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Steve Crawford

@astrocrawford.bsky.social
1.9K followers 1.2K following 234 posts

Astronomer wandering through time and space. Likely to post about #Earth and #Space science especially #astronomy, Open Source Software, Open Science, and space. And hiking with our dog. Opinions are my own. He/him.

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Reposted by Steve Crawford
Britt Lundgren @brittlundgren.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
This morning I was invited to a private viewing of the physics and astronomy rare books collection at the University of Louisville, and the librarians had posed a search for my publications.. right next to a first edition of Newton's Principia with his hand edited errata 😱💀
A laptop displaying a web-based publication search for Britt Lundgren with a first edition of Newton's Pricipa open in the background
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
You would have to search for the cloudless times but perhaps the following would be useful worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov
worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov
Worldview: Explore Your Dynamic Planet
The NASA Worldview app provides a satellite's perspective of the planet as it looks today and as it has in the past through daily satellite images. Worldview is part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and I...
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Reposted by Steve Crawford
saurabh w jha @sublunar.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Type Iax supernovae are the best. science.nasa.gov/image-articl...
Supernova Remnant Pa 30 showing a star field with a fireworks-like starburst of filamentary supernova debris.
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
For more information about her life and legacy: news.mit.edu/2026/margare...
news.mit.edu
Margaret Hamilton, computing pioneer who led software development for the Apollo program, dies at 90
Margaret H. Hamilton, a profoundly influential computer scientist best known for leading the software engineering team at MIT’s Instrumentation Lab during NASA’s Apollo program, died at age 90.
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
The Apollo guidance code that Margaret Hamilton led is available online! It was scanned and shared openly. Her legacy will live on in the fundamentals of software engineering that she created that still form the basis for software design for many space missions. github.com/chrislgarry/...
github.com
GitHub - chrislgarry/Apollo-11: Original Apollo 11 Guidance Computer (AGC) source code for the command and lunar modules.
Original Apollo 11 Guidance Computer (AGC) source code for the command and lunar modules. - chrislgarry/Apollo-11
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Lots of open science from Artemis II! The webpage is an amazing summary of the science of the mission and impact that human observations can have. #openscience #nasa
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Reposted by Steve Crawford
HEXandra @maniacalstar.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
It’s October 7, six months since the Artemis II mission, which means it’s time for the Lunar Science Team to release their initial reports and all that good science data! There’s five hours of science joy at the LSSW, and I’ll be sharing along the way. (All thoughts/opinions my own.)
sservi.nasa.gov
LSSW
The series of Lunar Surface Science Workshop (LSSW) short, focused virtual sessions will continue to solicit input from the community on the potential for new scientific research that could be enabled...
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I had missed this earlier on Sunday! #eagles #flyEaglesfly #nasa #moonjoy www.nasa.gov/image-articl...
nasa.gov
NASA Astronaut Christina Koch at Eagles vs. Rams - NASA
NASA astronaut and mission specialist of the agency's Artemis II mission, Christina Koch, leads the fans in singing the Eagles Fight Song from the field at an
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Whew, this Phillies-Braves series may be in the end of me. These first two games have been intense, but great win by the Phillies today!
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Reposted by Steve Crawford
c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Omigod, this is the most heartwarming story possible! Backpack (bear 89) is the son of the 2019 winner of Fat Bear Week, Holly (bear 435). In 2007, he injured his foot & a practice of riding on momma's Holly's back had a new meaning: he was mobility-restricted while it healed. So Holly moved him.
From DISCVR blog's Facebook page, a momma bear & a yearling cub on her back in the shallow water.  I think the background has been swapped out, and I can't rule out some AI use there?  God, Facebook has become the social media for AI slop : (

