iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Becka Phillipson @beckastrosaurus.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

This timeline continues it's science death march

Becka Phillipson @beckastrosaurus.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Very excited to be working on a novel LSST project involving the rapid alerts, data compression, and service to the community.... we had fun coming up with a title, but landed on "Democracy Now" as our most tame version 😉

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Becka Phillipson @beckastrosaurus.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

I am hiring a postdoc to work with me on time domain astrophysics, primarily in prep for Rubin LSST. Job ad here: lnkd.in/esamU7gy Please share! :) Start date is flexible & can be as early as this Fall. There have been Q's about the application portal, so do not hesitate to email me for help!

lnkd.in

This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

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NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory @rubinobservatory.org · 02/07/2025

#WallpaperWednesday: #RubinFirstLook edition 🤩 Need a new phone background? Loved the first images from NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory? We've got you! Save one of these to use, set it, and enjoy the cosmos captured by Rubin every time you use your phone 🌌🔭🧪

A field of galaxies scattered across the deep black of space. It is filled with galaxies of many shapes, sizes and colors, as well as the multi-colored points of stars. To the lower left is a region filled with the hundreds of golden glittering gems of a distant galaxy cluster. In the foreground, below and left of center, two blue spiral galaxies look like eyes to the left of the entangled mass of a triple merger. A few bright blue points of foreground stars pierce the glittering tapestry.

A field of galaxies scattered across the black of space. It is filled with galaxies of many shapes, sizes and colors, as well as the bright multi-colored points of stars. The image focuses on a collection of interacting galaxies connected by delicate streams of stars. Like spider silk, these stellar bridges link the large elliptical to the few larger galaxies beneath.

A tapestry of glowing tan and pink gas clouds with dark dust lanes. In the lower right, the Trifid Nebula resembles a small flower in space. Its pink gas petals are surrounded by blue gas, and streaked with dark veins of dust. To the upper left, the larger Lagoon Nebula stretches wide like a churning sea of magenta gas, with bright blue, knotted clumps sprinkled throughout

Dense cluster of bright blue stars shining like beacons against wispy nebula cloud of orange and blue. The background is filled with countless smaller stars.

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Becka Phillipson @beckastrosaurus.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

I was also a Jenkins fellow during my PhD, and it undoubtedly helped launch my research independence as well. The bottom line: more diverse avenues for opportunities = more people engaged in STEM.

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John F Wu @jwuphysics.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

My mind is absolutely blown by these stellar halos nearby NGC 4364! Left: DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys (DR10) Right: Newly released @vrubinobs.bsky.social imaging!!! #AstroSci 🧪🔭

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NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory @rubinobservatory.org · 23/06/2025

Introducing...your sneak peek at the cosmos captured by NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory! Can you guess these regions of sky? This is just a small peek...join us at 11am US EDT for your full First Look at how Rubin will #CaptureTheCosmos! 🔭🧪 #RubinFirstLook ls.st/rubin-first-look-livestream

A sprawling, textured field of galaxies scattered across the deep black of space. It is filled with the delicate smudges and glowing cores of galaxies of many shapes, sizes and colors, as well as the bright multi-colored points of stars. The image focuses on a collection of interacting galaxies connected by delicate streams of stars. At top center lies a large elliptical galaxy that is dense and smooth, like a polished stone glowing with golden light. Like delicate spider silk or stretched taffy, these stellar bridges link the large elliptical to the few larger galaxies beneath, evidence of past collisions.

All throughout the image, thousands of galaxies gather in clusters or are spread throughout, like glittering gems strewn on a table. Some are sharp-edged and spiral, like coiled ribbons; others round and diffuse, like polished pebbles. Still others are just smudges of various colors against the black of space. The background is peppered with pinpoint stars in reds, yellows, and blues, crisp against the velvet black.

