Now on @sciam.bsky.social: NASA’s next-gen Habitable Worlds Observatory may be our best chance to find alien life. But can a nation busy ripping itself apart unite to launch a mission to solve life’s cosmic mysteries? By @nadiadrake.bsky.social (and me). www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-...

One of my faves, among the galaxies that we're studying. Uncommonly beautiful because of its striking "flocculent" spiral morphology. We've learned its star clusters tell a story of gas accreted from a neighbor, rejuvenating the disk🧪🔭 iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3... #extragalactic #astrosci

🥳PLATO, @esa.int's planet-hunting space telescope, has arrived at their ESTEC facility in the Netherlands, after its successful integration in Germany in June. We're looking forward to the next steps, when its solar panels and sunshield are fitted ahead of the planned launch in 2026! 🔭 #Exoplanets

Today, we mourn the memory of those we lost on September 11, 2001. We also come together to honor the brave heroes, like our first responders, who risked their lives that tragic day to save countless others. Their sacrifice can never be repaid. We will never forget.

Heads up to attendees of #epscdps2025 - there will be a splinter session about Solar System planning for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) in the Ganymede Room TODAY (Weds) at 3 pm!

"no evidence supporting a statistically significant trend of [O star] multiplicity properties with metallicity" still high (~70%) in the SMC - interesting! 🔭🧪 #AstroSci #extragalactic

Another fantastic paper that arose from our @kitp-ucsb.bsky.social GalEvo23 program. This one is from the inimitable Kartheik Iyer, who also shared a fantastic takeaway figure on how simulated feedback affects galaxy star formation histories. #AstroSci #extragalactic

The Habitable Worlds Observatory is early in its development as a large infrared/optical/ultraviolet space telescope. Many designs are under consideration, including this artist's concept animation. More about the planned observatory: go.nasa.gov/HWO #HWO2025 #HWO25 🔭 🧪 ☄️

There was a photographer for the first two days of the Habitable Worlds Observatory conference in Washington DC a few weeks ago - it's so rare to actually get a nice photo dressed up and giving a talk!

Next Friday 8/15 is the deadline to endorse #HabitableWorldsObservatory science cases. If you think it is important to consider whether a planet has the right geology in place to host life as we know it _before_ looking for life there, please endorse our case: bit.ly/GeochemHab_endorse #HWO25

I said this recently at #HWO2025, but I'll also say it here in light of the upcoming @nancyromansci.bsky.social call for white papers for the coronagraph: If you don't do planets and disks, please put a white paper in! I'm happy to give advice #astrosci 🔭

what a week for our future✨ #HWO25 🧵coming soon🔭🧪☄️ @mmacgreg.bsky.social @hbhammel.bsky.social @bmacastro.bsky.social @dawngelino.bsky.social @aussiastronomer.bsky.social @stsci.edu @aura-astronomy.bsky.social @justtheletteru.bsky.social @vividreams.bsky.social @leefeinberg.bsky.social +500 others

Back for another day of #HWO25 at the stunning at the @jhuartssciences.bsky.social Bloomberg Center!

Lee Feinberg - principal architect for the Habitable Worlds Observatory - discusses various options for the telescope 🔭 and the possible rockets 🚀 that will launch it at #HWO25

Jessie Christiansen provides historical and scientific context for exoplanet studies “the ‘Neptunes’ are the primary test bed for testing algorithms and tools for exoplanet research” 🔭

Dr. Giada Arney kicks off the Habitable Worlds Observatory science and technology conference in Washington DC 🔭 with a great talk about habitability writ large

Lookout DC, we’re on the way!!! #HWO25

Witness the *proposed* devastation of NASA science. If this concerns you, consider exploring the tools provided to make your opinions known: www.planetary.org/save-nasa-sc...

"I've had to go through so much... just in order to become a child again and begin anew." - Hesse Life is a journey. Thank you to the (newly minted!) Dr @abigaillee.bsky.social for reflecting on it with me. 🔭🧪 astrobites.org/2025/05/28/i...

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The American Astronomical Society is gravely concerned by the deep cuts to NASA science funding reported to be in the draft President’s Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2026. Read more here: aas.org/press/aas-st... and take action now: aas.org/urge-nasa-su...

Jared Isaacman confirmation hearing for NASA Administrator scheduled to begin in just a few minutes✨🔭😜☄️ stream: www.commerce.senate.gov/2025/4/nomin... opening statement: www.commerce.senate.gov/services/fil...

📣 Euclid releases first batch of survey data, including a preview of its very own deep fields! With just one scan, #ESAEuclid has already spotted 26 million galaxies 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl... Let's explore the treasure trove that our #DarkUniverse detective has uncovered 🧵 1/ 🔭🧪 #astrosci

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Vera Rubin has been selected to be featured on the back of a quarter. She is the first astronomer to be honored this way. Read about her research on the Andromeda galaxy and how it led to the discovery of dark matter in this article written by Rubin herself. doi.org/10.1063/1.24... 🔭 #WomenInStem

Regarding the cuts to the science budget in the US, I wanted to highlight Chilean universities that offer graduate studies in astronomy. Because Chile will host 60% of the world’s ground-based telescopes by the end of the decade, they are leading many important research projects. Starting a 🧵:

Today, Barnard's star has 4 confirmed planets. It's the first time (that I know of) in which the discovery of planets around Barnard's star survives the scrutiny of an independent team🔭#exoplanets

a bit of joy from connecting with someone by old-school post 📭 ✨🔭 store.usps.com/store/produc...

