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Brett Morris

@brettmorr.is
15K followers 494 following 947 posts

Astronomer, software engineer. Supporting space telescopes, open science, and data access in astrophysics. Thrilled and haunted by dots on stars. brettmorr.is Posts my own, not my employer's.

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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 18h
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsda...
en.wikipedia.org
Doomsday cult - Wikipedia
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Paul Kingsley @paulkingsley7.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
🧪 “The National Science Foundation, one of the biggest sources of federal research funding, withheld $1.4 billion that Congress had intended for research over the course of the past year, according to internal data reviewed by The New York Times.” www.nytimes.com/2026/10/02/u...
nytimes.com
National Science Foundation Diverted $1.4 Billion in Science Funds Mandated by Congress (Gift Article)
The move, affecting about one-fifth of the National Science Foundation’s primary research budget, is the latest sign of how the White House is asserting more control over grants.
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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 28/09/2026
i wish the astronomy community would go back to using "machine learning" to talk about machine learning instead of saying "AI" all the time to try and suck up to the feds
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 29/09/2026
Language around genAI is anthropomorphic. It’s not just for marketing, it could be capitalism’s final annihilation of culpability. “I didn’t hack a competitor, an agent did.” “I didn’t teach that child to hurt himself, the model did.” “I didn’t recommending bombing a school, the math did.”
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 28/09/2026
To all observing the holiday this week, good luck. 🔭
static.klipy.com
Me Using James Webb Telescope To Find Who Asked
Alt: James Webb Space Telescope animation
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 28/09/2026
I’m mostly concerned with proliferating citations for already citable code. It’s possible that authors could open an ASCL entry for preferred citations, but it’s much easier to copy the ASCL bibtex entry from ADS and call it a day.
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 28/09/2026
The latest genAI models will write a software repo for you and the corresponding manuscript to submit to a journal. These submissions are happening now, with seemingly little human intervention until the editor sees it. I think there’s absolutely value in human curation like @asclnet.bsky.social.
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 28/09/2026
As always @augustfly.bsky.social, I’m grateful for your 2¢.
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 28/09/2026
I’m not speaking for or specifically about photutils’ recommended citation. My main point is that there was a published record for photutils in the same month that ASCL made a ‘redundant’ one.
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 28/09/2026
Would I be accurate in saying that it’s not being indexed though? That would refer to making an existing publication visible in a library. This producing an independent unique identifier.
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 28/09/2026
Astronomers and software devs: does anyone else think it's time for @asclnet.bsky.social to stop automatically ingesting software without approval by the authors? ASCL was awesome before you could make your own DOI or publish astro software alone. That's not our world anymore! 🔭 #astrocode
As an example, this image shows citations to many unique record identifiers for photutils, an astropy coordinated package. The 2016 ASCL entry did not make the code more citable than it was at the time, and does not now either.
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 28/09/2026
LLMs have corrupted language as a medium for human communication. We need a new one.
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 27/09/2026
I knew what this was right away, way to go!
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 24/09/2026
Happy to chat about it if you’d like one biased person’s commentary.
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 24/09/2026
K2-18 b: ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025ApJ.... vs ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025A%26... or ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2026NatA...
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 22/09/2026
Star-years is such a great unit.
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 17/09/2026
unless you need to weigh the scale?
static.klipy.com
Big Brain Meme Gesture
ALT: Big Brain Meme Gesture
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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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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 17/09/2026
Some functions get the best names. 🧪
en.wikipedia.org
Witch of Agnesi - Wikipedia
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 16/09/2026
Not necessarily a direct answer to your question, but closely related thoughts here: arxiv.org/abs/2607.20836
arxiv.org
How to Craft the Right Language AI Policy For Your Research Group (Some Assembly Required)
Language AI is rapidly becoming part of the astronomy research ecosystem, prompting research teams to develop policies governing its use. But resources and advice for AI adoption assume that all resea...
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 16/09/2026
💙🍩🥹
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 14/09/2026
Congrats @emsque.bsky.social!
