iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Sadly the original radio magnetar XTE J1810-197 doesn’t seem to be back. Hopefully someday soon though! #RadioAstronomy www.astronomerstelegram.org?read=18040

astronomerstelegram.org

The Astronomer's Telegram: We're Sorry!

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Damn. There really isn’t any replacement for Swift’s magnetar monitoring capabilities. Especially since NICER is also dead

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Physics World @physicsworld.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

The first direct glimpse of vacuum birefringence has been claimed by astronomers who have studied a special type of neutron star. 🧪⚛️ ow.ly/Uota50ZArYu

ow.ly

Has vacuum birefringence been seen at long last? – Physics World

Polarized X-rays from magnetar could be first direct observation of quantum effect

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Can empty space alter the behaviour of light? Turns out the answer is seemingly yes, if you have a magnetar on hand! Using NASA’s IXPE and NICER telescopes + the CSIRO’s Murriyang radio telescope, we may have finally detected this effect 🔭 🧪 ☄️ Publication in Nature: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

On the left is a magnetar, a sphere surrounded by donut shaped threads of a powerful magnetic field. Beams of radio waves blast out from the magnetic poles, shown as red jets of light. On the surface of the magnetar is a bright hot spot. A zoom-in on the hotspot illustrates X-rays (wiggly lines) becoming increasingly polarised as they interact with pairs of virtual particles that pop in out of existence (blue and red dots linked by arrows to small pops).

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Genuinely upsetting news. Watching Sam Neill in The Dish when I was young was truly inspiring. Still hoping to one day go on a hayride!

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Fun Fact Science with Kovi @funfactscience.com · 01/06/2026

I’m thrilled to share that my latest research paper has just been published in Nature Astronomy! It’s been nearly a year since I first submitted the manuscript to Nature and a little over three years since I began working on this project. www.nature.com/articles/s41... @natastron.nature.com

nature.com

Periodic radio and X-ray emission from an accreting white dwarf binary - Nature Astronomy

ASKAP J174508.9-505149 is a spectroscopically confirmed accreting white dwarf binary also identified as a long-period radio transient, strengthening the link between these mysterious bursting sources ...

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

That’s Australia silhouetted against the glare!

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Astronomy Picture of the Day 🪐 @apod.shinyakato.dev · 08/04/2026

🔭 Earthset Image Credit: NASA Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II) ap260408

NASA alt text: Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater has terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks. Central peaks form in complex craters when the lunar surface, liquefied on impact, splashes upwards during the crater’s formation.

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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 07/04/2026

The Artemis II crew just reported several impact flashes—explosions from hypervelocity impacts of meteoroids with the Moon—during the solar eclipse. We make a big effort to see a handful of these from Earth with telescopes. That astronauts flying by the Moon saw >4 in tens of minutes is AWESOME.

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Jonathan McDowell @planet4589.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Integrity made its closest approach to the Moon, altitude 6543 km, at 2300:46 UTC Apr 6. Its furthest distance from Earth, 413149 km from the geocenter was at 2302:51 UTC.

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Robert "The Bobby Yaga" McNees @mcnees.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

NBD, just some humans in a spaceship watching the crescent Earth slip behind the Moon. #Artemis

A tiny crescent Earth slides behind the Moon on the camera feed from the Integrity spacecraft.

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ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

The ARC have said (on LinkedIn) they will release outcomes for Discovery Projects Expressions of Interest (2027) tomorrow👇

Screenshot of LinkedIn post from ARC saying that DP27 EOI outcomes will be released on RMS on the 26th Feb 2026.

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Big if true!! An MSP in close orbit around Sagittarius A* would lead to some incredible tests of relativity

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Incredible display of the Aurora Australis on Jan 20. Never thought I’d get to see the auroral oval this close up from Melbourne!

Aurora appearing as a hazy green band with hints of pinky-purple streaks above it

Person posing with arms outstretched in front of the aurora

Intense aurora with bright green horizontal streaks below pink and purple pillars of light

Pink pillars of light extending up from the horizon

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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Li et al. monitored a repeating fast radio burst (FRB). They identify a transient excursion of its rotation measure (RM), which increases by orders of magnitude for 2 weeks. Possible causes include a coronal mass ejection from a binary companion star. ☄️ #radioastro www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Aaaaand the papers are live on the Open Journal of Astrophysics!! #RadioAstronomy

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

It’s SKA Pulsar Day!! It’s been more than a decade since the previous science case for the SKA was published. So a bunch of us pulsar astronomers put together an update! 🔭☄️ arxiv.org/abs/2512.16152

arxiv.org

Pulsar Science with the SKA Observatory

The large instantaneous sensitivity, a wide frequency coverage and flexible observation modes with large number of beams in the sky are the main features of the SKA observatory's two telescopes, the S...

