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Dr. Scott W. Fleming

@scottwfleming.bsky.social

770 followers 300 following 110 posts

Branch Manager at Space Telescope Science Institute working in the MAST archive. Astronomy PhD. Studies stars and exoplanets. Loves programming. Opinions are my own. He/Him/His

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Dr. Scott W. Fleming @scottwfleming.bsky.social · Aug 23

For my fIrst post, I want to highlight our open-source sonification Python package, Astronify! It's a package to sonify 1D data, esp. light curves from Kepler/K2/TESS. It provides alternative ways to analyze/preview, and most importantly increases accessibility to the data! astronify.readthedocs.io

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Dr. Scott W. Fleming @scottwfleming.bsky.social · 6d

We added some nice features to our JWST Search interface. HST rolling out in next couple months, along with more goodies.

MAST - Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes @mast-news.bsky.social · 6d

Feature update: we've added album previews to our JWST Search interface! Also included with our update is a Light/Dark mode toggle. archive.stsci.edu/contents/new...

The JWST image preview feature; seven images are displayed in a grid.

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Reposted by Dr. Scott W. Fleming

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · Aug 27

Technicians recently tested two major deployments for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: the Deployable Aperture Cover (DAC) and the Solar Array Sun Shield (SASS): go.nasa.gov/41X95PN #NASARoman 🔭 🧪

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Dr. Scott W. Fleming @scottwfleming.bsky.social · Aug 26

When I decided to pursue astronomy as a career, inspired by Star Wars, there were no known real planets orbiting stars like the Sun. Now we can take baby photos and SEE them. Incredible, and building off of decades of work by others who came before to get us collectively to this place.

ESO @eso.org · Aug 26

A very hungry planet! 🪐

What appears to be a ripple in space is actually a newborn planet, eating its way through its dusty cradle around a younger version of our Sun 🌞

Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2534a/

🔭 🧪 #exoplanets
📷 ESO/R. van Capelleveen et al.

A white protoplanetary disc at the centre of the picture takes up most of the frame. The elliptical cloud of dust and gas consists of some gaps creating a ring-like structure to the cloud. In one of the larger gaps/rings a little dot (a planet) is visible.

Dr. Scott W. Fleming @scottwfleming.bsky.social · Aug 20

Four years' worth of Ca HK activity measurements with more planned on the way. Great dataset for anyone exploring stellar activity now at MAST!

MAST - Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes @mast-news.bsky.social · Aug 20

New HLSP: OWLS, a long-term spectroscopic stellar activity monitoring program with the ARC 3.5 m Telescope at Apache Point Observatory led by @brettmorr.is . OWLS produces time series Ca II H & K emission measurements to probe activity levels + search for activity cycles. archive.stsci.edu/hlsp/owls

Time series of S-indices for five targets with a range of spectral types. The top three panels show data from 1965 to 2024 for HD 78366 (F dwarf), HD 81809 (G dwarf), and the K-dwarf HD 26965, including historic MWO data (timespan in yellow) and newly obtained OWLS measurements (timespan in blue). We plot a curve on the G and K stars with three Lomb-Scargle (sinusoidal) terms, with periods ranging from 8 to 15 years. The OWLS S-indices from 2020-2024 for two M~dwarfs GJ 388 B and GJ 494 are shown in the bottom row.

Dr. Scott W. Fleming @scottwfleming.bsky.social · Aug 19

@commondescentpod.bsky.social Motivation for a Silver Screen episode on Star Wars? Best Star Wars planets for optimal fossilization? What kind of dinosaur was Boba Fett riding in the Christmas Special? Were krayt dragons actually dragons? Dragon*con topic perhaps!? www.wired.com/story/an-anc...

Reposted by Dr. Scott W. Fleming

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · Aug 19

The more we look with #NASAWebb, the more we find! The latest discovery? A tiny new moon orbiting Uranus. It’s just six miles (9.6 kilometers) in diameter: science.nasa.gov/blogs/webb/2... 🔭 🧪

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Reposted by Dr. Scott W. Fleming

Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · Aug 19

Job for AWS experts – become Senior Cloud Software Developer at @stsci.edu, apply by Sept 19:

recruiting2.ultipro.com/SPA1004AURA/...

recruiting2.ultipro.com

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Reposted by Dr. Scott W. Fleming

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · Aug 12

Tim Rhue, education specialist at STScI, packs up new tactile panels based on the first #NASAWebb image of Uranus. These panels are being sent to museums, libraries, and other educational sites, so that they can share this tactile experience with their audiences. 🔭

An individual pulls tape from a dispenser at a desk with stacks of white boxes and astronomical images in the background.

