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Reposted by Meg Schwamb

Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 5h

Something to look forward to with @chrislintott.bsky.social

Jodrell Bank @jodrellbank.bsky.social · 19h

📹 Last chance to get your livestream tickets to Professor Chris Lintott’s upcoming lecture exploring the fascinating world of interstellar objects!

Learn about 3I/ATLAS, a small comet from a part of the galaxy never before seen up close: https://ow.ly/rw1O50X7R6U

A photo of Comet 3I/ATLAS crossing a dense star field, captioned 'Livestream: Interstellar Objects And Other Solar System Stories... With Prof. Chris Lintott, Thursday 9 October, 19.30 - 21.00.'

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August (Gus) Muench @augustfly.bsky.social · 1d

Jonathan was the architect of WorldWide Telescope project, which I was gifted to work on with him back 15 years ago. I'll also miss knowing he might sneak up on us at some meeting somewhere (he liked to appear unexpectedly). And he was one of those people with near boundless curiosity! Rest well. ♥️

August (Gus) Muench @augustfly.bsky.social · 1d

Damn it, Jonathan Fay, I am gonna miss knowing you are in the world.

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Meg Schwamb @megschwamb.bsky.social · 17h

I don't know, but I would guess potentially some of then reasons outlined in this article www.nature.com/articles/d41...

US universities curtail PhD admissions amid Trump science funding cuts

Nature talks to prospective students left in limbo as some institutes withdraw offers and put applications on hold.

www.nature.com

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Meg Schwamb @megschwamb.bsky.social · 17h

UW is one of the powerhouses of astronomy in the US and internationally. I imagine many other leading astronomy departments may be in a similar situation this year.

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Meg Schwamb @megschwamb.bsky.social · 17h

Sad to see the University of Washington Astronomy Department has suspended graduate admissions for the 2026-2027 Academic Year. astro.washington.edu/graduate-adm...

Graduate Admissions | Department of Astronomy | University of Washington

The Department of Astronomy has suspended graduate admissions for the 2026-2027 Academic Year. General Information for applying to UW Astronomy Graduate Program. Applications must be submitted using ...

astro.washington.edu

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Meg Schwamb @megschwamb.bsky.social · 21h

just wow!

ESA Space Science @science.esa.int · 22h

First images of comet #3I/ATLAS from Europe's Mars orbiters 😍

Observing the comet from 30 million km away, #ExoMars reveals the halo of gas and dust surrounding the comet's nucleus.

Read more 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
🔭🧪

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Meg Schwamb @megschwamb.bsky.social · 1d

The aim is to make it easier to get information about LSST/Rubin Observatory follow-up observations (including imaging, spectroscopy, or polarimetry of interstellar objects)

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Meg Schwamb @megschwamb.bsky.social · 1d

I spent my limited time today in between teaching, research group 1-on-1 meetings, and telcons figuring out how to parse the RSS feed in python to pick out new Solar System-related AAS Research Notes to automatically post on my collaboration's slack

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Bluesky @bsky.app · 1d

we hit 2 billion posts today! 🥳

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Michele Bannister @astrokiwi.bsky.social · 1d

Just going to say that it is hurtful when a systematic study effort by the global small-body community, with many of the campaigns led by women, with results being pushed to free open-source arXiv & data repos for scicomm as quickly as possible, is described as lacking coordination/communication

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Tod Lauer @todlauer.bsky.social · 1d

The effort put into understanding 3I/Atlas has been spectacular, imaginative, professional and well-organized. Planetary scientists don't need Avi Loeb put in charge of an international directorate to tell them how to do their jobs.

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Andy Rivkin @asrivkin.bsky.social · 1d

You know which field of endeavor doesn't get 500 hours of guaranteed, uncompeted characterization time annually on fancy telescopes? Planetary defense. And this is despite asteroids hitting the Earth being an actual, you know, thing.

Meg Schwamb @megschwamb.bsky.social · 1d

This is complete and utter pompous bullshit. It's telling that of the people proposing it wants to anoint themselves director general when every one of his claims of having discovered technosignature interstellar objects has been debunked by the planetary community. arxiv.org/pdf/2510.01405

arxiv.org

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James Davenport @jradavenport.com · 1d

If anyone from the UN wants to talk, here’s a nice summary. The astronomy community does NOT endorse this proposal, just take it from one of THE EXPERTS on ISOs with Rubin. Meg (and many others) has helped the community plan for +10yrs for these kinds of studies.

