Prof Anna Watts
@profannawatts.bsky.social
Professor of Astrophysics @ Univ. of Amsterdam. Neutron stars, pulsars, dense matter, X-ray astronomy. Mom, Migrant. "Particles in stars blah blah". Does science with NICER on the International Space Station and schemes for EVEN BIGGER SPACE TELESCOPES.
Great to catch up with Gordon Baym at Leiden physics this afternoon!
November 25, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Great to catch up with Gordon Baym at Leiden physics this afternoon!
Lovely group! Lovely place!!
We are hiring a new Assistant Professor in Astrophysics at Trinity College Dublin!! ☘
Job ad here: aas.org/jobregister/...
Deadline: Jan 02 2026
Please share widely! 🪐🔭
Job ad here: aas.org/jobregister/...
Deadline: Jan 02 2026
Please share widely! 🪐🔭
Assistant Professor in Astrophysics | American Astronomical Society
The School of Physics at Trinity College Dublin invites applications for a position at the level of Assistant Professor in the field of observational or theoretical astrophysics. We seek motivated ind...
aas.org
November 24, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Lovely group! Lovely place!!
I am actually really enjoying Season 4 of the Witcher. 😅 But so many whiny reviews! Why?
November 23, 2025 at 9:44 PM
I am actually really enjoying Season 4 of the Witcher. 😅 But so many whiny reviews! Why?
Reposted by Prof Anna Watts
A human-rights researcher on why she pushed back when China bullied her university
economist.com/by-invitatio...
from The Economist
economist.com/by-invitatio...
from The Economist
A human-rights researcher on why she pushed back when China bullied her university
Democratic governments must resist authoritarian states trying to co-opt their institutions, writes Laura Murphy
economist.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:21 PM
A human-rights researcher on why she pushed back when China bullied her university
economist.com/by-invitatio...
from The Economist
economist.com/by-invitatio...
from The Economist
Reposted by Prof Anna Watts
Going to go out on a limb here and suggest that maybe Larry Summers should not be *allowed* to fulfil his teaching obligations?
If Harvard gives a stuff about their students, at least.
If Harvard gives a stuff about their students, at least.
November 18, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Going to go out on a limb here and suggest that maybe Larry Summers should not be *allowed* to fulfil his teaching obligations?
If Harvard gives a stuff about their students, at least.
If Harvard gives a stuff about their students, at least.
Super cool paper from @johannesbuchner.bsky.social this morning! And very excited to see* X-PSI and NEoST in there 🤩
*NEoST is too small for us to have found it yet but according to search it's in Figure 5 somewhere 😅
arxiv.org/abs/2511.12195
*NEoST is too small for us to have found it yet but according to search it's in Figure 5 somewhere 😅
arxiv.org/abs/2511.12195
High-impact Scientific Software in Astronomy and its creators
In the last decades, scientific software has graduated from a hidden side-product to a first-class member of the astrophysics literature. We aim to quantify the activity and impact of software develop...
arxiv.org
November 18, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Super cool paper from @johannesbuchner.bsky.social this morning! And very excited to see* X-PSI and NEoST in there 🤩
*NEoST is too small for us to have found it yet but according to search it's in Figure 5 somewhere 😅
arxiv.org/abs/2511.12195
*NEoST is too small for us to have found it yet but according to search it's in Figure 5 somewhere 😅
arxiv.org/abs/2511.12195
Reposted by Prof Anna Watts
Imagine the things we could do with our time if we didn’t have to do this bsky.app/profile/chan...
I did my job. And then I did a job that never should have been my responsibility afterwards, sending emails and having meetings about how this was allowed to happen in the first place. Other women scholars had to spend their time explaining to Aspen leadership why this was not ok.
November 16, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Imagine the things we could do with our time if we didn’t have to do this bsky.app/profile/chan...
Reposted by Prof Anna Watts
Amateur hour.
Als je zo diep verstrikt bent in initiatieven om invloed uit te oefenen op de verkiezingsuitslag en uitgesproken opvattingen hebt over huidige politici, dan moet je, nobele bedoelingen of niet, gewoon nee zeggen wanneer je wordt gevraagd als informateur. Mannen en hun ijdelheid altijd.
Als je zo diep verstrikt bent in initiatieven om invloed uit te oefenen op de verkiezingsuitslag en uitgesproken opvattingen hebt over huidige politici, dan moet je, nobele bedoelingen of niet, gewoon nee zeggen wanneer je wordt gevraagd als informateur. Mannen en hun ijdelheid altijd.
