sam 💫
@samanthawong.bsky.social
(she/her) PhD student at McGill studying gamma-ray astrophysics with the VERITAS telescopes 🔭⚡️ | @astrobites.bsky.social author ☄️
Pinned
sam 💫
@samanthawong.bsky.social
· Nov 17
Hi everyone! I’m Sam and I’m a PhD student at McGill university in Montreal, Canada! I study pulsars and their environments in very high energy gamma-rays. I’m a current @astrobites.bsky.social author and I’m also involved in DEI efforts and run a small outreach observatory 🔭
The abstract submission deadline for the Women+ in Physics Canada conference is quickly approaching (April 22nd). Early career gender minorities are invited to share their research and network with other early career physicists at WiPC+ 2025. 🇨🇦 👩🔬 ⚛️ 🎢 🧪
Women+ in Physics Canada 2025 | Queen's UniversityDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrow
The Women+ in Physics Canada (WIPC+) Conference 2025 aims to promote diversity in physics by empowering gender minorities and allies to network, share, research and discuss equity issues.
www.queensu.ca
April 18, 2025 at 11:36 PM
This was super fun to work on! In particular, I deep-dived into the expansion of the arXiverse, which was a very meta exploration of the past few decades of astronomers “yeeting papers into the void”
From Astrobites: There is a tradition in Astronomy to post silly science papers to the arXiv on Aprils Fools day. We’ve collected them all for 2025 and provided some “peer review”. 🔭✨☄️
astrobites.org/2025/04/03/a...
astrobites.org/2025/04/03/a...
The April Fools Paper Review Process – 2025
There is a tradition in Astronomy to post silly science papers to the arXiv on Aprils Fools day. We’ve collected them all for 2025 and provided some “peer review”.
astrobites.org
April 4, 2025 at 5:33 PM
This was super fun to work on! In particular, I deep-dived into the expansion of the arXiverse, which was a very meta exploration of the past few decades of astronomers “yeeting papers into the void”
My last official bite as a regular author 🥹 so grateful to have written for astrobites over the past few years & excited to see what the new generation of authors brings!
🧪 Another case of using gamma-rays to track down cosmic rays, but this time from starburst galaxy M 82, aka the cigar galaxy 🚬🌟
🧪 Another case of using gamma-rays to track down cosmic rays, but this time from starburst galaxy M 82, aka the cigar galaxy 🚬🌟
From Samantha Wong @samanthawong.bsky.social : The latest results from the VERITAS gamma-ray telescopes hint that starburst galaxies like M 82 might help us understand where mysterious cosmic rays come from! 🔭✨
astrobites.org/2025/02/13/m...
astrobites.org/2025/02/13/m...
M 82 (star)bursts onto the scene!
The latest results from the VERITAS gamma-ray telescopes hint that starburst galaxies like M 82 might help us understand where mysterious cosmic rays come from!
astrobites.org
February 14, 2025 at 2:12 AM
My last official bite as a regular author 🥹 so grateful to have written for astrobites over the past few years & excited to see what the new generation of authors brings!
🧪 Another case of using gamma-rays to track down cosmic rays, but this time from starburst galaxy M 82, aka the cigar galaxy 🚬🌟
🧪 Another case of using gamma-rays to track down cosmic rays, but this time from starburst galaxy M 82, aka the cigar galaxy 🚬🌟
Reposted by sam 💫
Registration ends Feb. 15! 🔭🧪👩🔬
We encourage *all* professional astronomers/astrophysicists to attend (in person or remotely)!
More at pictureanastronomer.github.io/symposium
We encourage *all* professional astronomers/astrophysicists to attend (in person or remotely)!
More at pictureanastronomer.github.io/symposium
February 12, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Registration ends Feb. 15! 🔭🧪👩🔬
We encourage *all* professional astronomers/astrophysicists to attend (in person or remotely)!
More at pictureanastronomer.github.io/symposium
We encourage *all* professional astronomers/astrophysicists to attend (in person or remotely)!
More at pictureanastronomer.github.io/symposium
Reposted by sam 💫
Neutrino of the energy of 120 PeV (Petaelectron-volt)! That’s a lot. Got a theory for that? 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Observation of an ultra-high-energy cosmic neutrino with KM3NeT - Nature
A very high-energy muon observed by the KM3NeT experiment in the Mediterranean Sea is evidence for the interaction of an exceptionally high-energy neutrino of cosmic origin.
www.nature.com
February 12, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Neutrino of the energy of 120 PeV (Petaelectron-volt)! That’s a lot. Got a theory for that? 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This paper has been in the works since very early in my MSc (I’m now a second year PhD) — after like 18 months of reviews by a lot of large collaborations, we finally got this out into the world!!
