Why subscribe?

Look, I know you’re busy. There’s Twitter to check, and did you hear about [insert some politician’s name here]? Ugh! That guy.

And on top of that the Universe is expanding all the time. There’s always more stuff to keep up with.

But I’m here to help. I’ll be posting the occasional free newsletter for everyone to see, but subscribers will get exclusive content: Articles I won’t post anywhere else, photos that won’t go on my Instagram feed, links to news, political rants, random sciencey bits of observation that will go directly from my brain to yours. At the moment I publish three issues per week.

When you subscribe you get full access to the newsletter and the website. I will also have giveaways every now and again, which will range from a signed copy of a book to weird stuff I’ve picked up at cons to even — and yes, I’m serious — meteorites. I collect them, and will give some away via the newsletter. In general I’ll do this via randomly picking someone from the email list, but I might also have contests. Stay tuned!

If you subscribe you’ll get the newsletter sent directly to your inbox! You can pay monthly or annually (at a discount over paying monthly for a year).

Oh. You want to know more about me? Well, here you go.

Who is this Phil Plait guy anyway?

Hi! I’m Phil.

I’m an astronomer, a science communicator, a writer, and a sometimes TV talking head. Some of my more recent CV fillers:

• I have a PhD in astronomy from the University of Virginia and I’ve been an astronomy dork my whole life; I have a telescope I use whenever the sky is clear, I have time, and the mosquiotes aren’t trying to fly off with me;

• I’ve written/been part of a bunch of scientific papers (mostly calibrating a Hubble Space Telescope camera I worked on for a few years)

• I wrote the Bad Astronomy blog on SYFY.com;

• I’ve written three books: Bad Astronomy, Death from the Skies!, and 2^7 Nerd Disses (this last with web comic SMBC creator Zach Weinersmith). A fourth one will happen eventually;

• I wrote and hosted Crash Course Astronomy, a 46-part series of short videos on YouTube that’s like a mini-class on astronomy. It has 70+ million views so some folks seem to like it;

• I was the head science writer for the first season of “Bill Nye Saves the World” on Netflix;

• I was the technical consultant for the CBS series “Salvation”, a scifi drama about a group of people trying to save the planet from an impending asteroid impact, and I’ve done consulting on other TV shows and movies, too;

• I live in the countryside in Boulder County, Colorado with my wife, two rescue horses, and four adorable goats. You’ll see pictures of all of them eventually. Here’s one now:

  
  

That’s Sam. He likes to stand on things.

I think that’s all you need to know to get started. Other important info (like my love of puns) will become obvious as you read more newsletters. No apologies.

FAQ

When do the issues get published?

The free newsletter comes out on Monday at 08:00 a.m. Mountain (US) time, and paid subscribers also get issues on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 08:00 a.m. Mountain (US) time.

How can I read a subscriber update?

You can read a subscriber-only update in email, or on the website. If you click through from your email you will be automatically logged in. If you come to the website separately, you can log in through the Membership page. You can also use the Substack app, which is available on iOS and Android.

What do I get when I subscribe?

Well, the newsletter. That’s kinda the point. See above.

Can I forward the emails?

When it comes to the free posts, spread them as far and as wide as you like, on whatever platform you currently prefer. Occasionally forwarding subscribers-only emails is fine by me too. Just use your discretion.

Affiliate links? What are those?

I will sometimes link to products (books, movies, music, gadgets, and so on) that you can buy for yourself via Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I will never promote a product I don’t think is good or cool.