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ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

DECRA success rate is the lowest in 14 years, since 2012 (1st year the scheme ran). What a pathetic system we have for supporting new ideas, new people… DE26: 13.1% 25: 17.9 24: 19.6 23: 15.0 22: 19.7 21: 17.1 20: 16.0 19: 17.2 18: 16.3 17: 16.7 16: 16.4 15: 14.3 14: 13.6 13: 15.6 12: 12.8

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Geeze. Surely you know you’ve stuffed up when your former science minister, whom *allegedly* despised Australia’s involvement in the SKA, is grilling your parties lack of support for science funding and cuts to the national science agency.

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Sascha Trippe 🛰️ 사샤 트리페 @saschatrippe.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

China is investing big in #RadioAstronomy. #EAVN25 🧪🔭📡

Talk by Wu Jiang (SHAO) showing 2 new 110–120-meter radio telescopes under construction.

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

What babysitting a telescope the size of Australia looks like #RadioAstronomy

Image of a computer screen filled with windows that show various telescope diagnostics and pictures of where they are pointed.

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

Apparently it’s #NeutronStarWeek, i.e the things I study for my day (and sometimes night) job! More accurately I look at pulsars, which are neutron stars that are doing interesting things. Like emitting beams of radio waves from above their magnetic poles. #Astronomy #RadioAstronomy

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LIGO Scientific Collaboration @ligo.org · 24/06/2025

Why are there two LIGO observatories? LIGO has two detectors ~3000 km apart for three main reasons: 🎧 Noise discrimination ⏰ Signal timing 🗺️ Source localization Find out more www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/ligo-de... Graphic by Mayara Pacheco 🔭🧪

An infographic titled "Why are there two LIGO observatories?" features a map of the United States showing two LIGO locations separated by 3000 km. Three key reasons are illustrated on the right: Noise Discrimination: Each detector is sensitive to local ground vibrations. If both were close together, they’d pick up the same environmental noise, making it difficult to distinguish true gravitational waves. By comparing data from distant locations, LIGO can filter out local noise and isolate real gravitational wave signals.
Signal Timing: Gravitational waves travel at the speed of light, so any signal detected at both sites with a time difference of over 10 milliseconds can be ruled out as a real wave. This time-based filtering helps validate detections.
Source Localization: With two detectors, LIGO can begin to narrow down the area in the sky where a wave originated. Adding more detectors (like Virgo in Italy) greatly improves localization. This was crucial during the 2017 detection of a neutron star collision, where combined data allowed astronomers to quickly identify the galaxy that emitted both gravitational and electromagnetic signals, leading to the most observed astronomical event in history.

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Tara Murphy @taramurphy.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

Incredible showing from Australians past, present and future, at #SKAO2025 in Görlitz. All very excited about getting the first data from the SKAO telescopes! Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! #RadioAstronomy

Picture of a large group of Australian radio astronomers on the stage at the SKAO 2025 meeting.

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

One of the more interesting conference venues! #SKAO2025 #RadioAstronomy

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 15/06/2025

Been a good couple of days in Germany so far

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

Sneak preview of what I’ll be talking about at the upcoming SKA Science Meeting in sunny Görlitz next week!! #RadioAstronomy #DoublePulsarIsTheBestPulsar

Title slide for a presentation. Background shows two pulsars surrounded by donut-shaped magnetic fields with beams of light emanating from above their magnetic poles. A distorted grid with ripples radiating away from the pulsars is shown behind them. Title text says “Shining a light through a neutron star magnetosphere”.

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

Not-so fun fact: we looked *really* hard for pulses from the alleged pulsar in the Snake, and didn’t find any… BUT we did find a millisecond pulsar embedded in different filament right next door! ☄️🔭 iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...

Image showing a brightly glowing filament of radio light. Next to it is a much fainter structure with a bright point of radio light embedded in it, labelled “PSR J1744-2946”.

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Dr Shanika Galaudage @astronerdika.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

So I know folks have heard the news about an exoplanet that might be “teeming with life”? 🌱 I created a series of infographics that aims to cover the key points of the research findings + some of the area where scientists are sceptical! 🧐 Meet K2-18b! 👋 #astronomy #exoplanet #scicomm

Infographic about the exoplanet K2-18b and its discovery with Kepler

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The Conversation AUNZ @aunz.theconversation.com · 21/04/2025

For the first time, astronomers have measured the plasma layers of a shock wave surrounding a pulsar.

theconversation.com

Twinkling star reveals the shocking secrets of turbulent plasma in our cosmic neighbourhood

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

Go work at the most beautiful telescope in the world! I’d seriously consider applying myself if I hadn’t just started a fellowship…

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

Question to any stellar spectroscopy people on here: when you report that a star is of a particular spectral class based on a template bank, what did you actually do to figure that out?? Is it all just vibes and eyeballing things? Or is there a standard tool that nobody references? 🔭☄️

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Turns out the radio emission and spin-down rates of pulsars aren’t anywhere near as stable as we like to think! And it could even explain the “weirdness” seen in the apparent gravitational-wave background signal!! Results from the Parkes Young Pulsar Timing programme: doi.org/10.1093/mnra... 🔭🧪☄️

Two panel plot. Upper diagram shows a squiggly line, representing how fast a pulsar is spinning down over time. Lower diagram shows changes in the observed radio emission as different colours.

