The application for the ESO Summer Research Programme 2026 has just opened! It‘s a six week programme in Garching close to Munich where pre-Ph.D students can work on a hands-on project. Working at @eso.org is a fabulous experience, so please help me spread the word ✨ 🔗 eso.org/sci/meetings...

Happy to share my introductory review article "JWST provides a new view of cosmic dawn: latest developments in studies of early galaxies" has now been published in Contemporary Physics! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... arxiv.org/abs/2511.04843

Finding referees seems to be increasingly difficult for journals, but people in my field submit *multiple* papers per year. Hot take: I propose a token currency where submitting a paper costs a token, and one review earns you one. You cannot submit yet another paper if your deficit is >N. #academia

A delayed announcement - the 2nd chapter of the Saas-Fee 2025 Lectures is now out on arXiv. Marta Volonteri did a fantastic job reviewing how we model the formation and growth of early massive black holes, and how JWST results are helping: arxiv.org/abs/2510.04599 (another 2 chapters will follow)

Quand notre ministre de tutelle nous insulte devant la représentation nationale. "Bande de nuls" "complètement à la ramasse". Nous reprocher des taux de réussite faible à Horizon Europe et ERC, quand manquent les moyens pour assurer nos missions de service public. Surtout changez rien!👌

Another STUNNING image from JWST, this time of the Red Spider Nebula—the vast, wispy, gaseous remains of a now-dead star, the white dwarf core still glowing in the centre.

#extragalactic #astrosci

You probably missed it because of some deadline but on Tuesday we published the results of an [OIII] emitters search in the COMOS(-3D) field using slitlless spectroscopy. That's *237* 6.7<z<9 uniformly-selected spec-z galaxies over 0.3 degrees square. See the piled 2D plots below, that's a lot!

On astro-ph today, a nice set of lecture notes from Richard Ellis (UCL) on Galaxies and Black Holes in the first Billion years - with special focus on new results from JWST. It also illustrates why MIRI is essential for accurately estimating galaxies' stellar masses ✨ arxiv.org/abs/2508.16948 🔭

In January we held the very successful Saas-Fee Lectures on the revolution JWST is unleashing in high-redshift studies, covering BH and galaxies, observations and theory. The first set of lecture notes by Richard Ellis is now available on arXiv (3 more will follow): arxiv.org/abs/2508.16948 .

We are excited to make the first official announcement for the 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗮𝘄𝗻 conference in Copenhagen in 12–17 April next year 🤩 cosmicdawn.dk/meetings-and...

Extremely excited to share that the PHOENIX team, led by PhD student Sander Schouws in Leiden, has been awarded 113 hours of ALMA time in Cycle 12—along with JWST MIRI spectroscopy! We’ll be targeting [OIII]88 and the dust continuum in 15 of the brightest spectroscopically confirmed galaxies 1/n

Whoa. Three Little Red Dots have now been found in SDSS! arxiv.org/abs/2507.10659 But due to their compact morphology and bizarre colors, they are originally selected as *quasar candidates*, not galaxies! In any event, LRDs are not unique to the high-z universe. #astrosci

and once again, the JWST call for proposal is in exact sync with the ERC StG deadline.. 🥲

We found the most distant confirmed galaxy (some Sergej Boebka vibes 😅) arxiv.org/abs/2505.11263

🧵 Today is paper day for me! Usually I don’t post about papers but I have a special soft spot for this one: the detection of the Gunn-Peterson trough in high-redshift *galaxies* !! arxiv.org/abs/2504.02683 #astrosci #extragalactic #cosmology

For a video explainer, I'm looking for scientists working in the US, or in collaboration with US scientists, or with US data's, whose work is impacted by the new Trump administration. 🙏If you are willing to be interviewed (video interview in a French newspaper) DM me !

These are woke 🔭 things according to Ted "gave Craig Mazin the general vibe for Chernobyl" Cruz: Studying reionization (and making vague promises to train students from underrepresented groups doing so, like NSF requested)

We are experiencing technical problems which are part of some growing pains (more content, more users, same infrastructure). At the moment there are no funding or programmatic threats to ADS. Thank you for your patience while we sort things out.

I'm getting increasingly worried about NASA/ADS, which has not been working for some time... bsky.app/profile/tele...