Wijers uitte in appbericht nog meer kritiek op ‘feeks’ Yesilgöz, treedt terug na vragen van NRC
Formatie: Hans Wijers (74) trekt zich per direct terug als informateur. Directe aanleiding zijn vragen van NRC van deze vrijdag over een appbericht, waarin Wijers zich eerder al kritisch uitliet over ...
www.nrc.nl
November 14, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Amateur hour.
Als je zo diep verstrikt bent in initiatieven om invloed uit te oefenen op de verkiezingsuitslag en uitgesproken opvattingen hebt over huidige politici, dan moet je, nobele bedoelingen of niet, gewoon nee zeggen wanneer je wordt gevraagd als informateur. Mannen en hun ijdelheid altijd.
Als je zo diep verstrikt bent in initiatieven om invloed uit te oefenen op de verkiezingsuitslag en uitgesproken opvattingen hebt over huidige politici, dan moet je, nobele bedoelingen of niet, gewoon nee zeggen wanneer je wordt gevraagd als informateur. Mannen en hun ijdelheid altijd.
De missie van KOZP is volbracht: ‘Als jij nu als Zwarte Piet de straat opgaat, weet iedereen dat jij met iets racistisch bezig bent’
www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/d...
www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/d...
De missie van KOZP is volbracht: ‘Als jij nu als Zwarte Piet de straat opgaat, weet iedereen dat jij met iets racistisch bezig bent’
Actiegroep Kick Out Zwarte Piet zou dit weekend voor het laatst protesteren, maar het bleek niet nodig. Gemeenten bonden in of bliezen de intocht geheel af. Hoe verliep de culturele omslag?
www.volkskrant.nl
November 15, 2025 at 6:19 AM
De missie van KOZP is volbracht: ‘Als jij nu als Zwarte Piet de straat opgaat, weet iedereen dat jij met iets racistisch bezig bent’
www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/d...
www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/d...
Grading ✅
Application reviews ✅
Covid booster ✅
Proper weekend off?
Application reviews ✅
Covid booster ✅
Proper weekend off?
a robot says " happy beeps " while walking
Alt: A very small droid says says " happy beeps " while dancing on the spot.
media.tenor.com
November 14, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Grading ✅
Application reviews ✅
Covid booster ✅
Proper weekend off?
Application reviews ✅
Covid booster ✅
Proper weekend off?
Reposted by Prof Anna Watts
😎 This is cool 👇 Explore 25 years on the International Space Station. This multimedia project replays every day of the past 25 years on board and consists entirely of historical mission material. By @benfeist.bsky.social and David Charney.
issinrealtime.org
issinrealtime.org
ISS in Real Time
Explore 25 years onboard the International Space Station.
issinrealtime.org
November 11, 2025 at 4:34 PM
😎 This is cool 👇 Explore 25 years on the International Space Station. This multimedia project replays every day of the past 25 years on board and consists entirely of historical mission material. By @benfeist.bsky.social and David Charney.
issinrealtime.org
issinrealtime.org
New paper! Led by PhD student Bas Dorsman, and continuing the fine tradition of @api.uva.nl studies of the accreting millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658 (discovered many moons ago by Rudy Wijnands and Michel van der Klis AT THIS VERY INSTITUTE). #highenergyastro 🔭
arxiv.org/abs/2511.07152
arxiv.org/abs/2511.07152
Pulse profile modelling of the accretion-powered millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658 using NICER data from its 2019 and 2022 outbursts
Pulse profile modelling is a relativistic ray-tracing technique that has provided constraints on parameters, with a focus on mass and radius, of five rotation-powered millisecond pulsars. While the te...
arxiv.org
November 11, 2025 at 8:48 AM
New paper! Led by PhD student Bas Dorsman, and continuing the fine tradition of @api.uva.nl studies of the accreting millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658 (discovered many moons ago by Rudy Wijnands and Michel van der Klis AT THIS VERY INSTITUTE). #highenergyastro 🔭
arxiv.org/abs/2511.07152
arxiv.org/abs/2511.07152
Reposted by Prof Anna Watts
If you don’t do research you’re not an observatory, you’re a tourist attraction. Solidarity to the excellent astronomers at Lowell.
Flagstaff’s Lowell Observatory plans to cut nearly all its research funding and reduce the number of paid science staff to just two positions next year.
Lowell Observatory slashes research funding in the midst of financial struggle
Flagstaff’s Lowell Observatory plans to cut nearly all its research funding and reduce the number of paid science staff to just two positions next year.
buff.ly
November 11, 2025 at 4:28 AM
If you don’t do research you’re not an observatory, you’re a tourist attraction. Solidarity to the excellent astronomers at Lowell.