Summary below but tl;dr: do gammas and neitrinos come from the same place? Not this time! 🧪🔭
Summary below but tl;dr: do gammas and neitrinos come from the same place? Not this time! 🧪🔭
VERITAS and multiwavelength observations of the Blazar B3 2247+381 in response to an IceCube neutrino alert
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2502.03853
Atreya Acharyya et al
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2502.03853
Atreya Acharyya et al
https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.03853
arXiv abstract link
arxiv.org
February 7, 2025 at 6:55 PM
This paper has been in the works since very early in my MSc (I’m now a second year PhD) — after like 18 months of reviews by a lot of large collaborations, we finally got this out into the world!!
Summary below but tl;dr: do gammas and neitrinos come from the same place? Not this time! 🧪🔭
Summary below but tl;dr: do gammas and neitrinos come from the same place? Not this time! 🧪🔭
Another astrobite in my series of “where are we making all these cosmic rays??” themed bites. This is a theory paper that looks at modelling a scenario where all the cosmic rays at really high energies are made in our nearest AGN, Centaurus A 🔭🧪
From Samantha Wong: Today’s authors try to answer a century-old mystery: where are all the cosmic rays coming from?? ✨🔭
astrobites.org/2025/02/06/c...
astrobites.org/2025/02/06/c...
No horsing around: Centaurus A could be a nearby cosmic ray factory
Today's authors try to answer a century-old mystery: where are all the cosmic rays coming from??
astrobites.org
February 7, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Another astrobite in my series of “where are we making all these cosmic rays??” themed bites. This is a theory paper that looks at modelling a scenario where all the cosmic rays at really high energies are made in our nearest AGN, Centaurus A 🔭🧪
Reposted by sam 💫
Just got a story approved to run on Monday on the crisis happening at the NSF.
If you are an NSF-funded scientist and have been personally impacted by the funding pause this week, I'd love to hear from you.
Reach me securely on Signal: 3162958947
If you are an NSF-funded scientist and have been personally impacted by the funding pause this week, I'd love to hear from you.
Reach me securely on Signal: 3162958947
I'm begging a major news org to cover the fact NSF is defying the courts to enact Trump's unconstitutional executive order
January 31, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Just got a story approved to run on Monday on the crisis happening at the NSF.
If you are an NSF-funded scientist and have been personally impacted by the funding pause this week, I'd love to hear from you.
Reach me securely on Signal: 3162958947
If you are an NSF-funded scientist and have been personally impacted by the funding pause this week, I'd love to hear from you.
Reach me securely on Signal: 3162958947
Reposted by sam 💫
+ highland cows ofc!!
All I want is a cottage in the Scottish Highlands, a freshly-fallen snow, a crackling fire, a riveting mystery novel, a kettle on the stove, and a healthy supply of emotional support scones.
January 3, 2025 at 6:46 AM
+ highland cows ofc!!
happy new years i made my cat a hat and she hates it
January 1, 2025 at 1:10 AM
happy new years i made my cat a hat and she hates it
can light travel faster than the speed of light? probably not but we can use all the times we saw light travelling at regular speed to constrain that new physics probably isn’t happening
Discriminating between different modified dispersion relations from gamma-ray observations
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2412.16048
S. Caroff, C. Pfeifer, J. Bolmont, T. Terzić, A. Campoy-Ordaz, D. Kerszberg, M. Martinez, U. Pensec, C. Plard, J. Strišković, S. Wong
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2412.16048
S. Caroff, C. Pfeifer, J. Bolmont, T. Terzić, A. Campoy-Ordaz, D. Kerszberg, M. Martinez, U. Pensec, C. Plard, J. Strišković, S. Wong
https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.16048
arXiv abstract link
arxiv.org
December 23, 2024 at 5:06 AM
can light travel faster than the speed of light? probably not but we can use all the times we saw light travelling at regular speed to constrain that new physics probably isn’t happening
yes I am a “100 tab across multiple browser” person but I don’t think I’ve ever closed a phone tab and now I’m scared
Just closed about 100 tabs on my phone. Winning at life.
December 22, 2024 at 6:25 PM
yes I am a “100 tab across multiple browser” person but I don’t think I’ve ever closed a phone tab and now I’m scared
Reposted by sam 💫
Think twice before gifting someone an M dwarf this holiday season
December 22, 2024 at 4:22 AM
Think twice before gifting someone an M dwarf this holiday season
i reallllly want a work/life balance so badly but like how do I do that if I have a conference the first week of january??!! my unfinished slides and buggy code are actively haunting me
December 21, 2024 at 9:47 PM
i reallllly want a work/life balance so badly but like how do I do that if I have a conference the first week of january??!! my unfinished slides and buggy code are actively haunting me
Reposted by sam 💫
Another thing I made this year. Pigeon history!
