iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Erin M. May, PhD

Sarah E Moran @offallingstars.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Still server issues. Now Laura Watkins (head of science policy at STScI) is saying new deadline tomorrow, Oct. 1st at 5pm EDT for all proposers.

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

There have been over 1,000 JWST proposals submitted in the last 24 hours #JWSTCycle6 (source, submission numbers in my inbox)

static.klipy.com

This Is Fine Dog Meme in Burning House

Alt: This Is Fine Dog Meme in Burning House

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I was SO EXCITED for a productive and uninterrupted JWST proposal push. I was traveling for family weddings during the weeks leading up to Cycles 4 and 5, and I was on maternity leave during Cycle 3. Alas, I have been hit with a daycare illness. Cycle 6 was apparently not meant to be either 😩🫠

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

It is time. 🎃🍂 (Halloween Stitch is coming out of storage)

Erin's 3yo daughter is carrying her light up Stitch Halloween decoration up the stairs

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The 1% student loan interest reduction for enrolling in autopay by Sept 30th is a sham. Me: 2 months for EdFinancial to process payment plan change, still haven't processed my autopay request. Husband: 3 months and Mohela has not processed the payment plan change request, can't enroll in autopay.

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Me: Time to lock in and work on this #JWSTCycle6 proposal Taylor Swift: 🪩

screenshot of a countdown on Taylor Swift's website that ends Sept 22 at 2 pm eastern

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Update, it didn't rain! Between the bounce house and the slushy machine, Ellie and the neighbor kids had a blast 💕❄️🎂

Erin's patio decorated for her daughter's 3rd Birthday. There is a painted sign on the wall with Elsa that says Let it Go! Ellie is 3!. Snowflakes are hanging from the string lights. Balloons and Elsa and Anna cut outs are in the corner, and a bounce house is off to the side in the grass.

Erin's daughter sitting on the floor by a pink snowflake cake with a pink "3" candle. She is wearing a sparkly blue Elsa dress and has a snowflake clip in her hair. Her face is covered.

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

My 3yo was playing with toy ice cream cones this morning and dropped them. She immediately picked up her guitar and wrote a song 😂❤️🎸 (no, really, she did) 🎶🎶 All the ice cream fell down on accident It's all they get It's all they get It's all they get It's no more ice cream cause they melt 🎶🎶

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Currently tracking ALL the weather websites to decide if I should be decorating the patio or the basement for the 3 year old's birthday party tomorrow 😩🌧️

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

The correct way to celebrate is a crunchwrap cheers at a local brewery

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

WE DID IT, EVERYONE! #MiTHOS just went in. Now we wait for PMWs 🙌💃🫶

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Ellie started drawing "people" today. Left is her self portrait, right is me. (The horizontal line on the top is our hair)

Ellie holding her first self portrait. It consists primarily of lines.

Ellie's first drawing of Erin. It consists primarily of lines and is much taller than her self portrait

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Today I'm on a plane with my 3 yo waiting to taxi and just got a text update that we're delayed 4 hours!? But the flight attendants know nothing. Tbh I might be done with Delta after this year. Two months ago I had a cancelled flight with them, too.

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

I never confirmed, but I did in fact order the cupcakes. Last week I ordered the decorations. This week's goal is to decide on what food we're having.

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Me, an astrophysicist, trying very hard to not use the words "diversity of exoplanets" in proposals.

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Apparently this menace to society is 1 this month 🎉

A long hair tortie cat, mostly black with a small amount of brown hair, a light brown chin, and orange eyes is lying in a light grey cat bed looking up at the camera

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Finalizing calibration plans for #MiTHOS and getting *super* excited about the detector *calibration* papers we'll get to write. I might currently be more excited for our newest calibration step than I am for the first phase curve 😆 #PIDaily

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

My toddler, waltzing out of her bedroom an hour after she was put to bed: "MAMA WHAT ARE ALL THE ANIMALS IN TOY STORY?" (Apparently she had been laying there thinking about it and couldn't figure out what kind of "animal" Mr. Potato head was)

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Have I mentioned that my toddler's 3rd birthday party is 3 days after the Astro SMEX deadline? This week's tasks therefore include ordering the cupcakes and continuing SMEX proposal edits. (The cupcakes are my priority, as they should be) #PIDaily

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Trying to decide on a dance studio for my almost 3 year old to start at in September and it may be one of the more stressful things I've done lately 😅

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Astro SMEX NOIs went in today! What #MiTHOS will do if selected: ⭐🪐〰️〰️〰️🛰️🌈 ⭐🪐〰️〰️〰️🛰️🌈 ⭐🪐〰️〰️〰️🛰️🌈 ...and repeat a bunch of times (please appreciate my attempt at spectroscopic phase curves with emojis 😆)

