John Debes
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johndebes.bsky.social
John Debes
@johndebes.bsky.social
ESA/AURA astronomer at STScI. Opinions my own. I study exoplanets and disks around stars.
Pinned
I cracked 1000 followers on Blusky recently and excited to talk to folks about astronomy, exoplanets, being kind to your community, and of course furbabies
Reposted by John Debes
NEW: The FDA won’t tell Americans where their generic drugs are made, so ProPublica built the Rx Inspector tool to show you.

Now a proposed bill would also require manufacturing location information on packaging for both generic and brand-name drugs.
The Clear Labels Act Would Change What You Know About Your Prescription Medication
The bill, introduced by Sens. Rick Scott and Kirsten Gillibrand, follows a bipartisan investigation that cited ProPublica’s reporting on dangerous foreign drugmakers and the medicine they continued…
www.propublica.org
February 6, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Reposted by John Debes
It's just over a year since we joined @bsky.app. Check out our updated #StarterPack and see what's changed!
February 6, 2026 at 12:44 PM
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Proplyd 414-50092 (or proplyd 1) in NGC 1977. #JWST MIRI (F560W, F770W, F1000W)

I was hoping for a bit more, but it was cut off on the edge of the detector. www.stsci.edu/jwst-program...
February 7, 2026 at 5:56 AM
Reposted by John Debes
⏰Time to Register for #sagan2026⏰

The hybrid workshop focuses on expected #exoplanet science from the @nasaromantelescope.bsky.social Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey. Travel support requests for early-career participants are due 3/5. nexsci.caltech.edu/workshop/2026
🔭 #astrocode #instrumentation
February 6, 2026 at 11:22 PM
Reposted by John Debes
🚀 Reminder: The Roman Cycle 1 Call for Proposals is OPEN!

Now’s the time to propose new science with the WFI - data analysis, theory and lab work, and new observations. Check the Late Breaking News section for important updates to the call.

📅 Deadline: Mar 17, 2026 (5 PM PDT)

📝 bit.ly/4q3jbbL
February 6, 2026 at 12:00 AM
Reposted by John Debes
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
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This pup found a stick shaped like an old timey pipe earlier today and has already solved three mysteries. 13/10
February 4, 2026 at 9:59 PM
Reposted by John Debes
While not a real-time image feed from the telescopes (the images are from existing surveys), you can see what Hubble or Webb are observing right now. Pretty neat! 🔭🧪
If you've ever wondered what Hubble and Webb were observing at any time, there's an easy way to find out! 👀

Space Telescope Live can show you what the telescopes are looking at now and what the next planned observation will be, all in one space (pun intended 😁): https://spacetelescopelive.org/
February 4, 2026 at 5:47 PM
A little self-reflection is a good thing.
February 3, 2026 at 11:05 PM
Reposted by John Debes
🚨 Exciting news! 🚨

Here is the first known picture of the 19th Century astronomer Richard Carrington – who had the largest geomagnetic storm in history named after him.

It was found by our assistant archivist Kate Bond thanks to some brilliant detective work.🕵️‍♀️ 👉️ ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
February 2, 2026 at 3:06 PM
Reposted by John Debes
BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting
The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...
www.propublica.org
February 1, 2026 at 9:10 PM
Reposted by John Debes
We know that 4more children from Liam's school are still in ICE custody in TX. But we still do not know how many children from MN in total have been detained by ICE.
February 1, 2026 at 4:19 PM
The recent Texas special election is notable but it’s also instructive to look at the 2022 electoral results to see that the turnout in 2026 was just over 1/3 of the 2022 turnout. Democrats increasingly are turning out reliable voters but struggle with casual voters.
February 1, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Reposted by John Debes
The number of immigration agents in Minnesota may be reduced, but they'll leave leave behind a changed community, including many U.S. citizens questioned and detained in recent weeks. n.pr/4caeUzg
Minnesota citizens detained by ICE are left rattled, even weeks later
The number of immigration agents in Minnesota may be reduced, but they'll leave leave behind a changed community, including many U.S. citizens questioned and detained in recent weeks.
n.pr
February 1, 2026 at 10:08 AM
Great! How about all the other children?
February 1, 2026 at 12:37 PM
Reposted by John Debes
Turns out that you can simply chose not to sell your warehouse and prevent it from becoming a detention center

