Ilaria Pascucci
@pascucci.bsky.social
Astrophysicist and Planetary Scientist. Professor at the University of Arizona. Fellow, American Astronomical Society. Outdoor enthusiast with a love for hiking, biking, and dogs.
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
A new 3D map of interstellar dust with Gaia! 🌌
A new study, led by Marie Barbillon, exploited the spectroscopic parametriser from Gaia DR3 to build a high-resolution extinction map! It extends up to 4 kpc from the Sun, with a finer version focused on the Local Bubble area.
#astro #galactic
A new study, led by Marie Barbillon, exploited the spectroscopic parametriser from Gaia DR3 to build a high-resolution extinction map! It extends up to 4 kpc from the Sun, with a finer version focused on the Local Bubble area.
#astro #galactic
November 18, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
In 2020, Google’s AI lab released a tool called Alphafold that could predict how amino acids would fold into proteins under many different scenarios. Here’s where it—and its Nobel-winning team—are five years later.
How Alphafold Has Changed Biology Research, 5 Years On
Google's tool for predicting how proteins “fold” turns 5 this year. How is it fitting into biological research—and where is it going?
buff.ly
November 18, 2025 at 5:27 PM
In 2020, Google’s AI lab released a tool called Alphafold that could predict how amino acids would fold into proteins under many different scenarios. Here’s where it—and its Nobel-winning team—are five years later.
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
We need a reimagined LPSC flavored meeting and the locale should be Tucson in March, after the gem show. Plenty of hotel choices along the free tram line that goes to the convention center. Visit Tucson is onboard to support this. If anyone has the bandwidth to invent the meeting we've got the city.
Abstracts submitted to LPSC 2026 are required to comply with White House (non-legally binding) executive orders forbidding mention of topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
At least USRA/LPI isn't hiding it.
But is this what our community wants? Or deserves? I don't think so.
At least USRA/LPI isn't hiding it.
But is this what our community wants? Or deserves? I don't think so.
November 17, 2025 at 11:07 PM
We need a reimagined LPSC flavored meeting and the locale should be Tucson in March, after the gem show. Plenty of hotel choices along the free tram line that goes to the convention center. Visit Tucson is onboard to support this. If anyone has the bandwidth to invent the meeting we've got the city.
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
Question for the #exoplanets crowd:
Does any one know where to find an updated version of this plot?
I'm looking for the "standard" exoplanet mass vs. semi-major axis plot, but with an overlay of which planets have a spectroscopic measurement of their atmosphere
wasp-planets.net/2020/09/29/w...
Does any one know where to find an updated version of this plot?
I'm looking for the "standard" exoplanet mass vs. semi-major axis plot, but with an overlay of which planets have a spectroscopic measurement of their atmosphere
wasp-planets.net/2020/09/29/w...
Which exoplanets do we have atmospheric spectra for?
Here’s an interesting plot created by Zafar Rustamkulov (@exoZafar), a PhD student at Johns Hopkins University. He has added up all the exoplanets for which we have either transmission spectr…
wasp-planets.net
November 19, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Question for the #exoplanets crowd:
Does any one know where to find an updated version of this plot?
I'm looking for the "standard" exoplanet mass vs. semi-major axis plot, but with an overlay of which planets have a spectroscopic measurement of their atmosphere
wasp-planets.net/2020/09/29/w...
Does any one know where to find an updated version of this plot?
I'm looking for the "standard" exoplanet mass vs. semi-major axis plot, but with an overlay of which planets have a spectroscopic measurement of their atmosphere
wasp-planets.net/2020/09/29/w...
Glad to have toured the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) at the Pima Air & Space Museum. Amazing to see the aircraft that carried infrared astronomy above the clouds, I almost got the chance to fly on it.
#spacescience #astronomy #NASA #DLR
#spacescience #astronomy #NASA #DLR
November 13, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Glad to have toured the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) at the Pima Air & Space Museum. Amazing to see the aircraft that carried infrared astronomy above the clouds, I almost got the chance to fly on it.