December 10, 2024 at 3:07 PM
Another thing I made this year. Pigeon history!
pls appreciate that I put a hat on the observatory (and pray for me that it is somehow not cloudy for my event :))
December 6, 2024 at 10:09 PM
pls appreciate that I put a hat on the observatory (and pray for me that it is somehow not cloudy for my event :))
addressing some anti-DEI bs - here’s just some of the DEI work I’m fortunate to do:
- making teaching resources that include underrep. physicists
- establishing a food pantry for grad students w/ financial stress
- bringing telescopes and physics labs to remote and underserved communities
- making teaching resources that include underrep. physicists
- establishing a food pantry for grad students w/ financial stress
- bringing telescopes and physics labs to remote and underserved communities
Hi everyone! I’m Sam and I’m a PhD student at McGill university in Montreal, Canada! I study pulsars and their environments in very high energy gamma-rays. I’m a current @astrobites.bsky.social author and I’m also involved in DEI efforts and run a small outreach observatory 🔭
December 2, 2024 at 6:49 PM
addressing some anti-DEI bs - here’s just some of the DEI work I’m fortunate to do:
- making teaching resources that include underrep. physicists
- establishing a food pantry for grad students w/ financial stress
- bringing telescopes and physics labs to remote and underserved communities
- making teaching resources that include underrep. physicists
- establishing a food pantry for grad students w/ financial stress
- bringing telescopes and physics labs to remote and underserved communities
observing day 10/10(!) terrible weather, sat in the control room all night to follow up a gravitational wave through the clouds ☁️
November 30, 2024 at 6:09 PM
observing day 10/10(!) terrible weather, sat in the control room all night to follow up a gravitational wave through the clouds ☁️
observing day 9/10: my American colleagues keep thanking me so much for being here to operate the telescopes on thanksgiving (I’m Canadian and literally had no idea today wasn’t just a normal day)
November 29, 2024 at 3:52 AM
observing day 9/10: my American colleagues keep thanking me so much for being here to operate the telescopes on thanksgiving (I’m Canadian and literally had no idea today wasn’t just a normal day)
Observing day 5?/10 (losing track tbh) and finally spotted a coati (a desert raccoon)!!
November 26, 2024 at 7:41 AM
Observing day 5?/10 (losing track tbh) and finally spotted a coati (a desert raccoon)!!
Observing day 3/10! Venus sighting while looking for ringtails 🦝 before observations
November 22, 2024 at 1:13 AM
Observing day 3/10! Venus sighting while looking for ringtails 🦝 before observations
Just started day 1/10 of a yearly observing shift! gamma-ray observatories are different than others, so wanted to share a day in the life!
Winter shifts are pretty brutal —we’re working 15h sunset to sunrise and drive back up the mountain to get to the dorms (the telescopes are at the bottom).
Winter shifts are pretty brutal —we’re working 15h sunset to sunrise and drive back up the mountain to get to the dorms (the telescopes are at the bottom).
November 20, 2024 at 2:31 AM
Just started day 1/10 of a yearly observing shift! gamma-ray observatories are different than others, so wanted to share a day in the life!
Winter shifts are pretty brutal —we’re working 15h sunset to sunrise and drive back up the mountain to get to the dorms (the telescopes are at the bottom).
Winter shifts are pretty brutal —we’re working 15h sunset to sunrise and drive back up the mountain to get to the dorms (the telescopes are at the bottom).
Hi everyone! I’m Sam and I’m a PhD student at McGill university in Montreal, Canada! I study pulsars and their environments in very high energy gamma-rays. I’m a current @astrobites.bsky.social author and I’m also involved in DEI efforts and run a small outreach observatory 🔭
November 17, 2024 at 11:44 AM
Hi everyone! I’m Sam and I’m a PhD student at McGill university in Montreal, Canada! I study pulsars and their environments in very high energy gamma-rays. I’m a current @astrobites.bsky.social author and I’m also involved in DEI efforts and run a small outreach observatory 🔭
Reposted by sam 💫
Love astronomy, astrophysics, and science communication? Come join the Astrobites team! Applications due November 27th. ✨🔭
astrobites.org/2024/10/27/a...
astrobites.org/2024/10/27/a...
Apply to Write for Astrobites 2024!
Love astronomy, astrophysics, and science communication? Come join the Astrobites team! Applications due November 27th.
astrobites.org
October 28, 2024 at 9:57 PM
Love astronomy, astrophysics, and science communication? Come join the Astrobites team! Applications due November 27th. ✨🔭
astrobites.org/2024/10/27/a...
astrobites.org/2024/10/27/a...