The title of the article, which I link below, is "How Bear 89 earned the name Backpack"
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I have no idea if this is related, but I did see this paper on the arxiv the other day: arxiv.org/abs/2609.25327
arxiv.org
Scoring Grant Applications with Large Language Models
Purpose: Assessing grant applications is time-consuming and difficult, adding to the overall burden of academic peer review. Whilst funders are exploring whether AI can help, there is no published res...
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Interesting conversation tonight on business cards: I realized it’s just easier to give people key words and either search or LLM tools will return my email.
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Sharing without much comment but it is an interesting glimpse into the current state of AI use by one publisher: www.frontiersin.org/documents/un...
frontiersin.org
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Thanks @mta.maryland.gov ! I’m not sure if everyone got the message as I still saw lots of cars from the train. Although I’ll also admit that the rain probably didn’t help.
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PUNCH mission @punch-mission.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
A Year of the Solar Corona, from PUNCH/NFI We just released a full year of PUNCH/NFI data, showing how the #corona evolved during the first 12 months of PUNCH #science operations! ☀️🔭🛰️🧪🚀 whtwnd.com/punch-missio...
A background-subtracted image of the solar corona, from PUNCH/NFI, demonstrates photometric background subtraction.  It is part of a movie containing a full year of PUNCH/NFI observations, available at YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqNTKkoeRCo).
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Reposted by Steve Crawford
Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 17/09/2026
It's a good time to apply for fellowships at @stsci.edu. 🔭 1. Brinson Prize Fellowship (observational cosmology) due Nov 5: stsci.slideroom.com#/login/progr... 2. Laskar Fellowship (astro data science) due Oct 29: stsci.slideroom.com#/login/progr...
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Reposted by Steve Crawford
Sarah Kendrew @sarahkendrew.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Incredible experience watching the Springboks vs. All Blacks at the Ravens stadium last night. Largest ever crowd for a rugby match on US soil and Baltimore awash in green & gold (and some black too)
View across a packed Ravens stadium showing the final score, Springboks 43 - All Blacks 28. On either side of the scoreboard is the image of Siya Kolisi of South AfricaView of the corner stands of the crowded Ravens stadium, with the South African flag showing on a digital display above the stand.
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Reposted by Steve Crawford
Sarah Kendrew @sarahkendrew.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
If you're having a slow science day, you could come up with some names for this cute space dinosaur for @esa.int. Please only post reasonable suggestions on here, the inappropriate ones should go to my DMs.
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Reposted by Steve Crawford
Dr. Amber Straughn (she/her) @astraughnomer.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This website follows Roman on its journey to L2 😀🚀 (I think the best view is to go to "View Options" and select "System") eyes.nasa.gov/apps/solar-s...
eyes.nasa.gov
Eyes on the Solar System - NASA/JPL
Explore the 3D world of the Solar System. Learn about past and future missions.
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Sarah Hörst @planetdr.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Nice Dragonfly update including the recently approved name of the dune field where we will land We’re going to Ahmakiq undae. go.nasa.gov/4zTQdAA
go.nasa.gov
NASA’s Dragonfly Gets Wired Up While Titan Landing Area Is Named - NASA Science
Peeking into the clean room at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, it might be one of the first things you notice about
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Reposted by Steve Crawford
Sarameg @sarameg.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
If you want to keep up with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s progress: science.nasa.gov/blogs/roman/
science.nasa.gov
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Archives - NASA Science
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope blog is NASA's hub for the mission's launch updates, where all are invited for behind-the-scenes looks on Roman's road to launch and beyond. This flagship mission...
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Reposted by Steve Crawford
Sangeeta Malhotra @astrodame.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Nancy Grace Roman Space telescope is ready to launch. With a field of view 100 times that of Hubble at same resolution, the NGRST will carry out large surveys to detect exoplanets, and study the large scale structure of the universe, to quantify dark matter and energy.
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
We always love to highlight open data stories! Please encourage them to send it my way for consideration!
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Reposted by Steve Crawford
