Bryan Hilbert
pluto-fan.bsky.social
Bryan Hilbert
@pluto-fan.bsky.social
Staff Scientist at Space Telescope Science Institute, NIRCam team, Outer solar system fan, dad, mostly indoor cyclist. Opinions are mine.
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
Hat tip @wilsonar.bsky.social for this! 🤣
November 6, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE
nyti.ms
October 8, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
Want to get solar on your roof, an EV in your driveway + a heat pump in your garage? Or want your family + friends to go electric? There's still time to get federal incentives before they expire. Tune in to A Matter of Degrees to get all the details + share!
www.degreespod.com/episodes/cas...
Cash In On Clean Tech Incentives (Before It's Too Late) — A Matter of Degrees
www.degreespod.com
August 26, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
It's paper day! The first science paper with data from @vrubinobs.bsky.social's survey camera, the mighty LSSTCam, is a VERY quick turnaround of Rubin's observations thus far of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. ☄️
Chandler et al., submitted 🔭
A 🧵
NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory Observations of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1)
We report on the observation and measurement of astrometry, photometry, morphology, and activity of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, also designated C/2025 N1 (ATLAS), with the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin ...
arxiv.org
July 21, 2025 at 5:28 AM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
In the past two years, with surprisingly little notice, renewable energy has suddenly become the obvious, mainstream, cost-efficient choice around the world.
4.6 Billion Years On, the Sun Is Having a Moment
In the past two years, without much notice, solar power has begun to truly transform the world’s energy system.
www.newyorker.com
July 11, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
Lots of salt out there.

Read more in the June issue of Eos: bit.ly/Eos-Jun2025
Asteroid Samples Suggest a Solar System of Ancient, Salty Incubators - Eos
The discovery of salty mineral evaporites on Ryugu indicates that watery environments may have been widespread in the early solar system.
eos.org
June 4, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
The @vrubinobs.bsky.social will discover ~70% of all of its small body discoveries in it's first 2 years! A video animation of our discovery predictions - Further details sorcha.space
Simulated Solar System Discoveries of LSST
YouTube video by Jake Andrew Kurlander
www.youtube.com
June 4, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
Here's NASA astrophysics, if I read the president's proposed budget correctly. 🔭
May 30, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
NSF Physics was cut by 85%, basically wiping out most of its capacity for supporting research.

NSF Astronomy was cut by 53%

Undergrad education was cut by 71% and research on learning by 79%

Graduate education was cut by 100% to ZERO.

#GiftLink ⚛️🔭

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades (Gift Article)
The lag in funding extends far beyond D.E.I. initiatives, affecting almost every area of science: chemistry, computing, engineering, materials and more.
www.nytimes.com
May 22, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
Because they felt that air pollution isn't killing enough Americans, the Senate voted to overturn an EPA rule that limits toxic air pollutants emitted by industrial facilities, marking the first time Congress has weakened protections under the Clean Air Act.
Senate overturns EPA rule on seven highly toxic air pollutants
If also passed by the House as expected, the action will be the first time Congress has weakened protections under the Clean Air Act.
wapo.st
May 1, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
NEW: The total loss of NOAA’s office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research —a nerve center of global climate science, data collection and modeling — represents a setback for climate preparedness that experts warn the nation may never recover from.

By @abrahm.bsky.social
White House Proposal Could Gut Climate Modeling the World Depends On
Potential funding cuts for NOAA and its research partners threaten irreparable harm not only to climate research but to American safety, competitiveness, and national security.
www.propublica.org
April 24, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to end routine food safety inspections.
FDA making plans to end its routine food safety inspections, sources say
Food safety inspections would be left to state and local authorities under the plan being developed by the FDA.
www.cbsnews.com
April 17, 2025 at 10:03 PM
First draft of the White House budget request for NASA. A 50% cut to science. A possible closure of Goddard Space Flight Center with its 10000 employees. No funding for Roman Space Telescope. Congress will most likely fight some of these cuts, but still, not good. Thanks Project 2025.
Trump White House budget proposal eviscerates science funding at NASA
“This would decimate American leadership in space.”…
arstechnica.com
April 11, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
Mind-blowing column by @sarahoconnorft.ft.com (with a hell of a final paragraph)
The US may be reversing course on child labour
Acute strain on the jobs market has encouraged some states to consider reducing restrictions on employing minors
www.ft.com
April 10, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
Here’s Elon cutting pediatric brain cancer research 👇🏻
This is horrible to post, but I may as well post it. We are essentially shutting down research operations in my group, which is focused on treatments for pediatric brain cancer. I’m a well funded investigator, and there’s no choice. Science can’t function without the stability of NIH
March 15, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
The Trump administration has terminated $800 million in grants to Johns Hopkins University, spurring the nation’s top spender on research and development to plan layoffs and cancel health projects
Johns Hopkins Plans Staff Layoffs After $800 Million Grant Cuts
Local and international health research efforts are already winding down as the university braces for even more potential cuts.
www.wsj.com
March 11, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
This is exactly what they're trying to achieve by destroying government services that benefit the public. A VC-backed startup intervenes to gather data that the National Weather Service was previously collecting, and before we know it, we will be paying them for what was once funded by our taxes.
As Staffing Cuts at NWS Lead to Suspended Weather Balloon Launches in Western Alaska, WindBorne Systems Steps Up to Fill Atmospheric Data Gaps
Following the announcement from the National Weather Service (NWS) that it is suspending its weather balloon launches in Kotzebue, Alaska indefinitely
www.businesswire.com
March 11, 2025 at 5:32 AM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
New initiative at @spacetelescope.bsky.social: a #JWST summer school! Get your applications in for this first-ever event, on the topic of high-redshift transients with #JWST. Some great speakers already lined up! Details at the link below. 🔭🧪👇
Applications are now open for the inaugural #JWST Summer School from August 4 to August 15, 2025. Submit your application by April 4, 2025. Get the details: ow.ly/um9J50VbUla
March 7, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
There may be tens of BILLIONS of small (10 - 100 meter) asteroids out in the main belt past Mars, but they're too small to be seen from with our telescopes… until now. Astronomers used JWST data in a unique way to find over 130 of them!

badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/hundreds-o...

🔭 🧪
Hundreds of small asteroids found in the main belt using JWST
Astronomers used a new technique to find the building-sized rocks, the smallest ever seen at that distance
badastronomy.beehiiv.com
March 3, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
An estimated 300,000 children globally are expected to lose access to a nutrient-dense peanut butter that’s specially formulated to treat severe acute malnutrition.
Georgia Nonprofit That Produces Life-Saving Food For Kids Has Federal Contract Cut
An estimated 300,000 children globally are expected to lose access to a nutrient-dense peanut butter that’s specially formulated to treat severe acute malnutrition.
www.huffpost.com
February 28, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
BREAKING: House Republicans just passed their budget resolution 217-215 that would virtually guarantee deep cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, all to fund a major tax break for the ultrawealthy... and still add trillions to the national debt.
February 26, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
Far beyond Pluto, trillions of cold comets circle the sun in a lazy swarm called the Oort Cloud. A new simulation indicates what this comet-cloud looks like: a loose spiral that resembles a miniature galaxy. 🧪🔭

arxiv.org/abs/2502.11252
February 23, 2025 at 6:38 PM
February 22, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Reposted by Bryan Hilbert
#JWST Pipeline Build 11.2 provides improvements for multiple observing modes and fixes a number of outstanding known issues. Get the details: ow.ly/oUsu50V4gfp
February 21, 2025 at 2:28 PM