Lisa Will
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dustchick.bsky.social
Lisa Will
@dustchick.bsky.social
890 followers 1.1K following 760 posts
Astrophysicist, educator, geek. She/her. Professor, Physics/Astronomy, San Diego City College. Resident Astronomer, Fleet Science Center.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Lisa Will
stsci.edu
As a dying, Sun-like star puts on a stunning display of light, shadow, and dust, Hubble is watching it unfold. Hubble’s sharp vision reveals intricate details of the enigmatic Egg Nebula’s remarkable structure: https://news.stsci.edu/4aw90ay
In the image center, an opaque oval cloud of gray gas aligned from 1 o’clock to 7 o’clock hides a star. Two strong beams of light from the star emerge from large holes in both sides of the cloud, forming narrow cones extending toward 10 o’clock and 4 o’clock. The central cloud is surrounded by concentric, wispy shells of gas illuminated by the star’s light. The shells reflect extra light where they’re hit by the twin beams. A crowd of smaller stars with cross-shaped spikes over them surrounds the nebula on a black background.
February 10, 2026 at 3:11 PM
dustchick.bsky.social
Congratulations to San Diego, because I did not see a single Patriots jersey while out and about for several hours today.
February 8, 2026 at 11:34 PM
Reposted by Lisa Will
jeremymberg.bsky.social
This a word cloud from the titles of ~1100 terminated NSF grants.

It is hard not to see these grant terminations as an attack on the training of the future United States scientific workforce.
A word cloud from the titles of ~1100 NSF grants that were terminated. The most frequent words are STEM, ADVANCE, Student, career, and engines.
February 7, 2026 at 3:55 PM
dustchick.bsky.social
Seriously, if you haven't watched Wonder Man, it's fantastic.
gregvaneekhout.bsky.social Greg van Eekhout @gregvaneekhout.bsky.social · 3d
Wow, the marketing for Wonder Man did the show a disservice. It does a lot of things I haven’t seen in the MCU. They got two really good actors, wrote good dialogue for them, and let them act, with only as much action as absolutely necessary.
February 7, 2026 at 4:35 AM
Reposted by Lisa Will
lalahaenzy.com
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
February 5, 2026 at 11:50 AM
dustchick.bsky.social
Troublemakers.
Two small terrier mixes on a couch covered in blankets. Black and white pup Winnie draped over black and tan pup Amelia.
February 6, 2026 at 4:22 AM
dustchick.bsky.social
Hey @repscottpeters.bsky.social @schiff.senate.gov @padilla.senate.gov! Does this look like the behavior of a department that will comply with stronger regulations or do they act more like they think they are above the law? Abolish ICE. Prosecute ICE.
councilorgreen.bsky.social Mitch Green @councilorgreen.bsky.social · 9d
I just got tear gassed along with thousands of union members, many of whom had their families with them. Federal agents at the ICE facility tear gassed children. We must abolish ICE, DHS, and we must have prosecutions. I expect to see enforcement of our city code prohibiting the use of tear gas.
February 1, 2026 at 4:32 AM
dustchick.bsky.social
Missing this best little boy on the fifteenth anniversary of his adoption.
Small fuzzy brown terrier mix Dozer, on a colorful quilt with a sock in his mouth.
January 31, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Reposted by Lisa Will
calmatters.org
Immigration arrests surge by 1,500% in San Diego: 'I feel the temperature rising'

Immigration agents escalated their presence in San Diego in the second half of 2025, where they made hundreds of arrests as part of President Trump's crackdown.
Immigration arrests surge by 1,500% in San Diego: 'I feel the temperature rising'
Immigration agents escalated their presence in San Diego in the second half of 2025, where they made hundreds of arrests as part of President Trump's crackdown.
bit.ly
January 30, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Reposted by Lisa Will
costasamaras.com
100 gigawatts is FIFTY (50) Hoover Dams
mollytaft.com molly taft @mollytaft.com · 12d
i was actually shocked to see the numbers on new research from Global Energy Monitor on new gas projects in the US: nearly 100 gigawatts of power—enough to power tens of millions of homes—are currently in development explicitly to power data centers. At the end of 2023 that number was 4 gigawatts
Data Centers Are Driving a US Gas Boom
Gas projects in the US pipeline explicitly linked to data centers increased by almost 25 times over the past two years, according to new research from Global Energy Monitor.
