6 Bots That Deliver Science and Serendipity on Twitter

In the vast sea of automated accounts on Twitter, a unique subset stands out: bots dedicated to delivering genuine scientific value and moments of serendipity. Rather than click-bait or endless retweets, these six bots combine real-time data, intriguing phenomena and a sense of wonder. Here’s a closer look at each, and why you may want to follow them.

1. @EarthquakeBot — Real-time seismic alerts

If you’re fascinated by the dynamic earth beneath our feet, @EarthquakeBot serves up near–instant notifications of seismic activity. These kinds of bots play an important part in rapid information dissemination during high-impact events: bots aggregated and brokered info during events such as the Boston marathon blast, US ice-storm and more. arXiv+1
Why follow? You’ll get a direct feed of earthquake events globally, often before major news picks them up.
Serendipity factor: The sheer scale and variety of events—one moment you’re reading about small tremors in remote regions, the next a larger magnitude event near you.

2. @AsteroidWatch — Space threats, served daily

From near-earth objects to cosmic close calls, @AsteroidWatch taps into NASA and space-agency feeds to highlight asteroids zooming by our planet.
Why follow? It brings space science into your daily feed in digestible bursts.
Serendipity factor: Every once in a while you’ll catch a surprising close-pass or an interesting fact about a previously obscure space rock.

3. @tiny_gravity — Gravitational wonder droplet

This bot focuses on the smaller, perhaps more poetic side of science: microgravity experiments, physics curiosities, droplets that hover in zero-g, and so on.
Why follow? Unlike many bots that focus on “big news”, this one celebrates the strange, elegant side of science.
Serendipity factor: The unexpected delight of seeing something that looks more like art than “a science feed.”

4. @ChemBot_Editor — (Hypothetical representative) Chemistry research tools on Twitter

Recent reports describe how researchers have developed Twitter-bots tied to cheminformatics tools (like retrosynthetic analysis, 3D molecule viewers, 2D chemical editors). chemistryworld.com While I don’t have a verified handle here, the concept reflects bots that deliver deep-science tools via Twitter.
Why follow (if you find one): You can peek into the mechanics of chemistry and molecular science through an automated feed.
Serendipity factor: Unexpected glimpses of molecular transformations, unusual chemical structures, or a tool you’d never have discovered otherwise.

5. @ScienceFactFeed — (Representative) Random science facts and micro-insights

Bots like this one (akin to ÜberFacts) deliver interesting science facts, sometimes obscure, sometimes mind-bending. Wikipedia
Why follow? They’re perfect for bite-sized science during a short scroll.
Serendipity factor: You might learn something totally unexpected while taking a mental break.

6. @SpaceWeatherBot — Solar flares, geomagnetic storms & cosmic weather

Space weather is often under-appreciated—but bots in this domain feed you solar flare alerts, aurora-watch signals, and cosmic phenomena that affect Earth.
Why follow? It expands your view of “science” to include how our planet interacts with the wider cosmos.
Serendipity factor: One minute you’re reading about auroras in Scandinavia, the next you learn about something hitting Earth’s magnetic shield in real-time.

Why these bots matter

• Science outreach via automation: Automated accounts are not just spam—they can help deliver outreach and public communication of science. For example, the deployment of bots to spread chemistry-research tools. chemistryworld.com
• Serendipitous discovery: In an algorithm-driven feed, these bots inject novelty—something you didn’t know you needed, but once you see it, you’re glad you followed them.
• Real-time and niche coverage: Whether it’s earthquakes, asteroids, or micro-gravity droplets, many of these bots cover domains that mainstream media only touches once in a while.
• Caveat – automated vs human judgement: While these bots are useful, it’s worth remembering that automated accounts can contribute significantly to altmetrics in certain scientific disciplines (especially mathematics, physics and space sciences). arXiv Automation doesn’t always equal human nuance.

How to get the most out of them

• Follow selectively — pick a few that match your interests so your feed doesn’t get overwhelmed.
• Mute or filter if frequency becomes distracting — some bots post very often.
• Engage sometimes — retweet a particularly cool post, reply with a question — many bot creators appreciate feedback.
• Combine with human-curated science accounts for a balanced feed.

Final thoughts

The phrase “science and serendipity” may sound like a cliché, but when your timeline delivers a snapshot of the planet’s tremors this minute, a micro-gravity droplet the next, and an asteroid fly-by after that, you realise just how magical automated science feeds can be. If you’d like, I can dig up a full list of 10+ Twitter bots in this vein (with links and descriptions) so you can browse and pick what interests you most. Would you like me to do that?