Jayne Birkby
@jaynebirkby.bsky.social
Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford. I study the atmospheres of other worlds beyond the Solar system.
Reposted by Jayne Birkby
Remember that lovely aurora last week?
Well...um...this is what Euclid saw... 😱
🧵
Well...um...this is what Euclid saw... 😱
🧵
November 19, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Remember that lovely aurora last week?
Well...um...this is what Euclid saw... 😱
🧵
Well...um...this is what Euclid saw... 😱
🧵
Reposted by Jayne Birkby
Lots of fun work out from APEx postdocs in the past week! first up was Sophia Vaughan @sophiavaughan.bsky.social on a deep search for reflected light from a hot Neptune w/ the VLT. This summed up light from ALL FOUR 8m telescopes over 2 nights- a preview of ELT-like data! arxiv.org/abs/2511.08691
November 18, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Lots of fun work out from APEx postdocs in the past week! first up was Sophia Vaughan @sophiavaughan.bsky.social on a deep search for reflected light from a hot Neptune w/ the VLT. This summed up light from ALL FOUR 8m telescopes over 2 nights- a preview of ELT-like data! arxiv.org/abs/2511.08691
Reposted by Jayne Birkby
⭐️🔭Applications open at Anton Pannekoek Institute in Amsterdam for the 7th ASPIRE program: aspire.science.uva.nl. This 2026 summer school provides astronomy research experience for talented MSc students from countries where opportunities to move into a PhD program are limited. [1/2]
ASPIRE
aspire.science.uva.nl
November 18, 2025 at 3:41 PM
⭐️🔭Applications open at Anton Pannekoek Institute in Amsterdam for the 7th ASPIRE program: aspire.science.uva.nl. This 2026 summer school provides astronomy research experience for talented MSc students from countries where opportunities to move into a PhD program are limited. [1/2]
But what about the ELT instruments themselves I hear you ask, how big are they? Well, dear reader, they are giraffe-sized and weigh four elephants #ExoELT 👀🦒🐘
November 17, 2025 at 1:38 PM
But what about the ELT instruments themselves I hear you ask, how big are they? Well, dear reader, they are giraffe-sized and weigh four elephants #ExoELT 👀🦒🐘
Reposted by Jayne Birkby
I may have to form a rock band, so I can use this as the cover of our first cd.
www.livescience.com/space/the-su...
www.livescience.com/space/the-su...
Astrophotographer snaps 'absolutely preposterous' photo of skydiver 'falling' past the sun's surface
Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy has snapped a striking shot of a skydiving YouTuber perfectly aligned with the fiery surface of the sun. The unlikely image, dubbed "The Fall of Icarus," required met...
www.livescience.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:00 PM
I may have to form a rock band, so I can use this as the cover of our first cd.
www.livescience.com/space/the-su...
www.livescience.com/space/the-su...
Reposted by Jayne Birkby
3I/ATLAS is the first interstellar object bright enough for amateurs to image: so fabulous to see the delight ☄️😍
I got it... I actually got it... Interstellar comet 3i, imaged from the middle of light-polluted Kendal, at 6am this morning, using my Seestar S50... This comet was already billions of years old before our Sun was even *born*... Very chuffed with this!
November 16, 2025 at 8:51 AM
3I/ATLAS is the first interstellar object bright enough for amateurs to image: so fabulous to see the delight ☄️😍
Reposted by Jayne Birkby
On Saturday we held the inaugural Afternoon of Astrophysics in @oxfordphysics.bsky.social. Myself, Prof Suzanne Aigrain @airbornegrain.bsky.social and Prof Jayne Birkby @jaynebirkby.bsky.social discussed the cutting edge of exoplanet research with the public, moderated by @chrislintott.bsky.social
November 14, 2025 at 12:06 AM
On Saturday we held the inaugural Afternoon of Astrophysics in @oxfordphysics.bsky.social. Myself, Prof Suzanne Aigrain @airbornegrain.bsky.social and Prof Jayne Birkby @jaynebirkby.bsky.social discussed the cutting edge of exoplanet research with the public, moderated by @chrislintott.bsky.social
Reposted by Jayne Birkby
Londoners! Drink excellent wine and chat with me about space, next week: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cosmology-...
Cosmology and Wine: An evening with Chris Lintott
Super excited to welcome you for an evening of wine, cheese & cosmological
conversation with one of the UK’s most celebrated cosmologists
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 12, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Londoners! Drink excellent wine and chat with me about space, next week: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cosmology-...
🤩 moving doors!
Open Sesame!
The ELT doors have moved for the first time. This was no small feat, as each door will weigh 650 tonnes once completed.
The ELT dome & its doors will guard the telescope from the harsh conditions of the Atacama Desert.
https://www.eso.org/public/videos/potw2544a/
🔭 🧪
📹 ESO/ACe
The ELT doors have moved for the first time. This was no small feat, as each door will weigh 650 tonnes once completed.