www.wired.com
January 31, 2026 at 2:55 PM
dustchick.bsky.social
LOLOLOLOLOLOL
bayesianboy.bsky.social Mel Andrews @bayesianboy.bsky.social · 10d
A new study from Anthropic finds that gains in coding efficiency when relying on AI assistance did did not meet statistical significance; AI use noticeably degraded programmers’ understanding of what they were doing. Incredible.
spavel.bsky.social Pavel @spavel.bsky.social · 10d
The latest from Anthropic: using Anthropic's products makes you worse at your job
January 31, 2026 at 1:37 AM
Reposted by Lisa Will
brooklynmarie.bsky.social
Borders also keep you in
justinhendrix.bsky.social Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 11d
A Minnesota woman observing ICE agents in her car was cornered on one-way streets. An agent approached, called her by name—citing facial recognition. Days later, her Global Entry and TSA privileges were revoked, with no explanation.
How ICE Already Knows Who Minneapolis Protesters Are
www.nytimes.com
January 30, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Lisa Will
ridingrobots.bsky.social
A few months ago they let me walk around the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex at night. Don't know if it was the desert rain, watching skyscraper-sized antennas swivel to catch signals from beyond Saturn, or just my fillings buzzing from the radio signals, but I had goosebumps all night.
A huge antenna dish pointed at a cloudy sunset sky. The crescent moon hangs over a distant desert ridge. This is the Goldstone DSCC Station 13. Now decommissioned, this antenna was built for the Voyager 2 encounter of Uranus. Photo: NASA/Bill Dunford
January 30, 2026 at 4:07 AM
dustchick.bsky.social
Public employee names are... public.

(Look, this is just a huge pet peeve for me, a public employee.)
pbump.com Philip Bump @pbump.com · 11d
DHS says ICE agents need to wear face masks because doxxing is happening and assaults are spiking. But, according to their press releases, no agent has been doxxed and assaulted since Trump came back to the White House.
ICE’s excuse for wearing masks has never actually manifested
There have been incidents of harassment and threats. But there are no apparent incidents in which identified ICE officers have been assaulted off-duty.
www.pbump.net
January 30, 2026 at 5:01 AM
Reposted by Lisa Will
theplanetaryguy.bsky.social
Original (unaltered) image and explanation for why Curiosity is looking at things at night:

science.nasa.gov/resource/cur...

Alien hand glove by Imaginerick on Etsy.

(h/t to @kennen11.bsky.social for pointing me towards this displacement exercise)
January 29, 2026 at 12:22 AM
Reposted by Lisa Will
astraughnomer.bsky.social
The sharpest, most detailed map of dark matter ever made from new JWST data gives new insights into this mysterious scaffolding of the universe ✨ Read more: www.nasa.gov/missions/web...
January 28, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Reposted by Lisa Will
planet4589.bsky.social
I've updated my megaconstellations list www.planet4589.org/space/con/co... with details of the planned Blue Origin Terawave system and the enormous CTC1 and CTC2 constellations China just filed with the ITU, for a total of almost 750,000 proposed satellites in the years to come.
Jonathan's Space Report | Space Statistics
Jonathan McDowell's new homepage
www.planet4589.org
January 26, 2026 at 2:25 AM
Reposted by Lisa Will
policyhound.bsky.social
The US government lost more than 10,000 STEM PhDs last year, according to an analysis by Science of newly released OPM data, with 11 departures for every hire. And many OPM calls "voluntary" separations were probably pushed. www.science.org/content/arti...
U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office
A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies
www.science.org
January 27, 2026 at 1:28 AM
Reposted by Lisa Will
tressiemcphd.bsky.social
So which politician is calling for the dismantling of the probably illegal database that ice & this government is collecting biometric data of protesters?
January 25, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Reposted by Lisa Will
chrisgeidner.bsky.social
"I insisted that the agents let me assess him. Normally, I would not have been so persistent, but as a physician, I felt a professional and moral obligation to help this man, especially since none of the agents were helping him."
chrisgeidner.bsky.social Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 16d
BREAKING: A young doctor who lives near where Alex Pretti, a nurse, was killed by ICE says in a declaration he saw the shooting, went out to help, was not let through at first then patted down before being let by, and was apparently the first to try and provide any medical assistance to Pretti.