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Trying to explain to an almost 3 year old in her "why?" phase why she can't play outside today (wildfire smoke) 😵‍💫

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Can I say I've seen the Eiffel Tower now? 🗼😆 (We're off! Two hours late and almost three hours after boarding... 🫠😫😴)

A hazy view of Paris from a plane. A shadow of the Eiffel tower is in the center, and the edge of a plane wing on the right

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

We left the gate, and returned to the gate. There is now an issue with the right engine. Look, I don't want to be in the US capital region around July 4th anymore than the next person, but I DO want to go home 😫

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

No idea WHAT is going on because pilot said someone came on without scanning and we have to restart the boarding process. But a flight attendant says it's about baggage, not us. And CDG is developing departure delays so I fully expect to sit in a takeoff line if we do push from the gate 😫

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

I sit here 4/4 for delayed flights this week 😫

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Charles de Gaulle airport is the bad place.

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

I switched to health insurance through my husband's work this year because of a medical service I needed that had better coverage on his plan. Just got an email that that benefit is being cut significantly in 60 days. If I switch back in open enrollment, I can't keep my doctor. Are we great yet?

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Low metallicities from small wavelength ranges dragging your mass-metallicity relationship down? Check out #MiTHOS: 0.5-5 microns for ~80 hot Jupiters. Transmission, Emission, and Quadrature. A 3D picture of chemistry 💃 #Exoplanets6 #Exo6

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

contractually required picture with the #Exo6 sign ✨ #Exoplanets6

Erin standing behind a large sign with the text "exo" carved out and painted yellow. A smaller blue "6" is inside the o.

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Is it Neptuni or Neptini? Inquiring minds want to know. 🍸 #Exoplanets6 #Exo6

Text on a projected screen reading "strange hazy Neptuni?" with a picture of neptune

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Reposted by Erin M. May, PhD

Duncan Christie @astroduncan.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

A comment is not a question. A rude comment even less so. #exo6 #exoplanets6

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

💃 (come to poster green-42 to learn about MiTHOS!) #Exoplanets6 #Exo6 #MiTHOS

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

The poster area seemed better at lunch. Perhaps we aren't doomed this week. #Exoplanets6 #Exo6

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

The main room may be cool, but the poster hall appears to be interior to the habitable zone 🥵 #Exoplanets6 #Exo6

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Let's play "how many times does Erin misspell Exo/planets in her notes this week" #Exoplanets6 #Exo6

Erin's notes: planets is misspelled as Plantes

Erin's notes: Exoplanets misspelled as Expolanets

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

I forgot to mention the stickers. I have stickers! (Lots of stickers 💫🪐) #MiTHOS #Exoplanets6 #Exo6

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

The conference hashtags are quite quiet here. This is my first big exoplanets conference since the downfall of the other place. Reminds me what we lost 🥲 #Exoplanets6 #Exo6

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

The back row actually has a nice breeze, fans or AC? Unclear. But more habitable than my original seat in the middle of the room. #Exoplanets6 #Exo6

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

This European heat wave and historic building venue is giving the non habitable-zone vibes of 2018's Exoplanets 2 🥵 #Exoplanets6 #Exo6

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Poster 42 in the green section means MiTHOS is right inside the door! 💪 Come find me during #Exo6 conference breaks to learn about the science of MiTHOS 🪐💫 #Exoplanets #Exoplanets6 🧪🔭

Erin's poster on the mission concept MiTHOS (Multi Telescope HOt Jupiter Survey) hung up at the Exoplanets 6 conference.

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

MiTHOS has a new CoI 🐈‍⬛ See you all in Porto for #Exoplanets6 ! (Sorry, Penny the cat is staying at home. She has some reading on Hot Jupiter phase curves to do if she's joing the team 🤓) 🪐🔭🧪 #Exoplanets

Erin's cat Penny is sitting on her poster for a conference.

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

I'll be at #Exoplanets6 next week with a poster on MiTHOS, our Astrophysics SMEX mission concept out of @jhuapl.bsky.social MiTHOS studies the climates of hot Jupiters with a large population study of spectroscopic phase curves 🌈 Come find me to grab a sticker and learn about MiTHOS! 💫 🪐🔭🧪

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Just a girl taking her cat on an adventure 💕

Erin's daughter is standing in the grass on the right side of the frame facing away from the camera. She is holding Penny's leash. Penny, a tortie cat, is laying in the grass on the left side of the frame, her face turned to the side so we can see it.

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Erin M. May, PhD @astronomay.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Adventure Kitty in training. (JK, it's because she runs out the door any chance she gets and I'm hoping I can train her to go outside with a leash onto the back patio instead of out the front in the direction of the road 🤦‍♀️)

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