الأصيل، بل تعكس توجهات رسمية منفصلة عن قيم الشعوب العربية التي ترفض الظلم وتدعم الحق.

♦️يا أهل الإمارات الطيبين، نحن نعلم أنكم لا ترضون بالظلم، ولا تقبلون أن يُستغل اسمكم في دعم من يفتك بالشعوب. رسالتنا لكم أن محبتنا لكم باقية، لكن رفضنا للسياسات التي أضرت ببلادنا أقوى من أن يُتجاهل.

♦️نحن ا��سودانيون نقولها بلسان شعبي بسيط: "الزول السوداني ما بكره أخوه، لكن ما بقبل الظلم على أهله."
ونقولها بلسان دبلوماسي رسمي: السودان يطالب بعلاقات قائمة على الاحترام المت��ادل، بعيداً عن التدخلات وسياسات #حكومة_ابوظبي التي تزرع الفتنة وتدعم العنف.

♦️لن أتوقف عن مهاجمة حكومة أبوظبي سياسياً حتى تكف عن دعمها وتمويلها لمليشيا "الدعم السريع" التي ارتكبت أبشع الجرائم بحق الشعب السوداني. هذا الموقف ليس عداءً للشعب الإماراتي الأصيل الذي نكن له كل المحبة والاحترام، بل هو رفض واضح وصريح لسياسات رسمية أضرت ببلادنا وزادت من معاناة أهلنا.

♦️إن استمرار تدخلات أبوظبي في الشأن السوداني عبر تمويل وتسليح المليشيات، هو السبب المباشر في إصراري على فضح هذه الممارسات ومهاجمتها بلا هوادة بكل الطرق فالسودان لا يقبل أن تُباع دماء أبنائه في صفقات سياسية، ولا أن يُستغل ضعف المرحلة لفرض أجندات خارجية.

♦️رسالتي واضحة: الهجوم ضد #نظام_ابوظبي سيستمر ما دام التمويل مستمراً، ولن يتوقف صوتي حتى تتوقف #ابوظبي عن دعم من يقتل السودانيين ويشردهم. فالمعركة ليست ضد الشعوب، بل ضد السياسات التي تهدد وجودنا وكرامتنا.

♦️ختاماً، رسالتنا هي دع��ة صريحة: لنُبْقِ على المحبة بين الشعوب، ولنرفض السياسات التي تفرقنا. فالشعوب تبقى، والسياسات تزول.
🤝
#الامارات
#السودان

[Corey S. Powell @coreyspowell]

So cool. If you zoom in on the upper right, you see a little crescent. That's the Martian moon Phobos.

Zoom in again and you'll see a star next to Phobos. That's Earth!

Seen from Mars by NASA's Curiosity rover.

https://t.co/OJ1TjvkU3C

[Darren Spain @spaino]

Bill Kristol and General Mark Hertling discuss the wave of senior military officers forced out under Trump and growing signs of unlawful or politically driven military actions that threaten alliances, strategy, and the rule of law. https://t.co/VnqeSwYkZx

[Darren Spain @spaino]

History shows military purges driven by politics rather than performance weakens a nation.

Read this article.

If this purge is of Generals & Admirals more loyal to the US Constitution than to Trump then the consequences are dire for US citizens & all remaining allied nations.

[Mark Hertling @MarkHertling]

Well, this advice didn’t seem to take root. But I tried.

My biggest concern is the firing of the CJCS, the CNO and the service JAGs. No mystery there.

[Nesrine Malik @NesrineMalik]

‘Those who have leverage over the UAE, and therefore the RSF, but allow the violence to pass without urgent action or pressure have blood on their hands. The majority of El Fasher’s population is trapped in a killing field.’

[Declan Walsh @declanwalsh]

For Sudanese trapped inside a brutal war, the Emergency Response Rooms, a community aid network, is a vital lifeline.
Devastated by American aid cuts, the Sudanese responders press on - and are a deserved favorite for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
https://t.co/vqJ2vKUhTs

[Bray Falls @astrofalls]

Comet Lemmon is starting to look gorgeous! I took this photo this morning of the comet

[NAOJ @prcnaoj_en]

Science Release: Motion of Planet-Forming Spirals Captured on Video
ALMA has captured the motion of spirals of dust around a young star. This provides new evidence for planet formation. The results could have implications for other young stars as well.
https://t.co/8jucANKGPA

[Darren Spain @spaino]

@grok @krassenstein Give me three examples prior to 1945 during which safe haven-status was also a factor.

[Darren Spain @spaino]

@grok @krassenstein @grok in addition to your example of the USA 1971-1979, give me two other examples from before 1982 of when any government's inflationary policy during a period of sustained inflation coincided with a sustained weaker currency.

[Darren Spain @spaino]

@grok @krassenstein @grok Are there are any examples before 1982 of when a government's inflationary policy during a period of sustained inflation coincided with a strong currency?

[Darren Spain @spaino]

@grok @krassenstein @grok provide me with three dates and examples of when loose US monetary policy in an inflationary environment lead to a sustained stronger USD

[Darren Spain @spaino]

@grok @krassenstein @grok provide me with three dates and examples of when loose US monetary policy in an inflationary environment lead to a sustained weaker USD

[Darren Spain @spaino]

@grok @krassenstein @grok How could loose US monetary policy and a steepening US yield curve (rising long-term rates) lead to higher global commodity prices?

[Dr. Buzz Aldrin @TheRealBuzz]

July 20, 1969. “Contact light, engine stop.” The Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle touched down at Tranquility Base on the Moon.
A few hours later, Neil Armstrong and I stepped foot on the Moon, with Michael Collins orbiting close-by.
An achievement resulting from years of incalculable effort, commitment, and team work.
We all did our part to see President Kennedy’s words become reality: “We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others too.”
I couldn’t be prouder to have completed this mission with the hundreds of thousands of people that helped get us to the moon and back home. God bless the USA and all of humankind.