This paper has now been published in final journal format, including the authors' one-page summary of their results, and my one-paragraph summary. Pick your preferred level of detail!
☄️🔭🧪 #exoplanets
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Gas within the Solar System's heliosphere emits a complex pattern of soft X-rays. Dennerl et al. use the eROSITA X-ray survey to disentangle this foreground emission and determine where in the heliosphere it comes from.
☄️☀️🔭 #heliophysics #highenergyastro
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
DESI’s primary survey is complete, but the cosmological analysis is still ongoing, reports @danclery.bsky.social
☄️🔭 #cosmology
Check the licence of the image - if it’s CC-BY or public domain (no copyright), a credit line in the caption is all that’s required.
Any more restrictive licence (or no licence specified) will need written permission from the copyright holder, which they might charge for.
I'll add that several important papers on this topic were published in Science:
- Kelly+ 2015 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Goobar+ 2017 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Jee+ 2019 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Kelly+ 2023 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Strong gravitational lensing can produce multiple images of the same source, with time delays between them. If a supernova occurs in a lensed galaxy, those delays can constrain the expansion rate of the Universe.
Feature by @danclery.bsky.social in @science.org. ☄️🔭🧪⚛️
www.science.org/content/arti...
Even outside the lab 🤷♂️
I used to have a snazzy blue lab coat for teaching undergraduate laboratory sessions. It never occurred to me to take it on an observing run.
Why is the popular stereotype of an astronomer a man with glasses wearing a lab coat?
I’ve been on plenty of professional observing runs - there’s certainly a gender bias and glasses were fairly common (including me), but I’ve *never* seen an observer in a lab coat. Or a tie for that matter.
☄️🔭🧪
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
That appears to be the thinking behind the 2027 budget request to Congress that President Donald Trump unveiled today. https://scim.ag/4sRnw3x
New story with details about the ‘SR-1 Freedom’ nuclear propulsion mission to Mars. How would it work, and where did the idea come from? Is there any chance of meeting the timeline?
🧪🔭⚛️🛰️ #planetsci
www.science.org/content/arti...
"Should a million new satellites be launched, in the orbits and with the sizes proposed, the stars we are able to see at night would be completely overwhelmed by artificial satellites — throughout the world." 🧪🛰️
Insightful stuff.
Tools for doing-without-understanding aren't new, but AI makes the problem more pervasive. I'd draw analogies with running a data reduction pipeline but never looking at the FITS files, or applying a statistical test without knowing what it's really measuring etc.
This is very good
Why bother doing astronomy and other blue-skies research? @e-astronomer.bsky.social discusses funding crises in the US & UK, and how researchers should (and shouldn't) justify the required investment. ☄️🔭🧪⚛️
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Artemis II is a flyby, not a landing
The Dec 2028 timeline for an entirely new mission, using untried technology, seems completely implausible. It appears to be driven by the end of Trump's presidential term, not science or engineering. 🧪🔭🛰️ #planetsci
The quotes in the NASA press release are eye opening.
www.nasa.gov/news-release...
NASA's new leadership has plans:
- A nuclear propulsion spacecraft (a technology that has never been implemented) delivering multiple helicopters to Mars in 2028.
- A surface base on the Moon (no orbiting Gateway), and expanded commercial launches.
🧪🔭🛰️ #planetsci
www.science.org/content/arti...
🧪🔭
☄️🔭🧪⚛️
☄️ #planetsci
The UK government is investing in quantum computing - by cutting blue skies research. A cogent letter from Simon Williams explains why this approach is flawed.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Editor's choice: the search for life on Mars must avoid contamination by life transported from Earth. Bischof et al. investigate the micro-organisms on and within spacecraft that landed on Mars. How long can they survive on the red planet? 🧪☄️🔭 #planetsci
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
AAS Editor in Chief Search
Following the announcement of Ethan Vishniac's upcoming retirement, the AAS is conducting an open search for a new AAS Editor in Chief responsible for ensuring the continued excellence of the AAS journals portfolio. aas.org/posts/opport... 🔭
The Royal Astronomical Society logo over a purple, starry background.
The RAS is alarmed by the threat to ground-based astronomy posed by proposals put forward by Elon Musk's SpaceX and Reflect Orbital.
We have opposed the plans with @eso.org and the International Astronomical Union. Find out more at: ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
I'm going to expand this statement to say that astronomers should actually look at their data whatever the format. Yes pipelines and high level science products are great, but you learn a lot from just spending some time exploring the counts-on-pixels images, even for spectroscopy. 🔭
“For NASA to assemble scientists and put out papers on politically charged issues, whether or not this is an impending climate catastrophe, is not helpful to the broader NASA mission.” 😬
🔭🧪🛰️ #planetsci
As part of a special section on science books for young readers, I review 'Measuring Up' by Jenny Lacika & Anna Bron. They explain the real tale of Oliver Smoot and the unconventional unit named after him. 🧪⚛️
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Yes, anyone who pays the registration fee can attend - no PhD required.
For the Jan 2026 AAS meeting, the 'non-member' fee was *prohibitively* expensive. However @astropotamus.com might qualify for 'amateur affiliate' or 'educator' membership, saving ~$1000.
aas.org/meetings/aas...
In a #LetterToScience, astronaut Barry Wilmore (pictured) and medic Farhan Asrar discuss the health risks of human spaceflight on missions to the Moon or Mars.
They argue that crews will need to become more self-sufficient, without relying upon help from Earth. 🧪🔭🛰️
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