The ELT dome & its doors will guard the telescope from the harsh conditions of the Atacama Desert.
https://www.eso.org/public/videos/potw2544a/
🔭 🧪
📹 ESO/ACe
November 3, 2025 at 2:05 PM
🤩 moving doors!
Reposted by Jayne Birkby
Are you a grad student interested in writing for Astrobites, or do you know one? We're recruiting! Apply by November 26 :)
astrobites.org/2025/10/31/a...
astrobites.org/2025/10/31/a...
Apply to Write for Astrobites 2025!
Love astronomy, astrophysics, and science communication? Come join the Astrobites team! Applications due November 26th.
astrobites.org
October 31, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Are you a grad student interested in writing for Astrobites, or do you know one? We're recruiting! Apply by November 26 :)
astrobites.org/2025/10/31/a...
astrobites.org/2025/10/31/a...
Reposted by Jayne Birkby
We are awarding our President's Medal to 'In Our Time' as it has done so much to showcase humanities & social sciences. We'd decided this before the news of Melvyn Bragg stepping down, but glad we got our timing right & had a chance to celebrate with him!
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/renowne...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/renowne...
Renowned BBC Radio 4 programme In Our Time receives prestigious British Academy President’s Medal for 2025
The British Academy has awarded its prestigious President’s Medal to the long-running and beloved BBC Radio 4 programme In Our Time. Recognising its outstanding contribution to humanities and social s...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk
October 17, 2025 at 8:23 AM
We are awarding our President's Medal to 'In Our Time' as it has done so much to showcase humanities & social sciences. We'd decided this before the news of Melvyn Bragg stepping down, but glad we got our timing right & had a chance to celebrate with him!
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/renowne...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/renowne...
Reposted by Jayne Birkby
📈 Record interest in ERC Starting Grants 2026!
4,807 proposals - a 22% increase compared to last year’s call.
👩🔬 Women submitted nearly 43% of proposals - the highest share ever recorded in an ERC call.
More stats 👉 bit.ly/4hcYJln
#ChooseEurope
4,807 proposals - a 22% increase compared to last year’s call.
👩🔬 Women submitted nearly 43% of proposals - the highest share ever recorded in an ERC call.
More stats 👉 bit.ly/4hcYJln
#ChooseEurope
Starting Grants 2026 applications: Facts and figures
The ERC Starting Grants 2026 call closed for applications on 14 October 2025. These are the preliminary data on submitted proposals:
bit.ly
October 16, 2025 at 12:40 PM
📈 Record interest in ERC Starting Grants 2026!
4,807 proposals - a 22% increase compared to last year’s call.
👩🔬 Women submitted nearly 43% of proposals - the highest share ever recorded in an ERC call.
More stats 👉 bit.ly/4hcYJln
#ChooseEurope
4,807 proposals - a 22% increase compared to last year’s call.
👩🔬 Women submitted nearly 43% of proposals - the highest share ever recorded in an ERC call.
More stats 👉 bit.ly/4hcYJln
#ChooseEurope
Reposted by Jayne Birkby
Cosmologists! We have a faculty job going here in Oxford - happy to answer questions. Brief version is that this remains a great & collaborative place to do science and the students are superb. 🔭 www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOP628/a...
Associate Professor of Cosmology at University of Oxford
Recruiting now: Associate Professor of Cosmology on jobs.ac.uk. Click for details and explore more academic job opportunities on the top job board
www.jobs.ac.uk
October 14, 2025 at 9:16 AM
Cosmologists! We have a faculty job going here in Oxford - happy to answer questions. Brief version is that this remains a great & collaborative place to do science and the students are superb. 🔭 www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOP628/a...
Reposted by Jayne Birkby
w/ Oli Shorttle, @johannateske.bsky.social & Eliza Kempton we reviewed our current understanding and prospects for peaking on the inside of small #exoplanets in "Constraining exoplanet interiors using observations of their atmospheres": www.science.org/stoken/autho... & arxiv.org/abs/2510.08844 🔭🧪⚒️☄️
October 13, 2025 at 12:27 PM
w/ Oli Shorttle, @johannateske.bsky.social & Eliza Kempton we reviewed our current understanding and prospects for peaking on the inside of small #exoplanets in "Constraining exoplanet interiors using observations of their atmospheres": www.science.org/stoken/autho... & arxiv.org/abs/2510.08844 🔭🧪⚒️☄️
😮🤩
What do you mean I saw PLATO with my own eyes today?? 🫢🫨 #ESAopenday #exoplanet
October 12, 2025 at 10:09 PM
😮🤩
Happy 30th discovery day 51 Peg b! We're at Observatoire de Haute Provence where it all happened, listening to Michel Mayor & Didier Queloz tell us all about that extraordinary radial velocity discovery with ELODIE on the 1.93m in 1995 and the incredible exoplanet science that followed. What a day!