"Dilan Yesilgoz thinks she's Margaret Thatcher, but she's actually Theresa May"
Truth from @steffiedevaan.bsky.social
Truth from @steffiedevaan.bsky.social
November 10, 2025 at 10:34 PM
"Dilan Yesilgoz thinks she's Margaret Thatcher, but she's actually Theresa May"
Truth from @steffiedevaan.bsky.social
Truth from @steffiedevaan.bsky.social
Reposted by Prof Anna Watts
A very nuanced account of the discovery, but cannot escape the air of misogyny in Watson & Crick diminishing the MRC report as a “preliminary report” in spite of the data being a key confirmation.
If you believe either that Franklin discovered the double helix, and / or Watson and Crick stole her data, ask yourself how you know this. Then take a read of this article.
If I see one more stupid Rosalind Franklin take I'm going to lose my mind. Thank god for @matthewcobb.bsky.social and @nccomfort.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
November 8, 2025 at 12:11 PM
A very nuanced account of the discovery, but cannot escape the air of misogyny in Watson & Crick diminishing the MRC report as a “preliminary report” in spite of the data being a key confirmation.
Reposted by Prof Anna Watts
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure. A really informative article, perfect for a weekend coffee read. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 8, 2025 at 9:21 AM
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure. A really informative article, perfect for a weekend coffee read. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Prof Anna Watts
sudden urge to share @mcnees.bsky.social 🧵 on Rosalind Franklin
Rosalind Franklin was born #OTD in 1920. Her X-ray diffraction work was critical for establishing the helical nature of DNA. 👩🔬 🧪
Work carried out by Franklin (with doctoral student Raymond Gosling) was given to Watson and Crick without her consent.
Image: Vittorio Luzzati / Jewish Women’s Archive
Work carried out by Franklin (with doctoral student Raymond Gosling) was given to Watson and Crick without her consent.
Image: Vittorio Luzzati / Jewish Women’s Archive
November 7, 2025 at 8:23 PM
sudden urge to share @mcnees.bsky.social 🧵 on Rosalind Franklin
Reposted by Prof Anna Watts
Ik hoop dat D66 haar rug recht houdt en zich niet laaat chanteren door Dilan Yesilgöz, de grootste aanstichter van ‘een lange periode van stilstand en instabiliteit’.
Nederlanders verwachten nu dat de positieve krachten de handen ineenslaan. Dat vraagt om een stabiel kabinet dat met breed draagvlak en lef aan de slag gaat. Een kabinet van doorbraken is nodig.
Lees hier mijn brief aan de verkenner:
Lees hier mijn brief aan de verkenner:
November 5, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Ik hoop dat D66 haar rug recht houdt en zich niet laaat chanteren door Dilan Yesilgöz, de grootste aanstichter van ‘een lange periode van stilstand en instabiliteit’.
Reposted by Prof Anna Watts
Yeşilgöz sluit Mamdani voor de zekerheid uit: ‘Je weet maar nooit’
Yeşilgöz sluit Mamdani voor de zekerheid uit: ‘Je weet maar nooit’
Dilan Yeşilgöz laat er geen gras over groeien
speld.nl
November 6, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Yeşilgöz sluit Mamdani voor de zekerheid uit: ‘Je weet maar nooit’
Glorious sunny day in Norway at @unistavanger.bsky.social ! Heading in to talk perturbative QCD with Aleksi Kurkela (as you do...)
November 7, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Glorious sunny day in Norway at @unistavanger.bsky.social ! Heading in to talk perturbative QCD with Aleksi Kurkela (as you do...)
New experience today as we all have to get off a boarded plane so that they can replace a tyre, which has a screw stuck in it. Impressively fast change though!
November 6, 2025 at 12:24 PM
New experience today as we all have to get off a boarded plane so that they can replace a tyre, which has a screw stuck in it. Impressively fast change though!
Reposted by Prof Anna Watts
“Tens or hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer-funded NASA property and laboratories are at risk of either being discarded, mishandled, or out-of-commission for significant time periods.” 🔭🧪
www.gesta-goddard.org/blog/gestas-...
www.gesta-goddard.org/blog/gestas-...
GESTA’s Summary of Goddard Building Closures Status
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is the largest group of scientists, technicians and engineers in the US who develop Earth and space science flight missions. Below is GESTA's understanding of the...
www.gesta-goddard.org
November 6, 2025 at 2:50 AM
“Tens or hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer-funded NASA property and laboratories are at risk of either being discarded, mishandled, or out-of-commission for significant time periods.” 🔭🧪
www.gesta-goddard.org/blog/gestas-...
www.gesta-goddard.org/blog/gestas-...
What the heck is going on with Only Murders in the Building Season 5? I'm not sure I can stick it out to the end.
November 5, 2025 at 10:29 PM
What the heck is going on with Only Murders in the Building Season 5? I'm not sure I can stick it out to the end.
