The Andromeda Galaxy, courtesy my tiny smart telescope. This galaxy is *very* close, only 2.5 million light years away. If someone in Andromeda is looking back at us right now (and can resolve Earth) they're watching early humans! 15 hours of 20s photos stacked #astronomy #science 🔭👩🏾‍🔬

When you have a moment -- take a look at this math story involving butterflies, fractals, Douglas Hofstadter, and patterns in irrational energy potentials! My latest for Quanta. www.quantamagazine.org/ten-martini-... #science #MathSky #math #physics ⚛️👩🏾‍🔬

Remarkably, the central stars rotate one direction, while the stars in the hazy spirals go the opposite direction! Dark dust in the core gives the galaxy its name, the Black Eye Galaxy (magnitude 9). Image credit: 20 hours of imaging on my tiny smart telescope. #astronomy #science 🔭👩🏾‍🔬

The Trifid Nebula! A pretty stellar nursery being ripped apart by intense radiation from a nearby star (note the glaring crack through the middle). Image credit: my tiny telescope (and about 5 hours of exposure). #astronomy #science 🔭👩🏾‍🔬

Feast on this view inside the galactic bulge - the huge crush of 10 billion stars that surround our supermassive black hole. The bright light in the center is NGC 6401, a star cluster which lies 5⁰ off of the galactic center. Credit: my tiny telescope. #astronomy #science 🔭👩🏾‍🔬

William Rowan Hamilton was born #OTD in 1805. His reformulation of classical Newtonian mechanics via the principle of stationary action is one of the most beautiful ideas in all of physics, and is at the heart of nearly every modern theory in physics. 🧪 ⚛️

About 600,000 light years apart, these 2 galaxies are likely shaping each other via the tugs of gravity's incredibly long-distance tendrils. NGC 5905 (upper left) and NGC 5908 (lower right). Image credit: my tiny telescope (about 10.5 hours) #science #astronomy 🔭👩🏾‍🔬

A lone astronomical bubble floats inside frothy hot gas. Welcome to the Bubble Nebula! In the middle sits a massive star, the equivalent of ~45 suns. To make this bubble, it blew off ~15 suns. Eventually, it will end in a supernova. Credit: my tiny smart telescope. #astronomy #science 🔭👩🏾‍🔬

Does anyone want a new phone background? This is the Tulip Nebula, courtesy my tiny smart telescope. Feel free to grab the full resolution version here: photos.app.goo.gl/SuMjKTFX5P9x... #astronomy #science 👩🏾‍🔬🔭

The Western Veil Nebula. These colorful glowing filaments are part of the lacy last remnants of a massive star that exploded over 10,000 years ago. Image credit: my tiny smart telescope. #astronomy #science 🔭👩🏾‍🔬

Waiting for a series of lightning talks on Vera Rubin's first images. I clearly wasn't the only one who wanted to hear lots of excited astronomers yack about it! #astronomy 🔭

The nebula Abell 39, a ball of hot gas that is famous for being one of the largest nearly-perfect spheres in the universe, 5 light years across. The central star is a hot white dwarf, magnitude 15.5. Photo credit: my tiny smart telescope (and a lot of patience). #astronomy #science 🔭👩🏾‍🔬

New nova! V462 Lupa (middle of the photo) was first noticed June 12th. Previously an extremely faint star (mag 22.3), it can now be seen by eye! RA 15h 08m 03.3s Dec. –40° 08″ 29.6′ Photo credit: my tiny telescope More info: skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-ne... #astronomy #science 🔭👩🏾‍🔬 #V462Lupa

Did you know YOU will be able to work on NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory data in your free time as a volunteer scientist?🔭🧪 We've partnered with the Zooniverse, a platform where researchers build projects for volunteer scientists. Find out more at rubinobservatory.org/explore/citizen-science 📷: B. Quint

A quarter for your thoughts? 🪙 We think Vera C. Rubin is a great choice to be honored with a quarter... and with an observatory! Rubin was an accomplished astronomer who provided the first convincing evidence of dark matter, influencing a new subfield of astrophysics. 🧪🔭

I don’t want to add to the hysteria, but in many ways these large language models are already outperforming most of our best graduate students in the world. -Ken Ono Read the article & then come back for this thread of extras 1/ www.scientificamerican.com/article/insi... #science #math #ai #llm

Mathematicians are jittery after AI proves shockingly good at outsmarting them www.scientificamerican.com/article/insi...

