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ewan douglas

@douglase.bsky.social
320 followers 886 following 35 posts

Professing on space telescopes of all sizes; Tucson, AZ.

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ewan douglas @douglase.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
www.chronicle.com/article/the-...
chronicle.com
Opinion | The Faculty Workload Myth
Politicians think faculty members don’t teach enough. Here’s what the data says.
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Don Davis @ddavisspaceart.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
Here's another version, combining the two different exposures made in quick succession. One much darker exposure made the bright limb stand out more from the rest, the widely circulated longer exposure brought out the dim light details. Combining the two images helps to restore the brightness range.
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 03/04/2026
More context on this #Artemis II image: * This is the night side, lit by moonlight. You can see city lights in Spain & Portugal, & a sliver of day at lower right * The Sun is entirely behind Earth, which makes it a kind of solar eclipse, but w/ Earth doing the eclipsing instead of the Moon: ☀️🌍🚀🌕
A full disc image of Earth, as seen from the Orion Crew Module. The planet is a pale blue, swirling with white clouds and glowing slightly lighter blue in place from reflected light. At lower left, a large brown landmass is Africa, with Spain and Portugal with twinkling lights where the planet curves. At top right, auroras glow in a thin green glow, just barely separated from the planet's surface. Earth is set against the black of space (pic: NASA/R.Wiseman)
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Mark Marley @markmarley.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
And secondly with OSIRIS-REx news.arizona.edu/news/bear-do...
news.arizona.edu
Bear Down 100: Tagging an asteroid
When it came time to actually land on asteroid Bennu and collect a sample, it took the scientific know-how and meticulous dedication found in University of Arizona researchers to make that mission a r...
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Mark Marley @markmarley.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
The University is running a marketing campaign on our greatest hits accomplishments. LPL gets two mentions, starting off with Kuiper and Whitaker and the Consolidated Lunar Atlas. news.arizona.edu/news/bear-do...
news.arizona.edu
Bear Down 100: Mapping the moon
By the time President John F. Kennedy announced in 1961 that the United States would land a man on the moon before the end of the decade, a small group of University of Arizona researchers were alread...
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ewan douglas @douglase.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
“Scientific progress on a broad front results from the free play of free intellects, working on subjects of their own choice, in the manner dictated by their curiosity for exploration of the unknown. ”
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Mark Marley @markmarley.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Reporting live from Galaxy Slam. Marcia Rieke has already figured out and deployed the flashing light spirit towels we all got.
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Nora's Guide to the Galaxy @ngttg.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Year of Space Facts: Week 6/52 🔭🧪🛰️ The twinkling of stars isn't caused by anything happening at the star—it's actually an effect of atmospheric turbulence and refraction making small changes to the path of the light before it reaches our eyes. 📸 Sirius scintillating (Bautsch CC0)
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Steward Observatory, University of Arizona @stewardobservatory.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Galaxy Slam! Meet Marcia Rieke, Regents Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory. As principal investigator for NIRCam on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, she helps reveal the universe’s earliest galaxies using infrared light. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhxf...
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ewan douglas @douglase.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
why you need big telescopes for spectroscopy -- “You have to collect enough photons because you’re spreading them out,” said @chadfbender.bsky.social, an astronomer at the University of Arizona, which is in charge of LFAST. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/s...
nytimes.com
Google’s Former C.E.O. Wants to Build a Cosmic Search Engine
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Chad Bender @chadfbender.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Just spent the day doing a thing: www.science.org/content/arti... Roger Angel and I are Co-PIing the LFAST telescope, which is being built at @stewardobservatory.bsky.social and provides the ground based spectroscopic component of this venture. @schmidtsciences.bsky.social #AAS247 #Arizona #LFAST
science.org
Ex–Google CEO funds private space telescope bigger than Hubble
Schmidt Sciences announces investments in orbiting observatory and three ground-based instruments
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ewan douglas @douglase.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
There is a great summary of the session from @astronomymag.bsky.social www.astronomy.com/science/eric...
astronomy.com
Eric and Wendy Schmidt to fund space telescope, three ground-based observatories
The Schmidts' philanthropic research organization will build a 3-meter space telescope and fund three ground-based facilities.
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ewan douglas @douglase.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
today! 🔭✨🧪☄️ #exoplanets #extragalactic #cosmology
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janiceleeastro @janiceleeastro.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
“The Habitable Worlds Observatory is exactly the kind of bold, forward-leaning science that only NASA can undertake...” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman... 🔭✨🧪🧵☄️ #exoplanets #extragalactic
nasa.gov
NASA Selects Tech Proposals to Advance Search-for-Life Mission - NASA
NASA announced Monday the selection of industry proposals to advance technologies for the agency’s Habitable Worlds Observatory concept – the first mission
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ewan douglas @douglase.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
New paper day! arxiv.org/abs/2601.02556 🔭🧪
arxiv.org
The Lazuli Space Observatory: Architecture & Capabilities
The Lazuli Space Observatory is a 3-meter aperture astronomical facility designed for rapid-response observations and precision astrophysics across visible to near-infrared wavelengths (400-1700 nm ba...