#spacescience #astronomy #NASA #DLR
#spacescience #astronomy #NASA #DLR
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
‘An Overview of Exocomets’ is a very comprehensive review led by Daniela Iglesias started at an @issibern.ch meeting. I worked on Figure 1 detailing comets around the Sun, Beta Pic and a white dwarf - I’m very proud of it, and it is available on @github.com: Exocomet systems #astrodon #exoplanet ☄
November 12, 2025 at 8:32 AM
‘An Overview of Exocomets’ is a very comprehensive review led by Daniela Iglesias started at an @issibern.ch meeting. I worked on Figure 1 detailing comets around the Sun, Beta Pic and a white dwarf - I’m very proud of it, and it is available on @github.com: Exocomet systems #astrodon #exoplanet ☄
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
Seeing some beautiful photos of aurorae tonight, so here's a reminder that other planets get them, too!
This is Saturn, with aurorae visible at both poles in this UV image from Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, taken in October 1997 when the planet was 1.3 billion km away.
This is Saturn, with aurorae visible at both poles in this UV image from Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, taken in October 1997 when the planet was 1.3 billion km away.
November 12, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Seeing some beautiful photos of aurorae tonight, so here's a reminder that other planets get them, too!
This is Saturn, with aurorae visible at both poles in this UV image from Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, taken in October 1997 when the planet was 1.3 billion km away.
This is Saturn, with aurorae visible at both poles in this UV image from Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, taken in October 1997 when the planet was 1.3 billion km away.
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
🔭🧪🎢 PhD Project focus: Understanding protoplanetary disc evolution
We're advertising this project with Prof Richard Alexander, making simulations of accretion of planet-forming discs onto their star.
For details of all our PhD projects look here: le.ac.uk/study/resear... 🔭🧪🎢
We're advertising this project with Prof Richard Alexander, making simulations of accretion of planet-forming discs onto their star.
For details of all our PhD projects look here: le.ac.uk/study/resear... 🔭🧪🎢
November 11, 2025 at 12:05 PM
🔭🧪🎢 PhD Project focus: Understanding protoplanetary disc evolution
We're advertising this project with Prof Richard Alexander, making simulations of accretion of planet-forming discs onto their star.
For details of all our PhD projects look here: le.ac.uk/study/resear... 🔭🧪🎢
We're advertising this project with Prof Richard Alexander, making simulations of accretion of planet-forming discs onto their star.
For details of all our PhD projects look here: le.ac.uk/study/resear... 🔭🧪🎢
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
🧵
Here is the Nebra sky disk, considered by some the oldest known illustration of the night sky.
The artifact was discovered near Nebra alongside several Bronze Age weapons and is linked to the Unetice culture, which thrived in parts of Europe...
➡️ apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap18031...
🔭 🧪 #histsci
1/4
Here is the Nebra sky disk, considered by some the oldest known illustration of the night sky.
The artifact was discovered near Nebra alongside several Bronze Age weapons and is linked to the Unetice culture, which thrived in parts of Europe...
➡️ apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap18031...
🔭 🧪 #histsci
1/4
November 11, 2025 at 8:44 PM
🧵
Here is the Nebra sky disk, considered by some the oldest known illustration of the night sky.
The artifact was discovered near Nebra alongside several Bronze Age weapons and is linked to the Unetice culture, which thrived in parts of Europe...
➡️ apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap18031...
🔭 🧪 #histsci
1/4
Here is the Nebra sky disk, considered by some the oldest known illustration of the night sky.
The artifact was discovered near Nebra alongside several Bronze Age weapons and is linked to the Unetice culture, which thrived in parts of Europe...
➡️ apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap18031...
🔭 🧪 #histsci
1/4
November 11, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
This weekend I read that the entire Breaking Bad franchise is estimated to have had $385M in economic impact for the state of NM and this is celebrated by a statue at the ABQ convention center. Meanwhile University of Arizona space science has an economic impact of $560M on our state every year.
