Dr Jan Eldridge
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astro-jje.bsky.social
Dr Jan Eldridge
@astro-jje.bsky.social
NZ theoretical astrophysicist studying exploding binary stars. Sci-fi addict, feminist, non-binary femme. Pronouns: she/her/they. All views my own.
It felt good to share my trans euphoria in being myself after all the anti-trans news that has been breaking recently. Remember trans people, every day we live as our authentic selves is a day we win. ❤️🏳️‍⚧️
June 19, 2025 at 3:11 PM
We had a great turn out and everyone seemed to enjoy my talk. We then rounded off the evening with high table dinner at Exeter College. I am exhausted today and will make the recording available as soon as possible!
June 19, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Yesterday I gave my "Pride in Physics" lecture at the University of Oxford's Department of Physics. This was my personal story of my academic career and how my journey in understanding myself and transitioning is intertwined with it.
June 19, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Today was a day. This photo shows me after reading out over 400 graduate names from the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland for the first time. I was part of the team reading out about 1400 graduates!

Congratulations to all, these events great to celebrate their success.
May 15, 2025 at 9:10 AM
This image is for supernova 2008bk, although the first time this was done was for supernova 2003gd. This image shows you why HST is amazing. You see the full galaxy but HST can zoom in to see the individual stars in the galaxy. So far there are 50ish supernovae we've done this for and each one...
April 25, 2025 at 2:36 AM
It's the Hubble Space Telescope's 35th birthday. I see a lots of pictures being posted, for me the most important images it took were the images that uncovered what stars look like that explode as core-collapse supernovae.

E.g. this from Mattila et al. (2008) (ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008ApJ....)
April 25, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Feeling broken at the moment. Being trans in the world at the moment can be horrible. But I just discovered this figure I must have made in the second year of my PhD! It's fun to think this was the time I started to get my head around exploding stars and formation of black holes and neutron stars.
March 7, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Okay... how did Youtube come up with the perfect playlist?
March 6, 2025 at 2:01 AM
For NZ academics applying for the Marsden this year, this is your new box you have to fill out.

I'm wondering if I can argue the fact doing astrophysics in NZ (a) inspires kids to get into STEAM and (b) it's good for astro-tourism to talk about the research we do here?

Who knows got to try!
December 15, 2024 at 8:04 PM
Anyway the photos are the conference photo taken on Takapuna beach with Rangitoto island in the background. And me from the conference dinner running the pub quiz! (I am available for hire to run pub quizzes! 😂).
November 28, 2024 at 8:02 PM
The results! Definitely a great way to feel better!
October 9, 2024 at 12:11 AM
I might be recovering from pericarditis but that's no reason to not get your hair done!
October 8, 2024 at 9:12 PM
Bluesky now has over 10 million users, and I was #114,160!
September 17, 2024 at 10:18 AM
Photos from opposite directions on the sky for those interested in aurora!
May 11, 2024 at 9:59 AM
Okay I think I got it and not just playing with the colour balance in pro mode... also did see ot with naked eye earlier I think....
May 11, 2024 at 8:36 AM
Congratulations Dr Max Briel!
May 6, 2024 at 9:53 PM
A some early morning science on Gaia-BH3., I took the mass of the black hole and metallicity, compared it to numbers from my PhD thesis estimated for the initial mass of the star that formed this black hole is 70 to 80Msun (location shown in blue on figure - in the lower panel).
April 16, 2024 at 8:25 PM
Post a PERFECT album from the 1990s that ISN'T Nirvana, Alice in Chains or Soundgarden.

(And seriously this is a good album and I still listen to it today).
April 6, 2024 at 4:14 AM
Being a visible trans person on the trans day of visibility.
March 31, 2024 at 1:58 AM
Happy International Women's day selfie! My path to feeling that I can mark these days is complex... but I'm getting there....
March 8, 2024 at 3:41 AM
Does anyone have an idea what this New Zealand big is?
February 29, 2024 at 7:16 PM
That time when facebook reminds you it was 8 years since you came out to your astrophysics colleagues at a summer school you were lecturing at without telling anyone that was your plan before hand.
February 9, 2024 at 8:56 PM
New slide for talk, all the papers I've been on using BPASS v2 since 2016!
January 31, 2024 at 10:58 PM
So "Transients Down Under" is at Swinburne University, and I was also here in 2018 for the Astronomical Society of Australia's annual meeting.

Took a selfie at nearly the same spot as before. I look fabulous in both photos but definitely a glow up?

(Left - mid 2018, Right - early 2024).
January 30, 2024 at 10:22 PM
So yesterday I got my FlyAirNZ flight to Melbourne to attend the "Transients Down Under" conference on supernovae and stellar explosions. Looking at the podcasts I found the Radio NZ "Sci-Fi Sci-Fact Podcast". I was a bit shocked to find my one there on "Neutronium"...
January 29, 2024 at 3:52 AM