Reni Kupke
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artichokeheaven.bsky.social
Reni Kupke
@artichokeheaven.bsky.social
170 followers 220 following 17 posts
Santa Cruz local, here for pretty pictures, dog videos and fellow weather nerds. Astronomer by trade.
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artichokeheaven.bsky.social
Backyard coreopsis
July 14, 2025 at 8:43 PM
artichokeheaven.bsky.social
A dahlia. Perfection.
July 10, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Reposted by Reni Kupke
vrubinobs.bsky.social
A new view of two old friends 🤩

Feast your eyes upon NSF–DOE Rubin's view of the Trifid & Lagoon Nebulae!

This image shows what makes Rubin unique: its wide field of view, & speed that allows it to take lots of big images quickly. 🔭🧪

rubinobservatory.org/news/rubin-first-look/trifid-lagoon
A cosmic tapestry of glowing tan and pink gas clouds with dark dust lanes. In the upper right, the Trifid Nebula resembles a small flower in space. Its soft, pinkish gas petals are surrounded by blue gas, and streaked with dark, finger-like veins of dust that divide it into three parts. It radiates a gentle, misty glow, diffuse and soft like the warmth of breath on a cold hand. To the lower left, the much larger Lagoon Nebula stretches wide like a churning sea of magenta gas, with bright blue, knotted clumps sprinkled throughout where new stars are born. Both nebulae are embedded in a soft tan backdrop of gas that is brighter on the left than on the right, etched with dark tendrils of dust and sprinkled with the pinpricks of millions of stars.
June 23, 2025 at 3:57 PM
artichokeheaven.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/s...
Astronomers Detect a Signature of Life on a Distant Planet (Gift Article)
Further studies are needed to determine whether K2-18b, which orbits a star 120 light-years away, is inhabited, or even habitable.
www.nytimes.com
April 17, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Reposted by Reni Kupke
jwstfeed.bsky.social
Hubble's 31st anniversary image of AG Carinae.

Credit:
NASA, ESA and STScI
esahubble.org/images/heic2...
In celebration of the 31st anniversary of the launch of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers aimed the celebrated observatory at one of the brightest stars seen in our galaxy to capture its beauty. The giant star featured in this latest Hubble Space Telescope anniversary image is waging a tug-of-war between gravity and radiation to avoid self-destruction. The star, called AG Carinae, is surrounded by an expanding shell of gas and dust. The nebula is about five light-years wide, which equals the distance from here to our nearest star, Alpha Centauri.
March 6, 2025 at 9:28 PM
artichokeheaven.bsky.social
A collection of prisms to be used in the infrared, calcium fluoride, germanium and silicon! 🌈
March 3, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Reposted by Reni Kupke
altyellonatpark.org
Hubble Deep Space Field
Constellation Fornax
Distance. The farthest galaxies are roughly 13.4 billion light years away.
Photo show's over 10,000 galaxies
Exposure time 11 days 7 hrs
They aimed Hubble at the darkest area of the sky, and looked back to nearly the beginning of time.
An image you might think are stars but they're not, each speck of light is a galaxy, some, the deepest red ones, are the oldest objects ever observed.
February 27, 2025 at 3:52 AM
Reposted by Reni Kupke
jwstfeed.bsky.social
JWST observed NGC 3147 yesterday.
This data was processed by @yuvharpaz.bsky.social
nerdculture.de/@yuvharpaz/1...
A grayscale NIRCam image of NGC 3147, a spiral galaxy with a prominent central bulge and tightly wound spiral arms. The bright core of the galaxy transitions to a fainter, more diffuse halo. The spiral arms show subtle texture and hints of star formation regions, indicated by slightly brighter, mottled areas. The image is set against a dark background with a few scattered stars visible.
February 24, 2025 at 4:41 PM
artichokeheaven.bsky.social
Loki’s first ski trip
February 16, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Reposted by Reni Kupke
anneapplebaum.bsky.social
The Department of Government Efficiency isn't interested in efficiency. Or transparency, or cutting costs. It's real goal is to destroy the federal civil service. In other words, regime change. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
There’s a Term for What Trump and Musk Are Doing
How regime change happens in America
www.theatlantic.com
February 13, 2025 at 11:28 PM
artichokeheaven.bsky.social
wessiler.substack.com/p/wyoming-se...
Wyoming Senators “Demand” Right To Sell Grand Teton National Park, Other Public Lands
With the exception of Yellowstone, Wyoming wants to take over, sell off all its public lands
wessiler.substack.com
February 3, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Reposted by Reni Kupke
katlaronde.bsky.social
Everyone in LA is sharing this story on insta, and I just want to make sure non-Angelenos know about this bear that crawled under a house during the fires. He had to be lured out with rotisserie chickens. Read it. You deserve a little treat.
525-Lb. Bear Discovered Under Evacuated Altadena Home Too Fat to Tranquilize: 'Not an Option'
An Altadena, Calif., man was shocked to discover he couldn't return to his home — which he evacuated due to the Eaton fire — because a 525-lb. bear had nested in the crawl space under his house. It to...
people.com
February 2, 2025 at 7:05 PM
artichokeheaven.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
The Cystic-Fibrosis Breakthrough That Changed Everything
The disease once guaranteed an early death—but a new treatment has given many patients a chance to live decades longer than expected. What do they do now?
www.theatlantic.com
January 24, 2025 at 5:33 AM
artichokeheaven.bsky.social
The instrument I’m working on uses optics made entirely from aluminum, machined by a technique called single point diamond turning. Here are some of our optics after baking in an oven.
January 23, 2025 at 12:27 AM
artichokeheaven.bsky.social
Building things today
January 10, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Reposted by Reni Kupke
robmayeda.bsky.social
Updated to 1261.5 est. acres on the #PalisadesFire as of 3pm, note the spotting into neighborhoods including down to the coast, gusty wind and larger WUI (wildland urban interface) embers, map imagery via @watchdutyapp 1/7/2025 #CAwx
January 7, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Reposted by Reni Kupke
joeminock.bsky.social
Concerned for our family and friends in the hills around LA today… The Santa Ana Winds are no joke and they’re already feeding the explosive growth of a fire in Pacific Palisades.