Plot of pulsar spin period and spin-down rate. The black dots represent the pulsars that were looked at in this study.

Many squiggly black lines, representing the variable spin-down rates of many pulsars

Plot of many points, demonstrating the correlation between pulsar spin-down rates, and how variable their spin-down is over time. Different coloured points come from different studies, with the dark blue of this study dominating the diagram. A pink trace and shaded region represents a power-law fit to the data

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Serious question: why would an ECR apply for a two-year “embedded fellowship” over longer (3-4 year) programs elsewhere? Especially when a good chunk of that second year will be spent hunting for the next job opportunity?

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OzGrav @ozgrav.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Join us as we celebrate Professor Matthew Bailes, recipient of the 2024 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science - The Role of Serendipity in Scientific Discovery! Date: 3rd April | Time: 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM Venue: AMDC301, Swinburne University Register Now: www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-role-o...

eventbrite.com.au

The Role of Serendipity in Scientific Discovery

Join us for an engaging public lecture as we celebrate Professor Matthew Bailes, recipient of the 2024 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science!

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Mark Cheung @markcheung.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

We are looking for an Observatory Manager to lead the team at Parkes Observatory. Yes, come work at Murriyang, otherwise known as The Dish. #radioastronomy jobs.csiro.au/job/Parkes%2...

jobs.csiro.au

Observatory Manager - Parkes Observatory

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

And the pulsar astronomer becomes a radio-imaging astronomer! First time running my own observation with ATCA and making an image from the data 😄 Can you spot the pulsar? #Astronomy #RadioAstronomy

Photograph of a computer screen with many windows open, some of which show colourful squiggly lines indicating how well a radio telescope is performing.

Colourful radio image containing an extended fuzzy blob near the bottom and a faint point near the upper-middle.

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OzGrav @ozgrav.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

🌌 Ever wondered how tiny particles like neutrinos & neutron stars shape the universe? Join us on 21 Feb at 5:30 pm for Tiny yet impactful clues to unlocking cosmic mysteries with PhD students Pratyasha & Nimas. Free event! www.eventbrite.com.au/e/tiny-yet-i... 🔭 #SpaceScience #OzGrav

eventbrite.com.au

Tiny Yet Impactful Clues to Unlocking Cosmic Mysteries

Have you ever imagined that something tiny in the universe could significantly impact its evolution and reveal hidden cosmic phenomena?

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

Comet C/2024 G3 ATLAS as seen on Jan 18 from Bacchus Marsh, Australia! Could easily be seen unaided as a point of light at the head of a pencil-like tail. ☄️🔭

Portrait photo of a comet setting near the dusky orange horizon, over a wind farm

Wide-angle photo of a comet setting near the dusky orange horizon, over a wind farm. The lights of cars and houses can be seen in the foreground

Zoomed in landscape photo of a comet setting near the dusky orange horizon, over a wind farm

Gre scale image of a comet setting over a wind farm. The tail of the comet is quite long

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

Very successful comet hunt this evening. C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) is EASILY visible to the naked eye about 50 mins after sunset!! Photos to come soon 🔭

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

Having been immersed in radio astronomy for so long, I’ve forgotten many of the limitations of optical telescopes. “What do you mean you can’t observe this source in September? Oh right, the Sun…” “What’s wrong with pointing the telescope this close to the horizon? Oh right, the atmosphere…”

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Terry Lovejoy @cometguy.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) still very obvious in binoculars at mag 1.5. This mornings view Jan 6 18:10 UT with a 318mm f5.8 lens and Olympus em1.2.

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

I am looking to hire a PhD student at Swinburne University to study the links between pulsars, magnetars and fast radio bursts! If you or anyone you know may be interested, then please feel free to reach out to me via email. #Astronomy #RadioAstronomy astronomy.swin.edu.au/study/phdpro...

Artists impression of a magnetar: a compact spherical star surrounded by twisted magnetic field lines and glowing plasma.

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

2024 was peak chaos. Job applications, rejections, heartbreak… But also many exciting discoveries and amazing adventures! Here’s hoping for a much less stressful (but still fun) 2025

Person wearing an orange t-shirt, standing by the ocean. The famous, flat-topped Table Mountain is in the background

Oxford University’s Radcliffe Camera illuminated at night

Person wearing a hat and sunglasses with stunning mountains in the background

Symmetric, cone-shaped volcano reflected in a pool of water.

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Marcus Lower @astromelow.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

One of the many reasons to love magnetars

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