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Schmidt Sciences @schmidtsciences.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
More Astrophysics for More People ✨ Join us for a virtual #AAS247 session and a first look at The Schmidt Observatory System—a new network of ground and space-based initiatives designed to break the traditional limits of discovery. 📆 Jan 7 | 3-5:30pm MT / 5-7:30pm ET Register here: buff.ly/kbbNFuB
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Jason Wright @astrowright.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
Christmas on the archive! @ericmamajek.bsky.social leads a paper with his usual precision, asking us astronomers (especially exoplanet folks) to clean up their jargon. Introducing the Solirad: the nominal average flux the Earth receives from the Sun = 1361 W/m^2 arxiv.org/abs/2512.20126
arxiv.org
The Solirad (So) as a Convenient Unit for Quoting Astronomical Irradiances for Planetary Insolations and Exoplanetary Instellations
Measurements of physical parameters for stars and (exo)planets are often quoted in units normalized to the Sun and/or Earth. The nominal total solar irradiance, ${S}^{\rm N}_{\odot}$, while based on a...
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Heather Froehlich @heatherfro.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
We are hiring at the University of Arizona libraries for a Data Science Specialist/Librarian. Expertise/experience in Python is a must. Not on the search committee, will be your colleague. arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
arizona.csod.com
Data Science Specialist/Librarian (Assistant or Associate)
CHARACTERISTIC DUTIESData Science Outreach and ServicesDevelop and lead training opportunities in tools and resources such as data visualization, data...
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ewan douglas @douglase.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
Time to repost this, hbr.org/2018/01/ndas...
hbr.org
NDAs Are Out of Control. Here’s What Needs to Change
New data shows that over one-third of the U.S. workforce is bound by an NDA. These contracts have grown not only in number but also in breadth. They not only appear in settlements after a victim of se...
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Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 29/07/2025
The Habitable Worlds Observatory is early in its development as a large infrared/optical/ultraviolet space telescope. Many designs are under consideration, including this artist's concept animation. More about the planned observatory: go.nasa.gov/HWO #HWO2025 #HWO25 🔭 🧪 ☄️
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Steward Observatory, University of Arizona @stewardobservatory.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
In a new paper this month from Carlos Vargas and the Aspera team, readers get updates and context for the Steward Observatory-based mission. Learn more about this bold mission that aims to study galaxy evolution through UV light: bit.ly/3INfG93
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L. C. Mayorga @mayorgalc.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
I'm at the #HWO25 meeting this week and this morning's talks have been quite inspiring that we can actually get this thing done.
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ewan douglas @douglase.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
new 🔭 paper day! Kian Milani and coauthors show how to save computing power and memory with an adjoint model to create high-contrast dark holes with a vortex coronagraph in simulation and reaching <1e-8 contrasts in the lab www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/Jou...
Fig. 2: Flowchart illustrates the implementation of aEFC for this work. For each control iteration, the first step is to estimate the focal plane electric field. Here, we assume that pairwise-probing (PWP) is used for this estimation. The next step is to compute the nominal model-based electric field ENOM, which is passed into the optimizer. Within the optimizer is a smaller loop where the forward model is evaluated to compute the cost-function value, then the adjoint model is evaluated to compute the gradient with respect to DM actuators so the optimizer can step the actuators in the direction that minimizes the cost-function. Once the optimizer’s tolerance value or iterations limit is reached, the actuator solution δA is applied to the instrument and the control iteration repeats.
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Captain Mark Kelly @captmarkkelly.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
The first photos from the Vera Rubin Observatory are stunning — thanks in part to the University of Arizona, which helped build its mirror. Proud to see Arizona leading the way in space science.
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ewan douglas @douglase.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
New paper day from Carlos Vargas and the Aspera team! @stewardobservatory.bsky.social : www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/Jou...
spiedigitallibrary.org
Pioneering far UV emission mapping of the circumgalactic medium with Aspera—motivation, mission status, and lessons learned
Aspera is a far ultraviolet (FUV) SmallSat mission in the NASA Astrophysics Pioneers Program with the science objectives surrounding detection and mapping of the warm-hot circumgalactic medium in emission for the first time in nearby galaxies. Aspera comprises a pair of identical long-slit FUV spectrographs optimized to detect faint extended source emission at ∼103 nm. The operations phase of the mission will include a commissioning phase, a primary science phase, and a closeout phase. Placed in a Sun-synchronous 500 to 600 km orbit, Aspera will operate in detection, mapping, and calibration modes during the primary science phase to achieve the mission’s science objectives. We note that minor damage outside of the clear aperture of the off-axis parabola mirrors was discovered during the application of high reflectance FUV coatings. It was determined that this damage was likely due to a cold welding effect when the Al optic holder came in contact with the contact point regions of the optic during the enhanced lithium fluoride coating process. These features do not affect the performance of the optic, nor do they pose any structural risk, and they can be avoided for future projects through material selection. The payload critical design is complete, and assembly of the payload began as of summer 2024.