A tactile panel of Uranus shows the blue planet and rings on a black background.

A tactile panel of Uranus shows the blue planet and rings on a black background. The image was taken from a side to show the three dimensional component. The panel is sitting on a wooden table.

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Dr. Scott W. Fleming @scottwfleming.bsky.social · Aug 4

Yes this, unlike other more common industries with much larger applicant pools, astrophysics (and things like software engineers applying their craft to a specialized field like this) is not something than can be restocked quickly en masse, and many who left won’t just come back from their new jobs.

Dr. Scott W. Fleming @scottwfleming.bsky.social · Jul 31

Ever wondered what the "MAST Sky" looks like, from our ~6 PB of data spanning 3 decades...check this out! spacetelescope.github.io/mast-blog/ma...

Really fun project led by the very talented Julie Imig at MAST, showing mission coverage sky-projected! They make VERY good video backgrounds, btw. 🔭

MAST background in "standard" sky projection, in hues of blue. Lighter blue areas mark lots of observations, while darker areas are less. Numerous patterns are visible, like the continuous viewing zones as ovals in the lower-left and upper right, patterns from overlapping TESS FFIs, or the Kepler footprint shapes stamped along the ecliptic and in the original Kepler field in the upper-right.

A grid of 16 images, 4x4, showing the sky background only for specific missions to get a sense of where in the sky and how much of it each mission observed to at least some depth.

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Reposted by Dr. Scott W. Fleming

Corey S. Powell @coreyspowell.bsky.social · Jul 28

NASA's new PUNCH mission is a constellation of 4 small satellites that collectively provide an unprecedented view of giant eruptions breaking free from the Sun.

This first-release video compresses about 6 days of observations. 🧪🔭

science.nasa.gov/blogs/punch/...

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Reposted by Dr. Scott W. Fleming

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · Jul 10

Hooray for three years of paw-sitively amazing #NASAWebb science! To celebrate, the telescope examined a singular “toe bean” of the Cat’s Paw Nebula, a massive star-forming region. Webb reveals gas, dust, and massive young stars: webbtelescope.pub/4khJK9T 🔭

Reply with an image of your pet’s paws! 🐾

$A section of the Cat’s Paw Nebula, a local star-forming region composed of gas, dust, and young stars. Four roughly circular areas are toward the center of the frame: a small oval toward the top left, a large circle in the top center, and two ovals at bottom left and right. Each circular area has a luminous blue glow, with the top center and bottom left areas the brightest. Brown-orange filaments of dust, which vary in density, surround these four bluish patches and stretch toward the frame’s edges. Small zones, such as to the left and right of the top-center blue circular area, appear darker and seemingly vacant of stars. Toward the center are small, fiery red clumps scattered among the brown dust. Many small, yellow-white stars are spread across the scene, some with eight-pointed diffraction spikes that are characteristic of Webb. A few larger blue-white stars with diffraction spikes are scattered throughout, mostly toward the top left and bottom right.$

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Dr. Scott W. Fleming @scottwfleming.bsky.social · Jul 8

This is what we are doing after Roman. But only if NASA science funding is kept at the levels we need. It takes decades to plan and build these missions, and it’s only possible through steady public support AND stable federal funding throughout the years.

Heidi B. Hammel @hbhammel.bsky.social · Jul 8

My eyes are fixed on the future, even in volatile times.... 🚀🔭 🧪 🪐 www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJwD...

NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory Will Search for Life

YouTube video by NASA Goddard

www.youtube.com

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Dr. Scott W. Fleming @scottwfleming.bsky.social · Jul 2

The work our talented team does to ensure the public learns about discoveries made with NASA telescopes, and our place in the Universe, risks being lost without at least keeping NASA’s funding flat. The current budget plan removes almost all of it. If this matters to you, make sure your reps know.

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · Jul 2

The Space Telescope Science Institute continues to expand the frontiers of space astronomy. 🔭 🧪

Astronomy for All - Space Telescope Science Institute #shorts

YouTube video by Space Telescope Science Institute

youtube.com

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Reposted by Dr. Scott W. Fleming

Black In Astro @blackinastro.bsky.social · Jun 14

Links to register to all our events!

www.blackinastro.com/black-space-...

