David Kipping
@davidkipping.bsky.social
Astronomy, Exoplanets, Astrobiology, Cool Worlds Lab, Columbia University. Be kind to one another.
Pinned
David Kipping
@davidkipping.bsky.social
· Nov 16
Hi BlueSky! I'm a Professor of Astronomy at Columbia University where I lead the Cool Worlds Lab, studying exoplanets, exomoons & exolife and sharing our passion for science over YouTube.com/CoolWorldsLab. I post about my team's research, spicy hot takes and whatever's going on in my life.
Fair point. My thinking here, building from the MCMC example, is that you don’t truly understand these models until you build one yourself. And science, ultimately, is also about understanding (more than optimization).
February 3, 2026 at 1:38 PM
Fair point. My thinking here, building from the MCMC example, is that you don’t truly understand these models until you build one yourself. And science, ultimately, is also about understanding (more than optimization).
Cool! What text did you follow? I am particularly interested in astronomy classes to clarify here.
February 3, 2026 at 1:15 PM
Cool! What text did you follow? I am particularly interested in astronomy classes to clarify here.
#AstroHiveMind In my stats class we often code up an MCMC from scratch as a pedagogical exercise. Has anyone tried coding up a simple LLM or a different AI architecture? How did it go?
February 3, 2026 at 1:10 PM
#AstroHiveMind In my stats class we often code up an MCMC from scratch as a pedagogical exercise. Has anyone tried coding up a simple LLM or a different AI architecture? How did it go?
#AstroHiveMind In my stats class we often code up an MCMC from scratch as a pedagogical exercise. Has anyone tried coding up a simple LLM or a different AI architecture? How did it go?
February 3, 2026 at 1:08 PM
#AstroHiveMind In my stats class we often code up an MCMC from scratch as a pedagogical exercise. Has anyone tried coding up a simple LLM or a different AI architecture? How did it go?
I attended a meeting last week that was one of the most shocking of my career. Here’s the lowdown….
youtu.be/PctlBxRh0p4
youtu.be/PctlBxRh0p4
We Need To Talk About AI...
YouTube video by Cool Worlds Podcast
youtu.be
February 1, 2026 at 10:30 PM
I attended a meeting last week that was one of the most shocking of my career. Here’s the lowdown….
youtu.be/PctlBxRh0p4
youtu.be/PctlBxRh0p4
Reposted by David Kipping
"How many people does it take before it becomes wrong?
A thousand?
Fifty thousand?
A million?
How many people does it take, admiral?"
- Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: Insurrection
A thousand?
Fifty thousand?
A million?
How many people does it take, admiral?"
- Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: Insurrection
January 25, 2026 at 7:18 PM
"How many people does it take before it becomes wrong?
A thousand?
Fifty thousand?
A million?
How many people does it take, admiral?"
- Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: Insurrection
A thousand?
Fifty thousand?
A million?
How many people does it take, admiral?"
- Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: Insurrection
It’s fascinating to see what would be the 3rd giant exomoon candidate reported using a wholly different method to transits: using astrometry. And it’s the biggest yet at 0.4 Jupiter masses. I’ve long punted on what defines a binary-planet vs a moon but this makes me wonder!
arxiv.org/abs/2511.20091
arxiv.org/abs/2511.20091
January 23, 2026 at 8:31 AM
It’s fascinating to see what would be the 3rd giant exomoon candidate reported using a wholly different method to transits: using astrometry. And it’s the biggest yet at 0.4 Jupiter masses. I’ve long punted on what defines a binary-planet vs a moon but this makes me wonder!
arxiv.org/abs/2511.20091
arxiv.org/abs/2511.20091
Are these university rankings just tracking pure research output rather than impact? If so, it seems hardly surprising that Chinese institutes could gamify that and spam out papers.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
Chinese Universities Surge in Global Rankings as U.S. Schools Slip
www.nytimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 12:08 PM
Are these university rankings just tracking pure research output rather than impact? If so, it seems hardly surprising that Chinese institutes could gamify that and spam out papers.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
The future can often feel dark and dystopian. But what are YOU excited about for the future in the next few decades?
January 12, 2026 at 2:11 PM
The future can often feel dark and dystopian. But what are YOU excited about for the future in the next few decades?
Centrifugal force on the surface of this rapidly rotating asteroid would be 0.11g outwards! So almost Lunar-level anti-gravity…
You spin us right 'round!
NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory scientists at #AAS247 just announced the discovery of a record-breaking asteroid over 500m in size that spins once every ~2 minutes 🤯😵💫
It’s the fastest-rotating asteroid this big ever found! 🔭🧪☄️
🔗: rubinobservatory.org/news/rubin-r...
NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory scientists at #AAS247 just announced the discovery of a record-breaking asteroid over 500m in size that spins once every ~2 minutes 🤯😵💫
It’s the fastest-rotating asteroid this big ever found! 🔭🧪☄️
🔗: rubinobservatory.org/news/rubin-r...