Jason Hutt @jthutt.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Walked around the neighborhood tonight thinking about the fundamental differences in crew response to a loss of cabin pressure for Moon Base in comparison to every other spacecraft we’ve operated as one does…
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Sorry rover! Not robber - if there are robbers on the moon that would be a completely separate problem.
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Thanks for the response. This isn’t something I have expertise in and it is really interesting to see your thinking. The robber as a separate environment is something I wouldn’t even think of.
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Is it substantially different from any other non-serviceable situation? And understand if you can’t answer.
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
BWI - light rail to Baltimore (stops right at Camden Yard!), connections to Amtrak and MARC to Baltimore or DC.
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Swift has been an absolute incredible telescope. Per dollar, it has probably been one of the most productive scientific experiments in astronomy with over 4000 publications over 21 years. And I’m sure the archived data will contribute to many studies in the future!
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Reposted by Steve Crawford
Sarah Kendrew @sarahkendrew.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
This and a few further updates are also described in this SPIE paper by me & the whole MIRI team, on the Arxiv today arxiv.org/abs/2608.13873
arxiv.org
Enhancing the performance and capabilities of the MIRI instrument on JWST
MIRI, the Mid-Infrared Instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope, is the only instrument sensitive to wavelengths longward of 5 um on the observatory. In this regime, MIRI brings order-of-magnitude...
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Reposted by Steve Crawford
John Debes @johndebes.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Fun news--You can use UV space instruments on HST not optimized for precision RVs to do pretty decent radial velocity work, thanks to UV ISM lines: www.stsci.edu/files/live/s... #astrosci
stsci.edu
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Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 14/08/2026
🌌 Hubble has taken well over a million and a half observations to date. Many of these have become iconic images that are now embedded in our pop culture. A select few have been made into a series of posters that now hang at STScI. Download and print your own Hubble posters!
science.nasa.gov
Hubble Posters - NASA Science
The Hubble Space Telescope has taken well over a million and a half observations to date. Many of these have become iconic images that are now embedded in our
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
I was looking for something else on the NASA website when I came Across this collection of letters that Astronaut Jerry Linenger wrote to his 14 month old son during his stay on the Mir space station in 1997. www.nasa.gov/history/SP-4... Such an interesting glimpse into life on a space station
nasa.gov
Documents - Jerry Linenger's Letters to his Son
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Reposted by Steve Crawford
Don Davis @ddavisspaceart.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
51 years ago I painted a trio of Viking related works for NASA HQ including the widely reproduced one of the landing on Mars. I have reimagined the Landing portrayal in updated form using digital methods of visualization and painting. I chose the same angle but with reality replacing anticipation.
This oil painting portrays the Viking 1 landing on Mars, which appeared in countless publications. The story of this work is relayed in an earlier post and is shown here for comparison with the new portrayal of this very view, showing the event as it would have appeared. 
This 1975 anticipatory painting was done with oils on a gesso smoothed 16 X 20 canvas panel, using traditional art methods including a tracing paper guide featured earlier. 
 This work shows in retrospect my ideal of the 'spirit of space art', showing something of a summary of what is known of the subject while conveying what it is about the subject's known or theorized attributes that I find visually compelling. The new digital painting updates that visual impression with one based on our current knowledge. The new digital work was also done at the same size as this one was for possible printing purposes, 16 by 20 inches at 300 DPI.
 #Sciart   In 1976 the pair of Viking spacecraft orbiter/lander combos were sent to Mars. Before Viking, Mars was still largely a place of our imaginations, an unknown that we wrote stories about then studied from Earth and space. The dominance of cratered terrain on the portions of Mars photographed by Mariners 4, 6 and 7 gave an initially Lunar impression of that world, which changed during the development of the Viking lander after Mariner 9 revealed the planet.
 The first landing was aimed for a flat flood plain, judged as a decent place to search for life. The landing date was July 4, however the intended site appeared too rough for comfort in the high quality orbiter photos, causing the landing to wisely be delayed. A smoother site further 'down stream' was found using photo and radar data.
The landing proceeded quite nominally, a magnificent achievement that apparently accounted for what it had to and made it the first time.