I'm looking for a two year postdoc to work with me at Macquarie University building an Astrostatistics Research Group! We're interested in diverse applicants with previous experience in applying stats/AI/ML in astronomy, especially in relation to exoplanets/stellar astrophysics/instrumentation.

Relieved to report that our PHANGS paper has finally been accepted for publication in ApJ! To our knowledge, this is the first census for dust obscured star-formation at the star cluster scale across a broad set of nearby galaxies. 🧵[1/n]🔭🧪#extragalactic

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“Think of #habitableworldsobservatory as a #superhubble... capable of.. transformative astrophysics” said Arney, “as well as.. the 1st observatory ever designed to search for signs of life on planets outside of our solar system.”#exoplanets www.thespacereview.com/article/4930/1 🔭@jfoust.bsky.social

JWST N628 Stamp issued🔭 #extragalactic🧪https://shorturl.at/Xqrtk Easy to forget that this is an actual place, a place w/ billions of ✨ and planets where we cannot travel. Astronomy has guided humanity through the cosmos Humbling to reflect on the role we will play as our presence grows beyond Earth

My eyes are closed here, but what's important is that Hubble and JWST's are wide open 👀 & you can actually scan the QR code in the photo 🔭🧪 Amazing PHANGS showing @ #AAS245 with >30 talks+posters✨ A privilege to be working with such a fantastic group of scientists & human beings #extragalactic

"65 Hubble orbits for spectral mapping of Haro 11 in the ultraviolet.... that's not ok." Dr. Bethan James We need a #superhubble! Come join us at the #AAS245 #habitableworldsobservatory special session 10am Wed, Potomac Ballroom C ✨🔭🧪 #extragalactic

Fantastic #aas245 poster by undergrad Sophia Rivera! A pilot study on whether convolutional neural networks can be trained to predict star cluster ages directly from PHANGS Hubble images✨ check out her Chambliss finalist poster 👉 aas245-aas.ipostersessions.com/default.aspx... 🔭🧪 #extragalactic

✨may 2025 bring you strength, courage, renewed determination, and hope✨🔭 #extragalactic

The LADUMA team has put out a new paper on the neutral hydrogen mass function in the local Universe (HIMF)! Neutral Hydrogen (HI) is the mid step in the evolution of hydrogen in galaxies. 1/3 🔭 #extragalactic arxiv.org/pdf/2412.11426

surreal 🔭🧪 #PHANGS-JWST NCG628 imaging is being turned into a US POSTAGE STAMP ✉️ !! ✨The imaging has truly taken a life of its own. Grateful for the amazing village of collaborators, comms folks, USPS for bringing the universe to people's doorsteps.✨ #extragalactic www.space.com/usps-james-w...

Interested in AI for scientific discovery? Our research team has four workshop presentations at NeurIPS that span LLM mechanistic interpretability, graph neural networks, and diffusion models -- all presented today! A 🧵 of our results below (each paper is linked):

#extragalactic #paperday arxiv.org/abs/2412.07862 ✨🔭🧪 with STScI postdoc Jimena Rodriguez! where we search for dusty star clusters in 19 nearby galaxies using the PHANGS-JWST Treasury Survey, and find a very short timescale (<3 Myr) for the dust embedded phase. Fig 17 & 18 are my favs!

NSF just released an external report re the US Extremely Large Telescopes; it concludes: “The panel advises the Director to optimize the use of taxpayer funding to ensure that both projects have the opportunity to succeed in FDR [Final Design Review]”. nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/ELT-Ev...

at #AGU24? check out the Habitable Worlds Observatory events! cool flyer from @vividreams.bsky.social ✨🔭🧪#exoplanets #planetsci #hwo

www.reuters.com/world/us/tru... 🧪🔭

📣 In March 2025, ESA plans to issue a call soliciting proposals for a Medium-class mission (to be launched around 2041), a Fast-class mission (to be launched around 2034), and a new type of agile mission (mini-Fast). www.cosmos.esa.int/web/call-for... #planetaryScience #spaceExploration

Beth Brown Memorial Award Winners for 2024 Three winners of the AAS-sponsored Beth Brown Memorial Awards announced at the recent joint meeting of the National Society of Black Physicists and National Society of Hispanic Physicists. aas.org/node/245460 🔭

#extragalactic testing...testing...

Was psyched that Andrew Pace's Local Volume Database of dwarfs & star clusters was on ArXiV the other day! The push for community-facing collation is great to see in the #extragalactic space. (🔭) 📝 arxiv.org/abs/2411.07424 💻 github.com/apace7/local...

📌 Check out all of our feeds! 📌 The Astronomy feeds network includes many different feeds covering a range of astro topics. Anyone can read them; if you're an astronomer, you can post to any of them by signing up via @bot.astronomy.blue. Here's a thread of all of them:

✨🔭🧪 Looking ahead to #HWO25, inspiration from 1989: the 1st JWST workshop proceedings, 9 months b4 Hubble’s launch. On cover: the then-imagined groundbreaking observations of a galaxy at redshift ONE. How far we’ve come! #HWO25 will shape a similar 'community science book' for the next era.