A cosmic tapestry of glowing tan and pink gas clouds with dark dust lanes. In the upper right, the Trifid Nebula resembles a small flower in space. Its soft, pinkish gas petals are surrounded by blue gas, and streaked with dark, finger-like veins of dust that divide it into three parts. It radiates a gentle, misty glow, diffuse and soft like the warmth of breath on a cold hand. To the lower left, the much larger Lagoon Nebula stretches wide like a churning sea of magenta gas, with bright blue, knotted clumps sprinkled throughout where new stars are born. Both nebulae are embedded in a soft tan backdrop of gas that is brighter on the left than on the right, etched with dark tendrils of dust and sprinkled with the pinpricks of millions of stars.

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NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory @rubinobservatory.org · 23/06/2025

Want to see NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory's Cosmic Treasure Chest for yourself? Explore using Rubin's Skyviewer! There are billions of pixels to explore, and you might be the the first to lay eyes on a small, distant galaxy! #RubinFirstLook #CaptureTheCosmos skyviewer.app

skyviewer.app

Skyviewer

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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 15/06/2025

Next year’s incoming college freshmen were born after I got paired with this project 18 years ago. The effects of suffocating this and other projects today will erase generations of scientists in the US going forward. 🧪🔭

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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 11/06/2025

MAJOR PARTICLE PHYSICS REPORT RELEASE ⚛️🧪 The National Academies particle physics decadal report is out! Read read! (I was a member of the committee that wrote this report but resigned during drafting bc of a conflict of service w/my HEPAP appointment.) nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/2883...

nap.nationalacademies.org

Elementary Particle Physics: The Higgs and Beyond

Read online, download a free PDF, or order a copy in print.

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Becka Phillipson @beckastrosaurus.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

A fantastic view from outside the plenary at #AAS246 in Anchorage is a lovely reminder that the Earth carries on despite us wee humans

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Kelsey Johnson @profkelsey.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

Dara Norman @aas.org President kicks off the meeting with inspiration. “We are all in this together”. #aas246 🧪🔭✨

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Becka Phillipson @beckastrosaurus.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

At the #AAS246 conference in Alaska. Raise your wriggly arms if you're jazzed by astro!

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NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory @rubinobservatory.org · 07/06/2025

Did you know YOU will be able to work on NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory data in your free time as a volunteer scientist?🔭🧪 We've partnered with the Zooniverse, a platform where researchers build projects for volunteer scientists. Find out more at rubinobservatory.org/explore/citizen-science 📷: B. Quint

The night sky above Rubin Observatory's dome. The dense glowing band of the Milky Way appears to emanate from the top of the observatory's angular silver dome. The rest of the sky is sprinkled with the tiny white points of stars.

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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

"For every $100 the US government spent, it put 40¢ in the bucket for NASA. And what do we get for that? ✨The Universe ✨" "One of these bills represents, to scale, the federal budget & the other with NASA’s total budget trimmed off the edges. Can you tell the difference?" @philplait.bsky.social

Two 1 dollar bills looking identical. The caption reads

One of these bills represents, to scale, the federal budget, and the other with NASA’s total budget trimmed off the edges. Can you tell the difference? Credit: Phil Plait

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Britt Lundgren @brittlundgren.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

Yes, the proposed NASA & NSF cuts would shutter many high-priority next-gen US astro facilities. But even more importantly, the proposed budget surgically targets & eliminates the pathways for training & employing the people req'd to get science out of the facilities we can still afford to complete.

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Dr. Jessie Christiansen @aussiastronomer.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

Briefly wandered over to The Other Place to gauge the response to the NASA budget devastation to encounter a bunch of gleeful 'we spend too much money, so this is great.' TO BE, ONCE AGAIN, PERFECTLY CLEAR, THE BUDGET REQUEST MOVES ALL THIS MONEY TO DEFENSE. IT SPENDS IT. NO MONEY IS SAVED.

A screenshot of p.43 of https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fiscal-Year-2026-Discretionary-Budget-Request.pdf showing $119.3B moved from Defense to Non-Defense.