January 7, 2026 at 7:28 PM
Centrifugal force on the surface of this rapidly rotating asteroid would be 0.11g outwards! So almost Lunar-level anti-gravity…
Reposted by David Kipping
NASA Discovers Distant Planet With Conditions That Could Sustain Rocks https://theonion.com/nasa-discovers-distant-planet-with-conditions-that-could-sustain-rocks/
January 6, 2026 at 9:15 PM
NASA Discovers Distant Planet With Conditions That Could Sustain Rocks https://theonion.com/nasa-discovers-distant-planet-with-conditions-that-could-sustain-rocks/
In geopolitics, history keeps repeating itself. Different actors, different victims, but same themes. We seem unable to evolve past law of the jungle rules.
January 6, 2026 at 10:30 AM
In geopolitics, history keeps repeating itself. Different actors, different victims, but same themes. We seem unable to evolve past law of the jungle rules.
“someone will claim ambiguous evidence for life (again)”
yup! arxiv.org/abs/2507.12213
“rotational obliquity of an exoplanet measured for first time”
constrained but not measured arxiv.org/abs/2511.020...
“lots of white dwarf exoplanet papers”
77>>1! ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/search/fq=%7...
yup! arxiv.org/abs/2507.12213
“rotational obliquity of an exoplanet measured for first time”
constrained but not measured arxiv.org/abs/2511.020...
“lots of white dwarf exoplanet papers”
77>>1! ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/search/fq=%7...
Astrophysics Data System
A powerful, streamlined new Astrophysics Data System
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu
January 2, 2026 at 9:57 PM
“someone will claim ambiguous evidence for life (again)”
yup! arxiv.org/abs/2507.12213
“rotational obliquity of an exoplanet measured for first time”
constrained but not measured arxiv.org/abs/2511.020...
“lots of white dwarf exoplanet papers”
77>>1! ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/search/fq=%7...
yup! arxiv.org/abs/2507.12213
“rotational obliquity of an exoplanet measured for first time”
constrained but not measured arxiv.org/abs/2511.020...
“lots of white dwarf exoplanet papers”
77>>1! ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/search/fq=%7...
Great work! I may do a short on this…
December 23, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Great work! I may do a short on this…
Reposted by David Kipping
A little 3I/ATLAS update building on @marshall-eubanks.bsky.social's nice RNAAS from last week. Given its non-grav acceleration and the rate at which it's losing mass, you can work out its size. The answer: a diameter around 1 km, very typical for comets. arxiv.org/abs/2512.18341 🔭 🧪
December 23, 2025 at 1:05 PM
A little 3I/ATLAS update building on @marshall-eubanks.bsky.social's nice RNAAS from last week. Given its non-grav acceleration and the rate at which it's losing mass, you can work out its size. The answer: a diameter around 1 km, very typical for comets. arxiv.org/abs/2512.18341 🔭 🧪
Cheers Eric, we should discuss observational strategies some time
December 12, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Cheers Eric, we should discuss observational strategies some time
Heading to gay Paris tomorrow! Let me know your favorite things to do
December 10, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Heading to gay Paris tomorrow! Let me know your favorite things to do
#CoolWorlds Podcast Episode 28 is out! With Néstor Espinoza, in which we discuss JWST, Exoplanet Atmospheres & Molecule Detection...
youtu.be/bZ7Hge0OUTE
youtu.be/bZ7Hge0OUTE
#28 Néstor Espinoza - JWST, Exoplanet Atmospheres, Molecule Detection
YouTube video by Cool Worlds Podcast
youtu.be
December 5, 2025 at 11:00 AM
#CoolWorlds Podcast Episode 28 is out! With Néstor Espinoza, in which we discuss JWST, Exoplanet Atmospheres & Molecule Detection...
youtu.be/bZ7Hge0OUTE
youtu.be/bZ7Hge0OUTE
The US tax code makes no sense. So if you own and AirBnB-out a second/third/etc home, you get a massive tax break via depreciation + offsetting maintenance/utilities. But you own+live in one house you get none of that. And if you rent it’s even worse. Isn’t this backwards??
December 5, 2025 at 8:24 AM
The US tax code makes no sense. So if you own and AirBnB-out a second/third/etc home, you get a massive tax break via depreciation + offsetting maintenance/utilities. But you own+live in one house you get none of that. And if you rent it’s even worse. Isn’t this backwards??
Just get on with it already, you coward
Anyway here’s a cheerful piece about how the Sun will eventually destroy all life on Earth (but not by exploding, so, you know, there’s that)
Here’s how the Sun will end all life on Earth
Our home star won't go supernova, but the end of its life will be no less spectacular.
www.sciencefocus.com
December 3, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Just get on with it already, you coward
Public health warning that I am not interested in your pet theory that you developed with ChatGPT
November 24, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Public health warning that I am not interested in your pet theory that you developed with ChatGPT