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Jim Pattison won't sell U.S. warehouse proposed as new ICE facility | CBC News
Jim Pattison Developments has announced it will not sell an industrial building in Ashland, Va., that was set to be turned into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing facility.
www.cbc.ca
January 30, 2026 at 7:11 PM
Reposted by John Debes
“Doctors won’t tell you this, but you don’t need medication for a tapeworm—all you need is the natural power of friction,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said as he dropped to the floor, lifted his legs high, and dragged his ass along the White House carpet during a press conference.
RFK Jr. Demonstrates How To Remove Tapeworm By Scooting Ass Across Carpet
WASHINGTON—In an address touting the practice as a completely drug-free method to relieve the common affliction, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. demonstrated Thursday how ...
theonion.com
January 31, 2026 at 1:30 AM
Reposted by John Debes
Big applause for the SPHEREx mission team for receiving the Explorers Club's 2026 Sylvia A. Earle Award for Exploration Excellence!👏👏👏

The award recognizes the mission's accomplishment of completing the first infrared map of the sky in 102 colors.
🌈🔭🏆 www.explorers.org/ecad-2026-awardees
January 29, 2026 at 11:24 PM
Goblin mode activated
January 29, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Reposted by John Debes
I’m not trying to dunk on the OP but I think you wouldn’t look at the state of US science and science-based policy and think STEM is important to them in general. But a *specific STEM aesthetic* affected by software engineers and venture capitalists *has* captured the imagination while science rots
The U.S. has successfully convinced its people that “the humanities are frivolous and STEM is Important and Real” is basically a law of nature: this is absolute nonsense that we should stop putting up with.
January 29, 2026 at 12:36 AM
Reposted by John Debes
New planet just dropped and it

1) is almost exactly Earth-sized

2) has a year that's almost exactly 1 Earth year.

3) orbits a star that is not a 💢temperamental little shit M-dwarf 💢but is instead a 🧡 good orange boi 🧡

Me for @science.org based on results presented at #RockyWorlds4: 🔭🧪
Earth-size planet spotted with yearlong orbit
Long-overlooked Kepler signal discovered by citizen scientists reveals promising world worth a closer look
www.science.org
January 28, 2026 at 9:42 PM
New MIRI Excesses Around Degenerates (MEAD) survey result! @sabrinapoulsen.bsky.social leads a paper announcing an IR excess around the (newly) discovered 0.95 Msun metal line white dwarf WD 0644+025! ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2026arXi... 🔭 #astrosci #exoplanets
January 28, 2026 at 1:40 PM
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January 28, 2026 at 4:35 AM
Reposted by John Debes
Social media is essential for outreach and communication. So why should a single bad actor be able to destroy it? 🔭☄️

We don't think that should be the case, and that's why we're building The Astrosky Ecosystem - starting with the Astronomy feeds.

We now have a paper about our project! #astrocode
The Astrosky Ecosystem: An independent online platform for science communication and social networking
While almost everything that astronomers study occurs in the vacuum of space, astronomy itself does not `happen in a vacuum'. Interactions between scientists, as well as outreach to members of the pub...
arxiv.org
January 26, 2026 at 10:25 AM
Reposted by John Debes
Concentration camp victims protest! The incredible bravery and fortitude and care involved in doing this ✊🏽

‘some of them holding signs that included “Libertad para los niños,” or “Liberty for the kids.”‘
Immigrant families protest at Texas facility housing 5-year-old boy, father detained in Minnesota
Dozens of immigrant families protested behind the fences of a Texas detention facility where a 5-year-old boy Ecuadorian boy and his father were sent this week after being detained in Minnesota.
apnews.com
January 25, 2026 at 1:32 PM