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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 31/05/2025

Cutting $20 billion to NIH over 25 years may save $500 billion on paper, but it’d end up costing $8.2 trillion in lost human health. But NIH isn't the only thing being cut. The budget also slashes all NSF-funded science by 73 percent. NASA faces “the biggest single-year cut to NASA in history."

motherjones.com

Donald Trump’s proposed budget would gut American science

It would slash cancer research, drug trials, space exploration, and so much more.

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

There's a lot to unpack in the president's FY26 requested #NASA budget, but the near zeroing of the physics of the cosmos program (from $196M to $1.5M) is especially bleak. If passed, the future of high-energy astrophysics is not in the US. 🔭

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Micah @rincewind.run · 31/05/2025

something that stands out about this is just how cheap it is for us to have world-leading scientific capacity we spent ~6.75 trillion last year, and the combined budgets for NIH, NSF and NASA are barely more than 1% of that what an incredible waste to lose it all for a drop in the bucket

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

Following the inspiration of @ohdearz.bsky.social @theplanetaryguy.bsky.social @jtuttlekeane.bsky.social here’s the NASA fleet with the proposed budget cuts. Red X’s will be fully defunded, green X’s will lose all NASA funding but have other funding sources, and exclamation point means >50% cuts

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Endless Screaming @infinitescream.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

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Becka Phillipson @beckastrosaurus.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

Lots of neat anecdotes in this article for fellow ADHDers :)

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Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

How bad will it be? Catastrophic. Proposed cuts to #NSF, #NIH, and #NASA will set the US R&D landscape back 25 yrs+, cause economic and job loss now, and undermine innovations to come. But, this is the WH's *proposed* budget. Speak up now before it is too late. (inflation adjusted $-s below)

NSF, NASA and NIH budgets per year, inflation adjusted from 2000-2025 along with the proposed cuts. NSF includes research component only. Massive cuts across all sectors, well below support spanning 25 years.

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Becka Phillipson @beckastrosaurus.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

I was an MPS Ascend fellow, now in my first year post-fellowship in a faculty position. This is devastating on so many levels.

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James Tuttle Keane @jtuttlekeane.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

The NASA planetary science fleet chart if the president’s budget is enacted.

The NASA planetary science fleet chart. It shows two spirals with missions to Moon/Mars and the Solar System. I’ve crossed off all of the missions that will be cancelled in the president’s budget… and there are a lot of them.

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Dr./Prof. Meredith MacGregor @mmacgreg.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

The President's Budget Request for NASA is out - What a disaster for astrophysics! Numerous missions already in development are canceled. It is well past time for all of us to raise our voices if we value science in this country. You can find the documents here: www.nasa.gov/fy-2026-budg...

nasa.gov

FY 2026 Budget Request - NASA

Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request

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Becka Phillipson @beckastrosaurus.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

Astrophysics also being gutted, including the elimination of the Astrophysics Data Analysis Program

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Britt Lundgren @brittlundgren.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

Are you a PI of a federal grant cancelled by the Trump administration? Please share your info with the Democratic Staff of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, who launched this portal yesterday to track funding cancellations 🔭🧪 forms.office.com/pages/respon...

Grant Cancellation Web Form

WAS YOUR GRANT CANCELED BY PRESIDENT TRUMP?

The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Democratic Staff, is surveying the impact of the Trump Administration’s cancelation of federal research awards. If your award was terminated since January 20, 2025, please fill out this brief survey. If you had multiple awards terminated, please fill out a separate form for each award. While anonymous submissions will be helpful to the Committee’s efforts, we encourage you to leave your contact information if you are open to having a confidential conversation with Committee staff. Please find our confidentiality policies at the following link – any information you share will be treated with these protections, regardless of your current affiliation with any current or former funding agency: https://democrats-science.house.gov/contact/whistleblower

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Jay 🦋 @jay.bsky.team · 10/05/2025

I think about this comic at least once a week

- I want things to be different
- *smashes everything*
- oh no

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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 30/04/2025

A new study by economists estimates that a 25% cut in science funding would result in a GDP decline similar in magnitude to the 2008 recession. They also estimate that a 75% cut to government science would trigger a larger GDP decline than in any recession since the Great Depression.