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Reposted by Dr. Scott W. Fleming

Keaton Bell @astrokeat.bsky.social · Jun 9

I present the #astrocode Pyriod for interactive or scripted pre-whitening frequency analysis of astronomical time series data. See the demo of #stellarastro #TESS data analysis of a pulsating white dwarf star. Check it out at github.com/keatonb/Pyriod/.

Keaton Bell @astrokeat.bsky.social · Jun 9

Had to withdraw my #AAS246 poster due to COVID, but let me demo "Pyriod: Interactive Pre-Whitening Frequency Analysis in Python." Here is a quick guide to reproducing the analysis of TESS data on a pulsating white dwarf from Bell et al. (2019, ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019A%26A...632A..42B).

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Reposted by Dr. Scott W. Fleming

Dr. Caprice Phillips @capricephillips.bsky.social · May 23

Excited for #BlackSpaceWeek 2025! #BlackInAstro

Black In Astro @blackinastro.bsky.social · May 23

Schedule for #BlackSpaceWeek 2025! Links to register coming soon🤭 Which event/panels pique your interest? 👀

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Reposted by Dr. Scott W. Fleming

Chase Million @millionconcepts.com · May 20

Have you ever started a Python process, realized that you made a mistake, immediately hit Ctrl+C to interrupt it and then waited a surprisingly long time to get the command line back?

This delay is caused by a bug in the compiled #Python extension.

:thread:

A code block labeled "A Common Bug (in compiled extension modules)." The code shows an attempt to exit a calculation of a large array of random numbers, and then indicates that a Ctrl+C interrupt takes 3.5 seconds to return, rather than returning immediately as is probably the desired and expected behavior.

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Dr. Scott W. Fleming @scottwfleming.bsky.social · May 16

Professional astronomers: Follow this official account that will keep researchers up to date on preparing for and participating in Roman research!

Roman for Scientists @nancyromansci.bsky.social · May 8

🚀We are ready for launch...of the official social media account for doing science with #NASARoman!

This account will keep researchers informed about opportunities for preparing for and participating in Roman science.

Follow us to stay involved. #ExpandOurView

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Dr. Scott W. Fleming @scottwfleming.bsky.social · May 15

Learn how to use our powerful cloud platforms at the AAS meeting in Alaska! We need more interested attendees! 🔭

MAST - Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes @mast-news.bsky.social · May 15

Join us at AAS246 for our data challenge workshop!

Working on our cloud platform, you'll learn about astroquery, catalog cross-matching, cutouts, and more. There are still PLENTY of spots open for those attending #aas246 in Alaska!

Registration: aas.org/meetings/aas...

AAS 246: Registration | American Astronomical Society

aas.org

Reposted by Dr. Scott W. Fleming

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · May 12

NEW: Those undulations aren’t clouds—they’re Jupiter’s aurora as seen by #NASAWebb. Webb observed light from a particular molecule, represented in orange, and found that the planet’s aurora fluctuates on timescales of minutes or seconds: webbtelescope.pub/4kbsB20 🔭 🧪

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Reposted by Dr. Scott W. Fleming

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · May 7

Experience the Cosmic Cliffs like never before! #NASAWebb’s iconic image of dusty “mountains” and “valleys” is featured in a new 3D visualization from NASA’s Universe of Learning: webbtelescope.pub/4jRHIh9 🔭 🧪

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Dr. Scott W. Fleming @scottwfleming.bsky.social · May 2

We are working on resolving this.

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Dr. Scott W. Fleming @scottwfleming.bsky.social · Apr 30

For those attending the AAS in the summer, consider signing up to take our data workshop where you'll learn how to effectively use our cloud platforms to query for data, access catalogs, and create image cutouts! Very relevant for TESS and Roman astronomers in particular, but all are welcome!

MAST - Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes @mast-news.bsky.social · Apr 30

Join us at AAS246 for our Dr. Nefarious data challenge workshop!

Working on our cloud platform, you'll learn about astroquery, catalog cross-matching, cutouts, and more. Can you solve the challenges in time to prevent the evil Dr. Nefarious from erasing MAST?

Registration: aas.org/meetings/aas...

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Reposted by Dr. Scott W. Fleming

Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · Apr 29

Astronomers will use #NASARoman to improve our understanding of the universe. See the bigger picture with Roman. Credit: NASA, STScI, Caltech/IPAC. 🔭 🧪

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: Mapping the Universe

YouTube video by Space Telescope Science Institute

youtu.be

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