1. 1 am a 29-year-old resident of the lin Minneapolis, Minnesota. I have lived in Minneapolis since 2024, when I moved to the city to begin my medical residency. I am a licensed pediatrician, and I have been practicing pediatric medicine in the city since I moved here. 2. On January 24, 2026, at approximately 9:00 am CST, I was awoken by the sound of cars honking and whistles blowing. Shortly after I awoke, I heard screaming from outside my window. I saw several ICE agents and civilians yelling at each other. 3. One civilian was standing in front of a parked car on the side of the road. I saw him yelling at the ICE agents, but I did not see him attack the agents or brandish a weapon of any kind 4. Suddenly, an ICE agent shoved him to the ground. My view of the altercation was partially obstructed, but after a few seconds, I saw at least four ICE agents point guns at the man. I then saw the agents shoot the man at least six or seven times. 5. Initially, I was stunned. From what I could see from my apartment, there was absolutely no need for any violence, let alone lethal force by multiple officers. I immediately put on my boots and coat, ran outside, and approached ICE agents who were near the victim. 6. The scene was chaotic. Many civilians were screaming and honking. Over the noise, I informed the ICE agents that I am a physician, and I asked to assess the victim. 7. At first, the ICE agents wouldn't let me through. They repeatedly asked me for my physician's license, which I obviously didn't have. But none of the ICE agents who were near the victim were performing CPR, and I could tell that the victim was in critical condition. I insisted that the agents let me assess him. Normally, I would not have been so persistent, but as a physician, I felt a professional and moral obligation to help this man, especially since none of the agents were helping him. 8. Finally, one agent agreed to let me assess the victim. He patted me down to "make sure I didn't have a weapon" and then let me approach the victim. 9. As I approached, I saw that the victim was lying on his side and was surrounded by several ICE agents. I was confused as to why the victim was on his side, because that is not standard practice when a victim has been shot. Checking for a pulse and administering CPR is standard practice. Instead of doing either of those things, the ICE agents appeared to be counting his bullet wounds. 10.1 asked the ICE agents if the victim had a pulse, and they said they did not know. I then asked the agents to make space so I could assess the victim. 11. The victim had at least three bullet wounds in his back. I asked the ICE agents to turn the victim from his side to his back. From that position, I saw an additional gunshot wound on the victim's upper left chest and another possible gunshot wound on his neck. 12. I checked for a pulse, but I did not feel one. I immediately began CPR. Shortly after I started compressions, EMS personnel arrived and took over. 13.1 remained at the scene for about five more minutes, but protesters began to gather and the situation seemed to be escalating, so I left and returned to my apartment. 14. When I returned to my apartment, I was extremely distraught. I was sobbing and shaking uncontrollably. Eventually, I called my sister, who lives in a nearby suburb. I called her for comfort and because I did not feel safe in my apartment; I wanted to see if I could stay with her for the day and maybe even a few days. 15.1 also sought advice from a friend who works for the City of Minneapolis. He recommended that I shelter in place because the situation outside my apartment was so dangerous. I was going to follow his advice, but then ICE agents deployed tear gas on the crowd that had gathered below, and the tear gas began seeping into my apartment.
January 25, 2026 at 2:01 AM
Reposted by Lisa Will
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.