October 6, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Happy 30th discovery day 51 Peg b! We're at Observatoire de Haute Provence where it all happened, listening to Michel Mayor & Didier Queloz tell us all about that extraordinary radial velocity discovery with ELODIE on the 1.93m in 1995 and the incredible exoplanet science that followed. What a day!
Reposted by Jayne Birkby
If any of you fine folks are planetarians in (or want to be in) mid-Michigan, the Abrams Planetarium is hiring a full-time-staff position for the first time in 11 years!! Come work with the astro, scicomm, and informal ed folks at MSU!! 🔭 🧪 (reskeets welcome) careers.msu.edu/jobs/educati...
Educational Program Coordinator II - East Lansing, Michigan, United States
Position Summary
The program coordinator will maintain the planetarium, present live shows, and create new planetarium visualizations. In addition, this position will assist customers, assist in educa...
careers.msu.edu
September 29, 2025 at 4:21 PM
If any of you fine folks are planetarians in (or want to be in) mid-Michigan, the Abrams Planetarium is hiring a full-time-staff position for the first time in 11 years!! Come work with the astro, scicomm, and informal ed folks at MSU!! 🔭 🧪 (reskeets welcome) careers.msu.edu/jobs/educati...
Reposted by Jayne Birkby
We *absolutely* should celebrate it. Do your part by enjoying the 200+ page masterpiece in its entirety on ADS! ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1925PhDT... 🔭
Special shoutout to Figure 2, an incredible piece of art that I want on my wall (and suspect could even make an excellent tattoo if executed well?)
Special shoutout to Figure 2, an incredible piece of art that I want on my wall (and suspect could even make an excellent tattoo if executed well?)
September 23, 2025 at 8:03 PM
We *absolutely* should celebrate it. Do your part by enjoying the 200+ page masterpiece in its entirety on ADS! ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1925PhDT... 🔭
Special shoutout to Figure 2, an incredible piece of art that I want on my wall (and suspect could even make an excellent tattoo if executed well?)
Special shoutout to Figure 2, an incredible piece of art that I want on my wall (and suspect could even make an excellent tattoo if executed well?)
Reposted by Jayne Birkby
Cantiello @kantyellow.bsky.social at @flatironinstitute.org explains, in terms of fundamental physics, why we won’t be simulating stars in full 3D, ever. I likey.
September 19, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Cantiello @kantyellow.bsky.social at @flatironinstitute.org explains, in terms of fundamental physics, why we won’t be simulating stars in full 3D, ever. I likey.
Reposted by Jayne Birkby
The official number of exoplanets has surpassed 6,000! And you can access data on all 6,007 of them right here at IPAC 📈 🪐
Watch the video & read all about the center of the exoplanet universe (also known as NExScI!) here:
www.ipac.caltech.edu/news/the-nas...
Watch the video & read all about the center of the exoplanet universe (also known as NExScI!) here:
www.ipac.caltech.edu/news/the-nas...
September 18, 2025 at 12:19 AM
The official number of exoplanets has surpassed 6,000! And you can access data on all 6,007 of them right here at IPAC 📈 🪐
Watch the video & read all about the center of the exoplanet universe (also known as NExScI!) here:
www.ipac.caltech.edu/news/the-nas...
Watch the video & read all about the center of the exoplanet universe (also known as NExScI!) here:
www.ipac.caltech.edu/news/the-nas...
Reposted by Jayne Birkby
1/ A rising telescope under a rising Sun and Moon! 🔭☀️🌕
This montage is a kaleidoscope of moments from the construction of our Extremely Large Telescope.
Creating this #ELT collage took Boris Häußler, an ESO astronomer in Chile, years of meticulous planning.
This montage is a kaleidoscope of moments from the construction of our Extremely Large Telescope.
Creating this #ELT collage took Boris Häußler, an ESO astronomer in Chile, years of meticulous planning.
September 15, 2025 at 7:02 AM
1/ A rising telescope under a rising Sun and Moon! 🔭☀️🌕
This montage is a kaleidoscope of moments from the construction of our Extremely Large Telescope.
Creating this #ELT collage took Boris Häußler, an ESO astronomer in Chile, years of meticulous planning.
This montage is a kaleidoscope of moments from the construction of our Extremely Large Telescope.
Creating this #ELT collage took Boris Häußler, an ESO astronomer in Chile, years of meticulous planning.
Reposted by Jayne Birkby
My periodic reminder for #astrosci #astrodon #exoplanets Early Career Researchers to please, please, please have a simple web site with your current email address on it - rationale here: kenworthy.space/advice/
September 12, 2025 at 4:22 AM
My periodic reminder for #astrosci #astrodon #exoplanets Early Career Researchers to please, please, please have a simple web site with your current email address on it - rationale here: kenworthy.space/advice/
😮🤩 safe journey HARPS3!
Today HARPS3 is leaving the nest and migrating south!
September 8, 2025 at 10:51 AM
😮🤩 safe journey HARPS3!