A HUGE thank you to all attendees of the #RockyWorlds4 conference in Groningen! We had an absolutely incredible time talking astronomy, geoscience, biology, and so much more 🚀🌋🌱🪐✨🔭🧪
Catch the recorded talks on www.youtube.com/@rockyworlds
And see you in Berlin in 2028! berlin2028.rockyworlds.org
A tidally-locked rocky #exoplanet orbiting close to its host star could have tidal waves of lava sweeping around the planet. Simulations show this effect would complicate the search for an atmosphere. 🔭☄️
News report by @elisecutts.bsky.social from the @rockyworlds.bsky.social meeting #RockyWorlds4
🔥 BlueSky trending hashtags (30m) #16-30:
#aiart #cum #ismuasmonthofmusic #rockyworlds4 #nsfwsky #gooner #porn #benrma #mario #fanart #digitalart #auspol #abolishice #vore #anthro
🪐 Main account: @trendtags.bsky.social
New planet just dropped and it
1) is almost exactly Earth-sized
2) has a year that's almost exactly 1 Earth year.
3) orbits a star that is not a 💢temperamental little shit M-dwarf 💢but is instead a 🧡 good orange boi 🧡
Me for @science.org based on results presented at #RockyWorlds4: 🔭🧪
*taps mic* ahem
May I interrupt the nonstop tidal wave of doom with a tidal wave of LAVA?
They're as high as a skyscraper, ooze at the speed of a human sprinter, and are really, really hot.
By me for @science.org, reported from the #RockyWorlds4 conference: 🔭🧪
James Rogers and Greg Cooke presenting “how much water do sub-Neptunes contain?”
A memorable breakout session at #RockyWorlds4 someday we’ll answer this question; for now it’ll keep us up at night. (After we catch up on sleep from a busy conference week)
Had a great time at #RockyWorlds4 this week - presenting my PhD work on magnetic field generation in planetesimals 🧲 and learning lots about magma oceans 🔥ready for my post doc project. Thanks to everyone for such great discussions and @rockyworlds.bsky.social for organising a fantastic meeting!
My 25th (!) newsletter post shares my main takeaway from the #RockyWorlds4 conference: Hot rocks are what's cool in rocky exoplanet research right now.
Lava planets, especially look like they're about to teach us a *ton* about how rocky planets work.
So come on in, the lava's fine! 🧪🔭
🌍 Astronomers from all over the world are coming to Groningen for the #RockyWorlds4 conference.
'We would like to broaden the ideas about what a rocky planet could be made up of,' says Inga Kamp, astrophysicist @rug.nl.
Curious? Read more 👇
🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/mat...
🧪 #SciComm
Poster discussions at #RockyWorlds4 has been amazing! Coffee breaks are on 🔥🔥🔥Super creative posters with incredible science, I think we are improving as a community to communicate our research to other colleagues 🧐 Looking forward for the poster competition ✨ @rockyworlds.bsky.social
Another cool result shared at #RockyWorlds4: Nearly all sub-Neptunes, if they are gas dwarfs (as opposed to water worlds), should have magma oceans beneath their hydrogen atmospheres.
That includes the notorious K2-18b — if it is indeed a gas dwarf and not an ocean planet.
Preprint:
Looks like Planet Earth is a fan of #RockyWorlds4 as it gifted us with a gorgeous conference souvenir last night! 🤩🔭🧪
You're welcome! 🔭😊 The LOC of #RockyWorlds4 (groningen2026.rockyworlds.org/organisers/loc) is doing everything they can to make the conference an unforgettable experience. 😁
Frankie mouse made it to Groningen. Coming to #RockyWorlds4 tomorrow! And check out Magrathea for your MR relationship or planet composition needs: github.com/Huang-CL/Mag... v2 live now and v3 already on the horizon
First results from the Lava Lamps survey hunting for atmospheres on lava planets shared at #RockyWorlds4:
It looks like there could be some kind of transition in the way lava planets redistribute heat around ~2500 K, which could indicate that the very hottest worlds have atmospheres.
Mysterious!
Poster entitled ”HARPS3 in commissioning” by William Brilliant from the University of Cambridge on behalf of the HARPS3 consortium
Really enjoyed this awesome poster at #RockyWorlds4 by William Brilliant about @terrahunting.bsky.social — can’t believe we are so close to starting our hunt for Earth-like #exoplanets in our cosmic neighbourhood!! 🤩🌍🔭
@johannateske.bsky.social's #RockyWorlds4 talk on TOI-561 b just reinforces my feeling that this weird little planet is one to keep an eye on.
It's among a handful of hot rocks challenging what we think we know about which planets have air.
I wrote about this last year for @sciam.bsky.social:
Hello #RockyWorlds4!
I'm Elise, a science journalist here hunting for awesome science stories about planets.
I'm cool, I promise — I used to be a scientist so I might even understand your science jargon 🤓Come say hi and tell me about your work!
My visit to #RockyWorlds4 kicked off with a hot take from @nplinnspace.bsky.social's poster: Even in the best-case scenario, we couldn't tell how "Earth-like" an Earth-like planet is 🔥
She assumed TRAPPIST-1 e had Earth-like air and showed that vastly different climates would be indistinguishable.
At #RockyWorlds4 in Groningen, scientists explore rocky planets with radically different chemistries and atmospheres. With the LIFE mission, they aim to study exoplanets directly and look for unexpected signs of life — not aliens, but subtle atmospheric clues. Read more: www.rug.nl/fse/news/mat...
And so begins my 14hr* train adventure from Graz to Groningen for the #RockyWorlds4 planetary science conference 🪐
*assuming Deutsche Bahn can behave itself
P.S. Follow along on Bluesky with #RockyWorlds4 (h/t @nplinnspace.bsky.social 🙌🏻)
A view of the canal in the city of Groningen, Netherlands. The sky is blue and the trees lining the water are green, so it's *definitely* not taken in January. Credit: https://www.hanze.nl/en/study/living-in-the-netherlands-and-groningen/groningen-is-waiting-for-you
A screenshot from our conference website: https://groningen2026.rockyworlds.org/ The text reads: Rocky Worlds 4 19–23 January 2026, Groningen, Netherlands In-person registrations for the conference are booked up. Registration for virtual participation is open.
Wondering why we've been so quiet this month? That's because we're busy preparing to welcome everyone *next week* to Groningen 🇳🇱 for...
🌋✨🚀 The ROCKY WORLDS 4 Conference 2026! 🪐✨☄️
Updates will be posted throughout the week from this account & others using the #RockyWorlds4 hashtag – stay tuned! 🔭🧪