1. I am a resident of the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I am over 18 years of age. I am a children's entertainer who specializes in face painting. 2. On Saturday, January 24, 2026, at about 8:50 am, I was getting ready to go to work when I heard whistles outside. I knew the whistles meant that ICE agents were in the area, so I decided to check it out on my way to work. I've been involved in observing in my community because it is so important to document what ICE is doing to my neighbors. Connecting to your local community and knowing who your neighbors are is something I profoundly value. 3. I drove to Nicollet Ave. and 26th where I could hear the whistles coming from. I turned south onto Nicollet. There were already several ICE agents there and they'd set up a sort of vehicle convoy on Nicollet and 28th. There were also about 15 observers there, recording and observing ICE. 4. I saw ICE agents surrounding cars and punching car windows. I also saw them stopping vehicles further down Nicollet, so I backed up because I didn't feel safe continuing on. 5. I noticed a man sort of acting to help traffic move more smoothly. He helped me find a place to park. I got out with my whistle and my camera. I went over to him and said something like, "I'm going to film and use my whistle." 6. It seemed like most ICE activity was happening a little farther down the street from us, near 27th. Someone was being thrown to the ground. 7. I started recording. There was an agent by a car across the street. Two observers were a few feet away from the agent, blowing their whistles. One was wearing a backpack. 8. I and the man who was observing and helping direct traffic were standing in the street. There was a phone in the man's hand recording a video. 9. An agent approached and asked us to back up, so I moved slowly back onto the sidewalk. 10. The man stayed in the street, filming as the other observers I mentioned earlier were being forced backward by another ICE agent threatening them with pepper spray. The man went closer to support them as they got threatened, just with his camera out. I didn't see him reach for or hold a gun. 11. Then the ICE agent shoved one of the other observers to the ground. Then he started pepper spraying all three of them directly in the face and all over. The man with the phone put his hands above his head and the agent sprayed him again and pushed him. 12. Then the man tried to help up the woman the ICE agent had shoved to the ground. The ICE agents just kept spraying. More agents came over and grabbed the man who was still trying to help the woman get up. All three of the observers looked to have been badly affected by the pepper spray. I could feel the pepper spray in my eyes. 13. The agents pulled the man on the ground. I didn't see him touch any of them-he wasn't even turned toward them. It didn't look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up. I didn't see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times. 14.1 don't know why they shot him. He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just shot him. 15. The video I recorded of what happened accurately depicts the events leading up to the agents shooting him and several minutes afterwards. The video is attached as Exhibit 1. 16. I have read the statement from DHS about what happened and it is wrong. The man did not approach the agents with a gun. He approached them with a camera. He was just trying to help a woman get up and they took him to the ground. 17. I feel afraid. Only hours have passed since they shot a man right in front me and I don't feel like I can go home because I heard agents were looking for me. I don't know what the agents will do when they find me. I do know that they're not telling the truth about what happened. I've heard that other witnesses might have been arrested and taken to the Whipple Building. 18. I am disgusted and gutted at how they are treating my neighbors and my state. I keep alternating between crying and feeling determined it is important to remember the value of documenting injustice. We show up for the people who need us to bear witness, because it can't just be one group of people bearing the brunt of their tyranny. This is a struggle to protect our freedom and democracy, those things are on the line. He lost his life for those values. I declare under penalty of perjury that everything I have stated in this document is true and correct. Dated and signed on Jan 24, 2026 in Hennepin County, State of Minnesota.
January 25, 2026 at 1:15 AM
dustchick.bsky.social
For a respite, watch one of our pups walk around a sporting goods store while I was buying whistles, for reasons.
gregvaneekhout.bsky.social Greg van Eekhout @gregvaneekhout.bsky.social · 16d
Shopping at Dick's. None of us play golf.
January 24, 2026 at 10:12 PM
Reposted by Lisa Will
michaelvpina.bsky.social
the nba postponed a game because the united states government is killing its citizens
January 24, 2026 at 7:51 PM
Reposted by Lisa Will
johnrogers.bsky.social
The World Cup in the US must be boycotted by foreign nations. Outside financial pressure is the only thing the thugs in suits (as opposed to the thugs in camo) will respond to.
January 24, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Reposted by Lisa Will
yvonnezlam.bsky.social
Reporters, if you wrote about learning loss due to covid school closures, you can write about learning loss due to state terror.
bakerdphd.bsky.social Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 17d
I am not being snarky. I need my colleagues who wrote on covid school lockdowns to engage with this. To be as loud as they have been about prior "learning loss." Hell, you can cite Tom & Mark's AERJ paper so you feel better that there's some econ somewhere in your argument.
epopppp.bsky.social Beth Popp Berman @epopppp.bsky.social · 17d
"In St. Paul, at least one-fourth of students from Spanish-speaking homes have missed every day of school since Dec. 12."
January 23, 2026 at 11:06 PM