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	Phil Plait
		Phil participated in the calibration and use of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), an instrument on board the Hubble Space Telescope.
		It was during that time that Phil was bitten by the bug to teach astronomy to the public.
		Phil brings his experience in teaching and writing about astronomy to the GLAST EPO Team, where he will use them to help create workshops and interactive astronomy-based games to help teachers relay to their students the excitement and interest in astronomy that he feels.
	epo.sonoma.edu /group/plait.html (268 words)

	COAST TO COAST AM WITH GEORGE NOORY: SHOWS
		Astronomer Phil Plait returned to the show to discuss such recent missions as the Cassini Probe at Saturn and the Mars Rovers, as well as to debunk what he considers to be "pseudoscience" and hoaxes.
		Plait enthused that the Mars Rovers had lasted well past their primary mission, and discussed the strange lumpy rock photographed there recently which has been dubbed the "Pot o' Gold." He also expressed excitement over NASA's SWIFT observatory which is planned to be launched in October 2004 to study gamma ray bursts.
		Phil Plait's recent post, Debating Pseudoscientists, explaining why he doesn't want to bother formalizing a debate with Hoagland is obvious: it would truly be like digging a hole in water, as he put it.
	www.coasttocoastam.com /shows/2004/07/05.html (2565 words)

	Astronomer attacks alien claims - Space.com - MSNBC.com
		Plait says the most likely explanation for the rib-like features is that they're sand dunes, created by wind blowing through the valley.
		Plait points out that NASA scientists said the object appeared to be lightweight, and thinks "it is far more likely it simply blew away in the Martian wind."
		Plait and other scientists question Hoagland's credentials and say he is prone to inflating his accomplishments.
	www.msnbc.msn.com /id/4534435 (2167 words)

	Dr. Phil Plait to talk on March 2, 2005 at 7 p.m. (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-19)
		Phil Plait to talk on March 2, 2005 at 7 p.m.
		Author and astronomer Phil Plait of Sonoma State University will give a non-technical, illustrated talk on: "Bad Astronomy (In Everyday Life and the Movies)" in the Smithwick Theater, Foothill College, El Monte Road and Freeway 280, in Los Altos Hills, California.
		Plait is an astronomer and a NASA Educational Resource Director (which, he points out, spells NERD) at Sonoma State University.
	ephemeris.sjaa.net /0503/r.html (260 words)

	DragonCon Biography: [Phil Plait] (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-19)*
		By day, Dr. Phil Plait is an astronomer at Sonoma State University in California, creating education materials based on the science of several NASA high-energy astronomical satellites.
		But by night (and sometimes by day too), Plait is better known as "The Bad Astronomer", using humor and critical thinking to rid the world and (perhaps impossibly) the human brain of astronomical myths and misconceptions.
		Plait also writes the Bad Astronomy Blog, a daily-or-more weblog where he talks about current events, random silliness, and sometimes hogs the soapbox to rant about the latest outrage against science perpetrated by evildoers.
	www.dragoncon.org /dc_Guest_Detail.php?id=1477 (321 words)

	Paul Harris Online: Phil Plait, "The Bad Astronomer"
		Phil explained that in depth this afternoon, and revealed other attacks on science by those with a political agenda, both within NASA and elsewhere.
		Phil also brought the good news that James Randi is doing much better after his recent bypass surgery.
		Phil's book, "Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing 'Hoax'," is a great read (you'll love the scientific explanations for all those things that science fiction movies get wrong in space).
	www.harrisonline.com /2006/02/phil-plait-bad-astronomer.htm (245 words)

	The Blog Reader » Blog Archive » www.badastronomy.com/bablog (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-19)
		Outspoken, maybe — Phil described John Edward, the famed television personality who claims to communicate with the dead, as an “evil bastard.” Edward and his ilk, he explained, are successful at what they do because of confirmation biases.
		Phil explained, “[Edward will say,] ‘I think it’s a man,’ and the [audience member] says, ‘No, it’s a woman.’ He says, ‘Okay — is it an aunt or a sister?’ ‘Yes, it’s my sister!’… [H]e had to guess like six times and… people forget all those misses.
		Phil deals with a lot of uncritical thinking on a daily basis, but nothing bothers him — or worries him — more than creationism.
	theblogreader.net /13/wwwbadastronomycombablog (1291 words)

	Phil Plait
		Plait grew up in the Washington, D.C. region and lived there for many years.
		He received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Virginia in 1994 with a thesis on SN 1987A, which he studied with the Supernova Intensive Study (SINS).
		Plait also debunks several fringe theories related to space and astronomy, such as Planet X, Richard Hoagland's theories, and most famously, the moon landing "hoax".
	www.sfcrowsnest.com /scifinder/a/Phil_Plait.php (409 words)