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 14/09/2026
NASA’s proven track record of exceeding its requirements continues apace. 🔭🧪 Invest in American space sciences, and vote. science.nasa.gov/blogs/roman/...
science.nasa.gov
Fuel Savings Double Potential Lifetime for NASA’s Roman Mission - NASA Science
The results are in: NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s very accurate first mid-course correction, along with other fuel savings, are expected to more
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Benjamin Pope @benjaminpope.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
It's been really exciting to work with @jayke.io, @gradientrider.bsky.social and the rest of this amazing team using JWST's AMI mode to find a fifth candidate planet in the classic HR 8799 system!
Figure from the paper, illustrating the orbits of all 4 previously known planets in HR 8799 and the putative fifth planet, closest to the star in orange.
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Jennifer Ouellette @jenlucpiquant.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Europe will go it alone on Venus mission after NASA yanks radar instrument arstechnica.com/space/2026/0...
arstechnica.com
Europe will go it alone on Venus mission after NASA yanks radar instrument
Europe is looking inward, and perhaps to China, as the White House tries to cancel some NASA partnerships.
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 10/09/2026
We’re on our way towards a post-NASA space science ecosystem. Vote.
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Chris Lintott @chrislintott.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
New guidelines on the use of LLMs from @publishing.aas.org for referees here : journals.aas.org/referee-llm-... Headlines: Referees are responsible for peer review, and must do their own job, but LLMs can be used where declared where their use is declared and explained. 🔭🧪
journals.aas.org
Guidelines for Use of AI and LLMs in Manuscript Refereeing - AAS Journals
We provide guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including large language models, in refereeing manuscripts submitted to the AAS journals.
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depths of wikipedia @depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
happy birthday to everyone born today!!!!!! sorry it’s statistically not that special
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American Astronomical Society (AAS) @aas.org · 31/08/2026
🔭 Our new policy blog post shows that the number of astronomical sciences research awards made by NSF has decreased by 57% since last year, corresponding to a 51% reduction in funding. (1/2)
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Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 30/08/2026
This morning's launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from the Kennedy Space Center was amazing! Roman is now on a million-mile journey to Lagrange point 2, where it will soon reveal the universe’s darkest secrets: go.nasa.gov/4qIa69I #NASARoman 🔭 Credit: J. Barrientes/STScI.
A rocket is launching into the sky from a launch pad, emitting bright flames and smoke. Trees are visible in the foreground.Crowd capturing a SpaceX rocket launch with smartphones, against a sunrise sky.A rocket launches into a cloudy sky, emitting a bright trail of light and smoke.A rocket with a fiery trail ascending into a clear blue sky, leaving a thick plume of white smoke underneath.
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 30/08/2026
Baby photo of our now grown up spacecraft:
Smiling nerd in front of the incomplete Roman Space Telescope at NASA Goddard.
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 30/08/2026
I’ve been working at @stsci.edu to give everyone access to data from NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Our treasure chest is open for anyone, anywhere, anytime. And today, the telescope is IN SPACE. 🧪🔭🚀 #astrocode
Brett and a 5 year old watching a Falcon Heavy launch NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from a pier.
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Casey Dreier @caseydreier.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
The Roman Space Telescope was underfunded and faced termination 3 years in a row. Amazing it's now ready to launch ahead of schedule and under budget.
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Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 27/08/2026
NASA and SpaceX are targeting #NASARoman’s liftoff for no earlier than 7:26 a.m. EDT Sunday, August 30, from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 🎥 Launch coverage begins at 6:20 a.m. 🔭
nasa.gov
NASA Sets Coverage for Roman Space Telescope Launch from Florida - NASA
Coverage plans are ready for NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope prelaunch and launch activities. Roman is NASA's next-generation observatory designed to
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 28/08/2026
SUNDAY, bright and early 🔭
science.nasa.gov
NASA’s Roman Space Telescope ‘Go’ for Launch
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is “go” for launch following completion of the agency and SpaceX’s Launch Readiness Review Friday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory @rubinobservatory.org · 27/08/2026
We’re #hiring a Senior Full Stack Engineer to join NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory's Education & Public Outreach team! 👩‍💻👨‍💻 You'll build interactive, data-driven web experiences that bring Rubin data and science to the world 🌌 👉 Learn more and apply soon: ow.ly/Jajv50ZFUQf 🧪🔭☄️
Night sky filled with stars above Rubin Observatory with text: "We are hiring: Senior Full Stack Engineer"
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 25/08/2026
Go Pandora! 🧪🔭🪐
science.nasa.gov
NASA’s Pandora Mission Begins Study of Exoplanets, Host Stars - NASA Science
Pandora, NASA’s newest exoplanet mission and the first satellite to launch through the agency's Astrophysics Pioneers program, is now making unique
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 24/08/2026
Go Roman! 🧪🔭 science.nasa.gov/blogs/roman/...