Meg Schwamb @megschwamb.bsky.social · 1d

I'll for global coordination for ISO follow-up, but it's telling that no one who's actually coordinating follow-up was actually asked to participate in this proposal or thought of to be even suggested as names on committees in this proposal

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Meg Schwamb @megschwamb.bsky.social · 1d

I'll for global coordination for ISO follow-up, but it's telling that no one who's actually coordinating follow-up was actually asked to participate in this proposal or thought of to be even suggested as names on committees in this proposal

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Meg Schwamb @megschwamb.bsky.social · 1d

Full arxiv link for those wanting to read the abstract arxiv.org/abs/2510.01405

Advancing Interstellar Science: A Global Framework for Comprehensive Study of Interstellar Objects

The operation of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) marks a transformative moment in humanity's capacity to detect and characterize interstellar objects (ISOs). Wit...

arxiv.org

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Meg Schwamb @megschwamb.bsky.social · 1d

This is complete and utter pompous bullshit. It's telling that of the people proposing it wants to anoint themselves director general when every one of his claims of having discovered technosignature interstellar objects has been debunked by the planetary community. arxiv.org/pdf/2510.01405

arxiv.org

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Meg Schwamb @megschwamb.bsky.social · 3d

Rubin Observatory hasn't start science observations. So nothing ruled out yet

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Meg Schwamb @megschwamb.bsky.social · 3d

We're definitely not finding 100 times more Solar System objects with @vrubinobs.bsky.social. More like 2-7 times more objects than known today depending on the type of Solar System small body reservoir you're interested in. Which still is amazing. See sorcha.space for our predictions.

NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory @vrubinobs.bsky.social · 3d

Our Solar System has millions of wandering asteroids and comets that are small, far away, and usually dark. Rubin Observatory excels at detecting faint objects, and it’ll find 10-100 times more Solar System objects than were known before! 🔭🧪

A wide-angle night panorama of Rubin Observatory on a rocky mountain peak, with a dirt road curving around from left to right. The full moon glows brightly near the horizon on the right, illuminating the landscape. Overhead, the Milky Way arcs across the sky, glowing with dense star fields, dark dust lanes, and red emission nebulae. The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds appear as bright fuzzy patches below the arcing band of the Milky Way.

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Meg Schwamb @megschwamb.bsky.social · 4d

Important thread to read

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 4d

Conventional wisdom says motherhood should wait for tenure as before you land a permanent post, #academia is just not that family friendly🙁

@carersinstemm.bsky.social are calling for change and to celebrate their new report, a Saturday🧵on parenting & academia! 1/9 👩‍🔬🧪🔭⚛️

ℹ️: carersinstemm.co.uk

From 2006. A younger and shell-shocked looking Catherine on a balcony holding a very tiny baby with the mountains of Vancouver in the background. The baby is so new, Catherine still has the pregnant bump.

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Meg Schwamb @megschwamb.bsky.social · 4d

Always lovely to see newly minted doctors coming out of their successful viva (defense) and the department celebrate - we have a round of vivas in the coming weeks/month

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 6d

If you happen to be in London on October 10th, this will be a great time!

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics @perimeterinstitute.ca · 6d

Join @astrokatie.com and a host of other guests in London, UK on October 10th as they commemorate the universe.

“The End of the Universe” will be an evening of music and reflections on what the universe has meant to its recent inhabitants.

Get tickets: wegottickets.com/event/676292

The End of the Universe

After a magnificent* 13.8 billion years** astronomer Chris Lintott (Sky at Night) and Steve Pretty (Hackney Colliery Band) lead a funeral and wake for the universe, as it sadly heads into heat death. ...

wegottickets.com

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 5d

Hey London folks: come join me for this next week! It’s going to be a great night! wegottickets.com/event/676292

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Michele Bannister @astrokiwi.bsky.social · 5d

"ESA plans to release imagery by next week. NASA will not be able to release any of its data, or even comment on it, until the U.S. federal government ends the shutdown."

Jonathan O'Callaghan @astrojonny.bsky.social · 5d

Interstellar comet 3I/Atlas is flying past Mars today. Might get some cool views!

skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-ne...

Mars Orbiters Will Have Front-row Seats to Interstellar Comet

Spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet will aim a suite of instruments at Comet 3I/ATLAS to capture details about this enigmatic object.

skyandtelescope.org

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Michael Busch @michael-w-busch.bsky.social · 7d

Today on the arXiv:

Hutsemékers et al. 2025, "Extreme NiI/FeI abundance ratio in the coma of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS" arxiv.org/abs/2509.26053

3I is putting out more iron vapor as it comes in closer to the Sun.

Matching the carbonyl boil-off model, with extreme sensitivity to temperature.

Extreme NiI/FeI abundance ratio in the coma of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

Emission lines of FeI and NiI are commonly found in the coma of solar system comets, even at large heliocentric distances. These atoms are most likely released from the surface of the comet's nucleus ...

arxiv.org

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Dr Dave Clements @davecl.bsky.social · 6d

Interesting news from Enceladus 🔭🧪 @planetgreaves.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

Prospect of life on Saturn’s moons rises after discovery of organic substances

Scientists studying water vapour plume from Enceladus find presence of complex molecules that could harbour life

www.theguardian.com

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