November 10, 2025 at 11:45 PM
This weekend I read that the entire Breaking Bad franchise is estimated to have had $385M in economic impact for the state of NM and this is celebrated by a statue at the ABQ convention center. Meanwhile University of Arizona space science has an economic impact of $560M on our state every year.
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
November 11, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Enjoyed giving a UofA Origins talk on how protoplanetary disks evolve – featuring new results from ALMA and JWST. The recording is available here 👇
youtu.be/mdgGgnjVbb0
@uarizonalpl.bsky.social @stewardobservatory.bsky.social
youtu.be/mdgGgnjVbb0
@uarizonalpl.bsky.social @stewardobservatory.bsky.social
Protoplanetary Disk Evolution in the ALMA–JWST Era (Ilaria Pascucci, UArizona/LPL)
YouTube video by Origins Seminars
youtu.be
November 5, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Enjoyed giving a UofA Origins talk on how protoplanetary disks evolve – featuring new results from ALMA and JWST. The recording is available here 👇
youtu.be/mdgGgnjVbb0
@uarizonalpl.bsky.social @stewardobservatory.bsky.social
youtu.be/mdgGgnjVbb0
@uarizonalpl.bsky.social @stewardobservatory.bsky.social
Congrats to my student Dingshan Deng on a new paper! 🎉 A self-consistent thermochemical model to measure disk masses, fully consistent with dynamical estimates – no need for ×100 CO depletion! Enables reliable disk-mass estimates for many more stars. #ALMA #Astronomy @uarizonalpl.bsky.social
October 29, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Congrats to my student Dingshan Deng on a new paper! 🎉 A self-consistent thermochemical model to measure disk masses, fully consistent with dynamical estimates – no need for ×100 CO depletion! Enables reliable disk-mass estimates for many more stars. #ALMA #Astronomy @uarizonalpl.bsky.social
UArizona is eligible for the 51 Pegasi b Fellowship in Planetary Astronomy 🚀 Covering solar system & exoplanets. Apply to join us: heisingsimons.app.box.com/s/y8jg5tbsbd...
51 Pegasi b Guidelines and Application.pdf | Powered by Box
heisingsimons.app.box.com
August 27, 2025 at 3:05 PM
UArizona is eligible for the 51 Pegasi b Fellowship in Planetary Astronomy 🚀 Covering solar system & exoplanets. Apply to join us: heisingsimons.app.box.com/s/y8jg5tbsbd...
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
This is devastating, and part of a larger move to entirely push science out of NASA's mission. It is horrific betrayal of so much work, not to mention the fact that it violates NASA's charter.
NASA’s acting chief calls for the end of Earth science at the space agency arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...
NASA’s acting chief calls for the end of Earth science at the space agency
NASA’s charter clearly states the agency should study planet Earth, however.
arstechnica.com
August 15, 2025 at 9:29 PM
This is devastating, and part of a larger move to entirely push science out of NASA's mission. It is horrific betrayal of so much work, not to mention the fact that it violates NASA's charter.
🚀 Join us Tue Aug 19 for #ExoPAG32 — NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group meeting!
✅ Free & virtual
🗳️ Vote on a community finding
🌌 Mission updates
👩🔬 Early career talks
🛰️ NASA program updates from the Astrophysics Division Director
Register: go.nasa.gov/45r07LV
✅ Free & virtual
🗳️ Vote on a community finding
🌌 Mission updates
👩🔬 Early career talks
🛰️ NASA program updates from the Astrophysics Division Director
Register: go.nasa.gov/45r07LV
Exoplanet Program: Registration
NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program, the search for planets and life beyond our solar system.
go.nasa.gov
August 13, 2025 at 2:49 PM
🚀 Join us Tue Aug 19 for #ExoPAG32 — NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group meeting!