science.nasa.gov
NASA’s Roman Telescope Enclosed in SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Fairing
Teams have finished preparing NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope for launch. On Aug. 21, the team encapsulated the observatory inside the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket’s fairing at NASA’s Kennedy S...
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 21/08/2026
I should note that this (3000-word) piece is slightly less “general public” than most of my writing, since I wrote it for a newsletter intended for researchers. But if you’re interested in dark energy, there’s way more about it in my first book, “The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking)”!
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Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 20/08/2026
We're just 10 days away from the scheduled launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida! As you can see from the banner above our door at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, we're very excited about the science #NASARoman will deliver. 🔭
The image shows the entrance of the Space Telescope Science Institute, featuring a large banner for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The banner reads, "Expanding Our View, Charting the Unknown. Roman: Ready to Deliver!"
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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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Jon Phillips @jowiph.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
And they expect us to believe this is a coincidence. Wake up, sheeple.
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Jason Wright @astrowright.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
One of the enormous advances in astronomy since my grad school days has been in our understanding of gyrochronolgy. Look at this amazing figure and reflect on the rich physics it contains about stellar spin down!
Rotation period vs. effective temperature for several clusters.
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James Tuttle Keane @jtuttlekeane.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Shuang Yang—Chang’e 7 will land near the Moon’s south pole Shackleton crater later this year and deploy (via tether) a seismometer that is planned to survive for 8 years. This might be the first node of a long-lived *international* geophysical network! #AOGS2026
A photograph of my notebook showing a sketch of Shuang Yang (Chinese Academy of Science) talk at AOGS. It shows a low, oblique shot of the Chang’e 7 lander, landed on the Moon, as it lowers its seismometers (SP + VBB) to the surface of the Moon from the bottom of the lander. The seismometer will survive up to 8 years through use of an RHU.
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 01/08/2026
it’s time!? IT’S TIME!
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Sarah Kendrew @sarahkendrew.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
I heard a story about a detained health researcher the other day and assumed this was it - but no, there‘s a second local scientist, from UMD, who is being held by ICE. On his way home from receiving a “teacher of the year” award. www.wbaltv.com/article/umb-...
wbaltv.com
University of Maryland pharmacy instructor detained in Dallas
Federal officials detained an instructor from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy last week.
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 01/08/2026
All out of Dare Mighty Things, only got Kiss Bloody Rings.
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 31/07/2026
So long and thanks for all the wine.
static.klipy.com
Playful Dolphins in Blue Water
ALT: Playful Dolphins in Blue Water
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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 31/07/2026
Things you might say to juice the stocks as the bubble reaches its limits: fortune.com/2026/07/27/s...
fortune.com
Sam Altman thinks the singularity is already here, but an expert says OpenAI’s Hugging Face breach doesn’t prove it | Fortune
“It’s the first time in like more than a decade I've thought about what is the next thing,” the OpenAI CEO said.
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Evert Nasedkin @evertnasedkin.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
🔭 New paper day! 🪐 This time from Merle Schrader, a PhD student in the brown dwarf group at Trinity College Dublin. Today, they're publishing a fresh look at SIMP-0136, using principal component analysis, identifying the mechanisms driving its atmospheric variability. arxiv.org/abs/2607.26182
arxiv.org
The JWST weather report: Unravelling the atmospheric variability of isolated worlds using principal component analysis
Brown dwarf variability directly probes atmospheric dynamics beyond the Solar System, and recent JWST time-resolved spectroscopy has opened a new window into these processes. Principal component analy...
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