The first photo from the surface was a look at a footpad to see how solid the 'footing' appeared. Then a moderate resolution panorama of the surroundings was obtained, first showing the rocks, hills, dunes-and bright sky. The latter was my biggest surprise as a space artist. 

The adjustments to the color balance of the later photos were gradually narrowed down. The ubiquitous dust is planet wide, suspended in the air and coloring the sky a luminous tan ochre. 

This digital painting shows the view a meter above the surface seeing the lander briefly kicking up dust less than a second before touchdown with the footpads 1.4 meters high. The landing rockets were designed with many nozzles to disturb the surroundings as little as possible. The nearby disturbed dust resembles in color that of the sky. We are 6 meters away from the center of the lander. field of view is 60 degrees, we are looking Northwest with the Sun and Earth off the frame to the left.

This is a digital art update of the pre mission oil painting I did for NASA HQ 1n 1975.

  #Sciart
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Lots of walks and the whole team looks tired.
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
View from the seats of the baseball field.  Philadelphia currently has the field.  The stadium lights are just comings.  Red brick building behind right field.  Christopher Sanchez pitching
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
The best way to the ballpark! And sorry Baltimore, tonight, it’s let’s go Phils!
A white man with glasses and a bike helmet with a red Phillies shirt riding down a tree filled city street with a woman on a bicycle behind him
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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Another paper from our NASA-funded project on ferns has dropped! UWyoming MS student Fern (really!) Holian, developed a new schema for classifying fossil ferns, which are understudied. 🧪🌿☄️
bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Application of a novel schema for describing fossil fern foliage and investigating taxonomic and morphological change across the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary in western North America
Premise The Chicxulub asteroid impact at the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary triggered a mass extinction 66 million years ago. Ferns thrived in the aftermath of the extinction, evidenced by the.....
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
I was just in Copenhagen and posted about the bog bodies - some incredibly well preserved.
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
I am at the Patterson Park Simmer concert with Charm city songs and the Down Range army band. Someone just said ‘the point of the army is to preserve great music.’ And I’m like, I want to live in that future where the army is just composed of great musicians and that is their only purpose.
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
I’m 100% a Phillies fan, but I love Orioles Bluesky.
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Sarah Kendrew @sarahkendrew.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Statement from @esa.int on the Spain wildfires, via ESA's DG @josefaschbacher.esa.int.
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Qiusheng Wu @giswqs.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
GeoLibre v2.3.0 is here! Try it out - Launch GeoLibre Web: web.geolibre.app - GitHub: github.com/opengeos/Geo... - Documentation: geolibre.app - Release notes: github.com/opengeos/Geo... #GIS #Geospatial #OpenSource #RemoteSensing #MapLibre #GeoLibre
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NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory @rubinobservatory.org · 24/07/2026
Talk about a cosmic glow-up✨📸 This progression of images of galaxy group RSCG 55 shows the evolution of ground-based sky surveys spanning more than three decades🤯, ending with NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory's view. 🔭🧪
Five-panel image showing the progressive evolution of sky surveys from 1994 to 2025, revealing more and more detail in a triple merging galaxy system and the surrounding sky.
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
This group might be of interest: civicworks.com
civicworks.com
Home - Civic Works
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
NASA is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Viking Lander on Mars! #nasa #mars science.nasa.gov/mission/viki...
science.nasa.gov
Viking: 50 Years on Mars - NASA Science
Only 10 years before the Viking mission launched, Mars was still just a mottled orange ball when viewed through even the best Earthbound telescopes, with few
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Weird duck spotted on our walk last night
Wooden dock extending into the water.  The photo is on the underside of it.  At one end are two ducks and the other end is a large bird that isn’t a duck.  A peregrine would be my best guess.  It is brown and white feathered with a pointed beach and yellow feet.  About the size and shape of an American football.
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
One of my favorite recent highlights from NASA research is this data release from the BioSCape project. It is an audio data set to track the ecosystem and compare with remote sensing in one of my absolutely favorite regions of the world! #NASA #OpenScience science.data.nasa.gov/learn/blog/b...
science.data.nasa.gov
NASA-Funded BioSCape Project Releases Biodiversity Audio Dataset | Science Data Portal
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Though really appreciate what @mta.maryland.gov does to support their riders especially those commuting by bike.
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Steve Crawford @astrocrawford.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Current mood
The inside of a MARC train.  There are blue, plastic seats with one folded up.  Above that is a poster showing how to store your bicycle on the train.  There is a window with the underside of an overpass with stylist graffiti.  Above that is a rack with boxes of purified drinking water.
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