NASA ADS is really struggling today and I really hope this is not due to some Musk interference.. 🫣 #astronomy

For the first time in my astronomer's life, I submitted TWO full days in advance for a major grant deadline - what am I supposed to do now?

Perks of working in Switzerland: nothing can beat the office window view

Hello @bsky.app, here's to looking into more #bluesky and beyond... 😉

@bot.astronomy.blue signup

Further to this: please share my joy at this bonkers JWST image of star cluster Westerlund 1, released in Oct. Read more about this amazing cluster and the image: esawebb.org/images/potm2... Image credit:ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb), M. G. Guarcello (INAF-OAPA) and the EWOCS team 🔭

Are you an ECR? Do you like #JWST ? High-z galaxies/SMBHs? Skiing/curling/ice-skating/eating fondue in the Swiss Alps? 🔭 Applications are now open for the 54th Saas-Fee Course on "Galaxies and Black Holes in the 1 Gyr as seen with the JWST" - Jan 27-31, 2025 - more info: astro.unige.ch/saasfee2025/

Do never complain again about JWST/ALMA being oversubscribed: "The number of hours requested by proposals in period 114 on UT4 amounted to 28.7 the available time" 🤯😱😂

This rarely happens but: the referee pointed out some inconsistency, which sent me down a rabbit hole and ultimately transformed my view of my own work. All the pieces of the puzzle are coming together. Whoever you are, dear referee, thank you so much!

One day I'll get these tags right 🧪🔭 #astro

Two weeks ago I posted the result of an unbiased (slitless spectroscopy!) search for [OIII] emitters in the GOODS fields using FRESCO data. Found 137 6.8<z<9.0 [OIII] emitters with well-characterised selection function. More here: arxiv.org/abs/2405.05111 +public catalogue: github.com/rameyer/fresco

I should have done it earlier, but quick advertisement for a new paper (arxiv.org/abs/2402.17635) written by my former student (now doing a PhD in Geneva), Emma Giovinazzo! Emma used the Obelisk simulation to connect Lya and LyC photons at z=6, and… "it's complicated". For details, read the paper!

I recently made a comic complaining that NASA refuses to listen to my good ideas for improving the Solar System (xkcd.com/2750). To my delight, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate has sent me an actual expert panel evaluation of my “flatten the planets” proposal! Sadly, they decided not to fund it.

Please help me by reading and sharing this Appeal for Dialogue to University College London. I am suffering severe retaliation after reporting being bullied, harassed and intimidated at UCL. UCL acknowledges the retaliation but refuses to talk to me to find a solution.

Pleased to share that the UK’s Royal Astronomical Society has awarded its 2024 Group Achievement Award to the JWST-MIRI team - led by Gillian Wright of UKATC and George Rieke of U Arizona. Delighted and honoured to be part of this team 🥂🎉 www.ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

Interested in an internship at MPIA (@mpi-astro.bsky.social)? Apply for our summer program! this is a paid internship for bachelors and masters students anywhere in the world. Come join us for a summer of science in Heidelberg! www.mpia.de/en/careers/i...

🔭 What's going on with ESO P113 results? TAC/DAPR comments on proposals are visible but the final time allocation result is not available.. Such teasing before the holiday break!!

🔭

Probably my favourite 🔭 paper of the week: "Data download" from a high-altitude ballon telescope by literally dropping 5TB SSDs equipped with parachutes arxiv.org/abs/2311.08602

🔭 Go work with Jorryt! Highly recommend.

My institute ISTA in the nice Viennese forest in Austria now calls for PhD applications, deadline Jan 8 2024. Fully funded ~5 yr US style Grad School. Multiple positions in Astronomy are available. Please distribute and contact me for details! phd.pages.ist.ac.at

Good luck to all who submitted JWST Cycle 3 proposals! Don't forget to take a break, enjoy a glass of wine, and get a good night's sleep!

How is your JWST Cycle 3 deadline going? I swear that if I receive yet another proposal on high-redshfit obscured AGNs / little red dots I will go mental.

Check out this awesome collaboration between ESA and Swatch, to create custom watches with JWST images 😍 www.swatch.com/en-us/swatch...

Oof. 🛰️