The Tulip Nebula. Hidden in this photo is the black hole Cygnus X1, its existence inferred by the motions of stars and dust around it. About 6 hours of light collecting in my mini telescope! #astronomy #science 🔭👩🏾‍🔬

"Lying on our backs, we look up at the night sky. This is where stories began, under the aegis of that multitude of stars which at night filch certitudes." -John Berger Globular cluster NGC 6366 and star HD157950! A more obscure section of space. #astronomy #science #astrophotography 🔭👩🏾‍🔬

"Monkeys are superior to men in this: when a monkey looks into a mirror, he sees a monkey." --Malcolm de Chazal The spectacular (and terrifying?) Monkey Head Nebula, taken from the roof. About 3 hrs exposure. If you flip it upside down, it also looks like a monkey! #astronomy #science 🔭👩🏾‍🔬

“This is only the first round of the fight!" My latest for Scientific American on the simmering debate over whether the universe's baffling dark energy really can evolve. www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-... #science #astronomy #physics 🔭 🧪👩🏾‍🔬

“This is only the first round of the fight!" My latest for Scientific American on the simmering debate over whether the universe's baffling dark energy really can evolve. www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-... #science #astronomy #physics 🔭 🧪👩🏾‍🔬

A really nice article from @lyndie.bsky.social! www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-... #cosmology

Little inky spots in the sky are actually dark nebulas. There is a catalog of them thanks to Edward Barnard and his niece, Mary Calvert, who found 369. Around 40 yrs later, Beverly Lynds extended the catalog by over a thousand. Barnard #174 from my backyard, 160 mins. #astronomy #science 🔭👩🏾‍🔬

"I don't know that I was thinking of any particular city lights. The thing that struck me, that I remember so vividly, was it was a clear night, and there were like a million stars up in the sky." - B. Anderson The great globular cluster of Hercules, M13, 45 mins exposure #astronomy #science 🔭👩🏾‍🔬

A new approach promises to help mathematicians answer origami-related questions! This 122 year old theorem is the first application. (article by me) #math #science 🧪👩🏾‍🔬

"At night, when the objective world has slunk back into its cavern and left dreamers to their own, there come inspirations and capabilities impossible at any less magical and quiet hour." -H.P. Lovecraft, who wrote at night 2 hours on the horseshead and flame nebulas! #astronomy #science 🔭🧪👩🏾‍🔬

M81. This galaxy is thought to harbor magnetars, which are a type of dense neutron star with powerful magnetic fields. Magnetars may be the origin of the still mysterious fast radio bursts. At the bottom of the photo is the Cigar Galaxy. ~3hrs exposure on my tiny scope! #astronomy #physics 🔭🧪👩🏾‍🔬

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Orion's nebula this past Saturday. You can see this with a small pair of binoculars, no fancy equipment needed. #astrophotography 🔭 #astronomy

After 50+ years, we've finally got new mathematical legs to understand what's going on inside a black hole. (Article by me). 👩🏾‍🔬🧮🧪🔭 #science #physics #math #astronomy

Ever wonder what's going on inside a black hole? My latest for Quanta Magazine (open access): www.quantamagazine.org/new-maps-of-... #science #physics #astronomy #math 🧪👩🏾‍🔬🔭

Join us! Science Homecoming helps scientists reconnect with communities by writing about the importance of science funding in their hometown newspapers. We’ve mapped every small newspaper in the U.S. and provide resources to get you started. Help science get back home 🧪🔬🧬 🏠 sciencehomecoming.com

By the end of today, NASA’s workforce will be about 10 percent smaller A dark and painful day at a space agency that brings so much light and joy to the world. 🧪🔭 arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...

The Sun's magnetic field is about to flip. 🔭 🧪 astronomynow.com/2025/02/11/t...

Co-author (with Cecile Dewitt-Morette and Margaret Dillard-Bleick) of one of the most magisterial and intimidating books on geometry and physics out there.

Years ago, when I was an undergrad, my mom marched into the famous physicist Kip Thorne's office with a copy of Gravitation and asked for his autograph. Later that day, she surprised me with it as my birthday gift. "With best wishes for your studies of physics & astronomy - Kip" 🧪🔭 #physics

So true, @fertiglab.bsky.social !

The far side of the moon, illuminated by the sun, as it crosses between the DISCOVR spacecraft's camera and the Earth - one million miles away. 🔭 🧪

Some mathematics can simply never be known.

Just had my first ever radio alert! Massive thunderstorm headed to the Bay Area.

Back in 1972, the first 3 Black female students set foot on Caltech's campus. One of them went on to successfully deliver the world's first surviving octuplets. I was lucky enough to write about their experiences! magazine.caltech.edu/post/reflect... #BlackHistoryMonth

Have you seen these incredible #JWST - #MIRI images of WR140 and its expanding dust shells? This was an early observation with Webb after launch; now a repeat observation shows us the shells are expanding 🔭🧪 credit: NASA, @esa.int, CSA, @spacetelescope.bsky.social , E. Lieb, R. Lau, J. Hoffman

Random photo for a brief diversion. Near the bank, the water's velocity goes to 0. Far away, you can see even waves, and in between there's turbulence. 🧪 #science

Encouraging diversity among scientists is ethically right and also leads to better science.

Yikes

Great new view of Curiosity driving past the "Rustic Canyon" impact crater, with Texoli Butte in the back. And we can see a bit of the top of Aeolis Mons aka Mount Sharp in the distance to the left of the butte, that's all just gorgeous. #Mars 🧪🔭

Captured tonight on my way home #Paris

Happy MLK Day! One favorite memory of a past MLK Day: my math teacher cried the entire time during a school assembly as drama kids re-enacted moments from Martin's life -- his reaction really touched me. #MLKDay

I was today years old when I learned that you can take a mushroom, put it on a piece of paper, and it will make a "spore print". Here's a slippery jack mushroom that I found in a park.