	SCIES Brings New Staff (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-19)
		Phil Plait is very excited about working on programs that educate people about astronomy and high-energy astronomy.
		At Goddard, Phil participated in the calibration and use of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), an instrument on board the Hubble Space Telescope.
		Phil brings his experience in teaching and writing about astronomy to SSU, where he will use them to help create workshops and interactive astronomy-based games to help teachers relay to their students the excitement and interest in astronomy that he feels.
	www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu /newsletter/2001/SCIESStaff.html (551 words)

	cantonrep.com - Blowing Up the Moon’s Conspiracy Theory
		NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — Phil Plait, 38-year-old astronomer and skeptic, was on the California State University, Northridge, campus Friday, punching holes in the tenacious myth that American astronauts never landed on the moon.
		Plait explains that the astronauts caused the flag to move as they drilled the flagpole into the surface of the moon; inertia creates the apparent waving motion.
		Plait said he meets bright students who have seen the Fox show or the like and are uncertain.
	www.cantonrep.com /printable.php?ID=89470 (702 words)

	Philip Plait - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		Plait grew up in the Washington, D.C. region and lived there for many years.
		He received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Virginia in 1994 with a thesis on SN 1987A, which he studied with the Supernova Intensive Study (SINS).
		Plait also debunks several pseudoscientific theories related to space and astronomy, such as Planet X, Richard Hoagland's theories, and most famously, the moon landing "hoax".
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Phil_Plait (408 words)

	Adrian College - News & Info
		Philip Plait is scheduled to speak in Dawson Auditorium on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 12:15 p.m.
		Plait frequently appears on the radio program “Coast to Coast.” In addition he writes monthly columns for a German newspaper and www.astronomy.com.
		Plait states that the email was just a big scare based on no factual information.
	www.adrian.edu /news/convo0506_plait.php (249 words)

	Profile / Phil Plait / Astronomer works for heavens' sake / Rohnert Park man corrects misconceptions
		Phil Plait, 37 and burning brilliant beyond his years, is perhaps best known as the pioneering force behind the Web site, www.badastronomy.com.
		When he was 13, Plait saved up his money from a paper route and bought a larger telescope (about the size of a water heater) with a 10-inch lens.
		Plait majored in astronomy at the University of Michigan, then spent seven years teaching and doing research at the University of Virginia, where he earned his master's degree and Ph.D. by watching stars explode and die.
	www.sfgate.com /cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/03/29/NB168172.DTL (1776 words)

	Untitled Document (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-19)
		Phil Plait is an astronomer and educator at Sonoma State University, where he develops educational materials based on NASA space science.
		Plait wrote a book titled (surprise!) "Bad Astronomy", and is currently working on a second book, as well as several magazine articles, TV shows, and a way to keep his washing machine from squeaking during the spin cycle.
		Astronomer Phil Plait (webmaster of Bad Astronomy at www.badastronomy.com) will light-heartedly show you all the nasty and gruesome ways a fl hole can ruin your day, and in the process show you what fl holes are, how they form, how they can die, and how scientists have figured all this out.
	www.eastbayastro.org /2004/0402/an_dinner.htm (434 words)

	News Releases
		Plait, who works with the Education and Public Outreach Group at Sonoma State University, plans to refute claims that man never landed on the moon and demonstrate, by using "good science," that the lunar landings were indeed real.
		Plait, who has a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Virginia, has dubbed himself "The Bad Astronomer" because he has dedicated himself to ferreting out the misuse and misrepresentation of science, in particular astronomy.
		Plait's appearance at Northridge is sponsored by CSUN's Distinguished Visiting Speakers Program, Department of Physics and Astronomy and Bianchi Planetarium.
	www.csun.edu /~hfoao102/press_releases/spring03/moon.html (204 words)

	Universe Today - Book Review: Bad Astronomy by Phil Plait
		Phil looks at many of the commonly misunderstood concepts in astronomy and sets the record straight.
		It's in the second half of the book where Plait really hits his stride as he examines some of the "bad astronomy" hatched more recently: Apollo moon landing hoaxes, UFOs etc. Because the culprits are still spinning out the bad science, Phil firmly debunks their "theories".
		If I had a complaint, it's that Phil spends a little too much time explaining how to balance an egg in any season (a whole chapter!, but I guess he was trying to make a point).
	www.universetoday.com /am/publish/article_121.html (352 words)

	Planetary Conjunctions - 5/5/2000 (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-19)
		They fail to realize, however, that the gravitational force exerted by a planet on the earth is completely swamped by the moon's gravitation.
		Phil Plait has prepared a page that works out the relative gravitational forces of all the planets.
		Note: Phil now has his own domain where you can find many good articles on astronomy misconceptions.
	drumright.ossm.edu /astronomy/conjunctions.html (445 words)