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SPIE @spie.org · 01/05/2025

Science funding is under attack in the United States. This is a dire national problem with profound global implications, but we can fight back. Use the form on our website to tell your representatives to advocate for federal research and science funding. Act now: spie.org/community-su...

spie.org

Protect Federal Funding for Science and Technology

Act now to support the optics, photonics, and STEM community that brings so much benefit to our society

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SpaceNews @spacenewsinc.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

NASA delays astrophysics mission call for proposals amid budget uncertainties NASA is delaying the next competition for an astrophysics mission by a year, the latest sign of the fiscal pressures from an upcoming budget proposal.

spacenews.com

NASA delays astrophysics mission call for proposals amid budget uncertainties

NASA is delaying the next competition for an astrophysics mission by a year, the latest sign of the fiscal pressures from an upcoming budget proposal.

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Casey Dreier @caseydreier.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Today, we're launching a dedicated action hub for the crisis threatening NASA science. Find actions, latest news and up-to-date resources at: www.planetary.org/save-nasa-sc... #ProtectNASAScience

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Philadelphia Inquirer @inquirer.com · 01/05/2025

“This campus was literally built on the backs of Black men and women, and that labor has been unrecognized as it always is. It was unrecognized and uncelebrated until Black students wanted to take on the responsibility of bringing their contributions to light.” — artist Nekisha Durrett

inquirer.com

Bryn Mawr College’s first Black graduate had to walk a mile to get to class. A new monument honors her journey.

Artist Nekisha Durrett's 'Don’t Forget to Remember (Me)' makes sure we remember the College's racist past

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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 16/04/2025

Maryland voters: join me on the @aas.org Zoom on Friday at noon. I'll give a short summary of the congressional appropriations process, and I'll walk you through making your own request for funding for NASA, NSF, and DOE Office of Science. 🧪🔭 Zoom at noon on Friday, April 18: bit.ly/3Y1cJq2

AAS Action for Maryland Voters
Let's meet to submit Congressional Appropriations Requests for Senators Van Hollen and Alsobrooks. Join on Zoom on Friday, April 18
at noon Eastern at https://bit.ly/3Y1cJq2.

We will show you how to request funds for NASA, NSF, and DOE Office of Science. We will walk you through the process to submit an Appropriations Request to fund agencies that matter to you.
Attendees from other states welcome!

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Becka Phillipson @beckastrosaurus.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

I spent the day on the Hill speaking with various offices about the critical importance of funding fundamental research in science. I am incredibly inspired by the others in my team who spoke incisively and with passion. You can do this too: go to your Rep or senator website and request a meeting!

Four people stand in front of the Capitol building smiling. From left to right: Becka Phillipson, India Jackson, Bill Smith, and Brett Morris. All are astrophysicists.

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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 02/04/2025

Today I visited my senators and some of my colleagues’ reps to advocate for basic science with the @aas.org Congressional Visit Day. I spent my whole voice today. (aside: Booker, how’d you do that last night?) What are you going to do tomorrow? 🧪🔭

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Kelsey Johnson @profkelsey.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

!!!ACTION ALERT!!! Hey #AAS members, you got an action alert email last Thursday. There is a BIG 🔵button that says “ACT NOW”. The action can be done in less than 5min. So if you care about the future of #astronomy (and #science) just do it ok? 🔭🧪

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Christopher D. Brown @prof-brown.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Thinking about a lot about generative A.I. lately from the perspective of student/educator interactions. Regardless of how you feel about it, the cat's outta the bag & we live in a brave new world that's shoving A.I. down our throats everywhere we turn. So what about our students? [1/x] 🧪🎢

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Nature @nature.com · 24/02/2025

The Trump administration's efforts to slash research funding have US graduate students, postdocs and other early-career scientists fearing for their careers. Some might leave the country -- or abandon research altogether. go.nature.com/43ao2zq

go.nature.com

Postdocs and PhD students hit hard by Trump’s crackdown on science

As US federal grants remain frozen and budget cuts loom, anxiety and fear grip early-career researchers.

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