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01...
California Wildfires Live Updates: Thousands Ordered to Evacuate Pacific Palisades
Rapidly spreading flames, fanned by gusts that could reach up to 100 m.p.h., threatened homes along the coastline.
www.nytimes.com
January 7, 2025 at 9:40 PM
artichokeheaven.bsky.social
Finished the day with a lovely sunset
December 30, 2024 at 1:49 AM
artichokeheaven.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2024/12/14/s...
An Artist Who Has Something in Common With Her Subjects
Rachel Handlin is possibly the first person with Down syndrome to receive an M.F.A., and one of just a few to hold a bachelor’s. Her first solo show features her portraits of others like her.
www.nytimes.com
December 14, 2024 at 6:04 PM
Reposted by Reni Kupke
ccst.us
📢 NOW OPEN: Apply for the CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellowship

🚀 From PhD to policy, join us in California and kickstart your career in impactful policy positions.

Salary + paid-time off + health benefits + alumni network

🔗 ccst.us/ccst-science...

#SciPol #SciPolJobs #SciComm #PhD #CAleg
A graphic featuring the banner text "Applications Now Open" on a blue background up top, a photo of the 2024 Fellows, and a lower third with the program title and organization logo.
December 2, 2024 at 9:29 PM
artichokeheaven.bsky.social
The Grizzly Peak Lookout Alert California camera shows some fantastic lenticular development over Shasta in the timelapse with this latest storm arriving
December 11, 2024 at 5:44 PM
Reposted by Reni Kupke
judithgeology.bsky.social
🧪⚒️

A M7.0 earthquake struck offshore northern California today. Very strong shaking was recorded along the coast, and weak shaking reached >1,000 km away. All kinds of excitement: a ShakeAlert early warning, a tsunami warning, and a bunch of aftershocks.

So, what's up with the geology here?
Magnitude 7.0 earthquake strikes offshore Cape Mendocino, California
Reports of shaking >1,000 km away.
earthquakeinsights.substack.com
December 6, 2024 at 2:07 AM
artichokeheaven.bsky.social
Visited the Sierra, look at this little snow dome!
December 1, 2024 at 12:39 AM
Reposted by Reni Kupke
redditspaceviewes.bsky.social
NASA’s new rendering of the Christmas Tree Nebula
November 18, 2024 at 5:52 AM
Reposted by Reni Kupke
scrippsocean.bsky.social
👑 🌊 #KingTides have returned to the California coast. This cosmic phenomenon brings the highest tides of the year, caused by the gravitational forces of the moon and sun. Learn more in this FAQ by California Sea Grant: bit.ly/48ser75
Creatures on Scripps Pier following a King Tide captured by Erik Jepsen Creatures on Scripps Pier following a King Tide captured by Erik Jepsen
November 15, 2024 at 5:31 PM