	[No title]
		Dr. Plait is well known for his ability to explain esoteric subjects in simple, down-to-earth ways.
		Plait has been an astronomer since the tender age of five, when his parents bought a small telescope for the family.
		On any given clear night, you’re just as likely as not to find Plait in his backyard, with either his ‘scope, his binoculars, or just his own two eyes, watching the Universe on his own, or showing his daughter the wonders of the deep sky.
	www.brevard.cc.fl.us /planet/sepa2006/docs/plait.doc (370 words)

	El hombre en la Luna: ¿Una mentira?
		Veamos como nuestro amigo Phil se dedica a refutar científicamente todos y cada uno de estos argumentos falaces y/o equivocados.
		Phil anota que éste es el "más razonable" de los argumentos conspirativos, y nos advierte que de aquí en más se ponen peores y peores...
		Phil reconoce que la Tierra llena en el cielo lunar es muy brillante, y que por supuesto podría producir una segunda sombra, mucho más débil que la proyectada por la luz solar.
	axxon.com.ar /zap/241/c-Zapping0241.htm (3628 words)

	Hubble Heritage
		Plait loves mysteries and the philosophical ramifications of his work - how did we get here, what was it like in the past, what will the future bring?
		Today Plait helps calibrate and analyze data from STIS at the Goddard Space Flight Center - tasks which give him insights into such diverse fields as brown dwarfs, low mass stars, asteroid research, supernovae or planetary nebulae.
		Outside his job Plait likes to write (he has written a description of the Starfield in the LMC), birdwatch, play cards, watch old science fiction movies and spend time with his wife and nearly four-year-old daughter.
	heritage.stsci.edu /1999/44/bio/bio_plait.html (247 words)

	rants.psychoticpineapples.com » Blog Archive » The Letter I Wish I Had Written
		Phil Plait posted this letter a few weeks back over on the Bad Astronomy Blog, and I have to admit that I’m incredibly jealous.
		Phil has been a part of James Randi’s Amazing Meeting for the past few years (and while I’m thinking of it, I’d like to send out a bit of an electronic “get well soon” to Mr.
		Phil Plait ROCKS, no? The whole Mike Griffith debacle is just…just… well…argh.
	rants.psychoticpineapples.com /archives/69 (826 words)

	59th Annual Conference on World Affairs - Participants
		By day, Phil Plait is an astronomer at Sonoma State University in California, creating education materials based on the science of several NASA satellites.
		But by night and sometimes by day, Plait, known as “The Bad Astronomer,” uses humor and critical thinking to rid the world and the human brain of astronomical myths and misconceptions.
		Some topics include the idea that NASA faked the Apollo Moon missions (they were real), a planet that some people say will pass by and destroy the Earth in May, 2003 (it’s not real) and creationist astronomy (creationists are real, but their claims are not).
	www.colorado.edu /cwa/bios.html?id=411&year=2003 (186 words)

	James Randi's Swift - March 03, 2005
		But back to Phil Plait: I mentioned in my TAM talk that I have been amazed by the remarkable people willing to be my friend.
		For those of you who may not know, Phil is a very important voice of reason in promoting science in general, and astronomy in particular.
		He runs a critically important web site, www.badastronomy.com, in which Phil takes on those silly people who claim we didn’t go to the moon, there is a Planet X inbound to our solar system, and such nonsense.
	www.randi.org /jr/2006-03/030306plait.html (1662 words)

	[No title]
		Philip Plait works at the physics and astronomy department at Sonoma State University, which is part of the California State University system.
		Phil Plait (website), who works in the physics and astronomy department at Sonoma State, has made it his mission to clear up misconceptions about astronomy.
		A debate was held on Tuesday night with astronomer Phil Plait (badastronomy.com) and alien contactee Nancy Lieder (zetatalk.com).
	www.coasttocoastam.com /guests/120.html (829 words)

	The Webfooted Astronomer, January 2002 (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-19)
		Phil Plait is an astronomer at Sonoma State University in California, where he develops public outreach projects for a variety of NASA missions.
		By night, Dr. Plait is the “Bad Astronomer,” debunking the misuse of astronomy on TV, in movies, and in the public’s mind via www.badastronomy.com.
		Plait’s presentation will be about the Moon Hoax, a program aired on FOX TV last year.
	www.scn.org /ip/sastro/webfoot/jan02/default.htm (222 words)

	review of "Bad Astronomy"
		Bad Astronomy is Phil Plait's answer to dozens of myths and misconceptions people have about stars, the moon, the planets, meteorites, asteroids, comets, the universe, and the observers of all those things.
		The book grew out of Plait's Web site of the same name, where he initially took on claims that an egg can be balanced on end only on the equinox and the Apollo moon landing was a hoax.
		Plait devotes an entire chapter to each of these topics and many more.
	www.skepdic.com /refuge/plait.html (524 words)

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