✅ Free & virtual
🗳️ Vote on a community finding
🌌 Mission updates
👩🔬 Early career talks
🛰️ NASA program updates from the Astrophysics Division Director
Register: go.nasa.gov/45r07LV
✅ Free & virtual
🗳️ Vote on a community finding
🌌 Mission updates
👩🔬 Early career talks
🛰️ NASA program updates from the Astrophysics Division Director
Register: go.nasa.gov/45r07LV
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
2019: "NASA is one of the most recognised, revered and iconic brands in the world" (davidsonbranding.com.au/nasa-modern-...). 2025: >1000 NASA mission-support staff (and 2800 other NASA employees) have left under the current administration.
August 13, 2025 at 1:45 PM
2019: "NASA is one of the most recognised, revered and iconic brands in the world" (davidsonbranding.com.au/nasa-modern-...). 2025: >1000 NASA mission-support staff (and 2800 other NASA employees) have left under the current administration.
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
It’s depressing how much faster it is to break a thing than it is to build it
2019: "NASA is one of the most recognised, revered and iconic brands in the world" (davidsonbranding.com.au/nasa-modern-...). 2025: >1000 NASA mission-support staff (and 2800 other NASA employees) have left under the current administration.
August 13, 2025 at 1:53 PM
It’s depressing how much faster it is to break a thing than it is to build it
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
@caltechipac.bsky.social is featuring me in their "Meet the Scientists" profiles! Check it out to learn more about how I became an astronomer, what I work on, and how I ended up at IPAC!
www.ipac.caltech.edu/meet-the-sta...
#exoplanets 🔭🧪
www.ipac.caltech.edu/meet-the-sta...
#exoplanets 🔭🧪
Kevin Hardegree-Ullman
In this profile, we feature Kevin Hardegree−Ullman, who supports the NASA Exoplanet Archive at IPAC.
www.ipac.caltech.edu
August 12, 2025 at 9:57 PM
@caltechipac.bsky.social is featuring me in their "Meet the Scientists" profiles! Check it out to learn more about how I became an astronomer, what I work on, and how I ended up at IPAC!
www.ipac.caltech.edu/meet-the-sta...
#exoplanets 🔭🧪
www.ipac.caltech.edu/meet-the-sta...
#exoplanets 🔭🧪
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
Parting shot of this rock star from last week… Costa’s Hummingbird on cholla skeleton 🪶☀️🌵 (sunrise reflection in bird’s eye)
August 10, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Parting shot of this rock star from last week… Costa’s Hummingbird on cholla skeleton 🪶☀️🌵 (sunrise reflection in bird’s eye)
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
Thank you Mitchell Anderson for your Letter to the Editor in today's Daily Star.
July 4, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Thank you Mitchell Anderson for your Letter to the Editor in today's Daily Star.
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
Call it millennial cynicism if you like, but I truly believe nothing will turn the Republican base or leadership against Trump. Our only hope is getting young voters to turn out for elections, and every march/petition is useful only if it serves that goal.
The Republican megabill cuts trillions in taxes, while scaling back spending on Medicaid and other federal programs. It now heads to the House, where some GOP lawmakers are signaling major objections.
Senate GOP passes Trump's sweeping policy bill, setting up decisive vote in the House
The Republican megabill cuts trillions in taxes, while scaling back spending on Medicaid and other federal programs. It now heads to the House, where some GOP lawmakers are signaling major objections.
n.pr
July 1, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Call it millennial cynicism if you like, but I truly believe nothing will turn the Republican base or leadership against Trump. Our only hope is getting young voters to turn out for elections, and every march/petition is useful only if it serves that goal.
Reposted by Ilaria Pascucci
DEMAND CISCOMANI MUST DO THE RIGHT THING.
Tomorrow - July 2
Tomorrow - July 2
July 2, 2025 at 1:32 AM
DEMAND CISCOMANI MUST DO THE RIGHT THING.
Tomorrow - July 2
Tomorrow - July 2