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HiRISE Beautiful Mars (NASA) @uahirise.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
HiRISE 3D: Jezero Crater An updated batch of anaglyphs for our July PDS release starts with this wonder 3D image of a part of Jezero Crater. www.uahirise.org/anaglyph/ESP... NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona #Mars #NASA #science
3D image shows ancient fluvial channels and higher-standing terrain within Jezero Crater. The scene is less than 5 km, or 3 miles, across. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)
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Chad Bender @chadfbender.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
This is extremely worrying. The work done at IPAC is critical to the field of astronomy in the US and worldwide.
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Mark Marley @markmarley.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Today I remembered the NASA Exoplanet Task Force charged in 2006 with developing a 15-year strategy to "detect and characterize exo-planets". Still waiting on that space based direct imaging. 15 years out would have been 2022-ish...
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Lynn Carter @lynncarter.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
There is an economic multiplier to every science dollar spent. Just from the University of Arizona, the proposed cuts to NASA/NSF could pull hundreds of millions of dollars out of the southern Arizona economy. We are a place that has "Space is Wildcat country" banners on poles.
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ewan douglas @douglase.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
@stewardobservatory.bsky.social's Aspera Pioneer mission has a ride! www.nasa.gov/news-release...
nasa.gov
NASA Awards Launch Service Task Order for Aspera’s Galaxy Mission - NASA
NASA has selected Rocket Lab USA Inc. of Long Beach, California, to launch the agency’s Aspera mission, a SmallSat to study galaxy formation and evolution,
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McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 06/05/2025
"These guidelines were written by almost-retired professors who never could have met these standards back in the 1980s, when all you needed for tenure was 1.5 publications and a bottle of scotch in your desk." buff.ly/TOh3MUc
mcsweeneys.net
Introducing Our University’s New, Totally Reasonable Criteria for Promotion and Tenure
Since the founding of our august institution, we have awarded promotion and tenure based on how many pages of your research we could read before fa...
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ewan douglas @douglase.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
xwcl.science/magao-x/maga...
xwcl.science
MagAO-X 2025A Day 16: Excellent Extreme Experimenting and Engineering – Extreme Wavefront Control Lab
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ewan douglas @douglase.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
@stewardobservatory.bsky.social : news.arizona.edu/news/sharper...
news.arizona.edu
Sharper image: U of A-built instrument reveals pictures of 'baby planets' | University of Arizona News
An advanced imaging system developed at the University of Arizona boasts a shape-shifting mirror that delivers observing details typically reserved for space-based telescopes.
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Sarah Hörst @planetdr.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
We don’t make money running these labs. That isn’t the point. We are non-profits for a reason. When NSF and NASA want me to do a project in addition to paying for the project they basically pay to rent the space the project gets done in and all that that entails (utilities, custodian, maintenance)
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Sarah Hörst @planetdr.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
I didn’t know if it might help to actually see what we are talking about with indirect costs so I did a little lab tour. youtube.com/shorts/ttia4...
youtube.com
February 8, 2025
YouTube video by Sarah Horst
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ewan douglas @douglase.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
news.arizona.edu/news/economi...
news.arizona.edu
Economic impact of UArizona space sciences rivals that of Super Bowl | University of Arizona News
University of Arizona space sciences activities generate more than $560 million every year for the local economy, according to an economic impact report delivered by Rounds Consulting Group.
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Rob Seaman @robseaman.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
The Lunar and Planetary Laboratory will be hosting its annual Art of Planetary Science exhibition from February 21-23, 2025, with the theme of 50 Years of Discovery and Mystery on Mars. At the Kuiper Space Sciences building on the mall at the University of Arizona in Tucson. #PlanetSci
lpl.arizona.edu
Home
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Erin Macdonald @drerinmac.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
If you are in LA, highly recommend the Watch Duty wildfire site/app for information. Stay safe, friends app.watchduty.org
app.watchduty.org
Watch Duty - Wildfire Maps & Alerts
Real-time information about wildfire and firefighting efforts nearby
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Nicole McNeil @nicolemmcneil.bsky.social · 24/12/2024
“Women leave or consider leaving [faculty positions] because of workplace climate more often than work-life balance.” www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Gender and retention patterns among U.S. faculty
Women faculty are more likely to leave their jobs than men, most often due to workplace climate, rather than work-life balance.
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Jarron Leisenring @jarron.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Welp, there's now a news item up, so I guess it's official. www.itl.arizona.edu/news/changin...
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Steward Observatory, University of Arizona @stewardobservatory.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Exploring Tucson? The New York Times recommends heading to the Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, where scientists lead "staggering viewings through giant telescopes." Be sure to book your viewing! skycenter.arizona.edu/news/nyt-spe...
skycenter.arizona.edu
The NYT Spends 36 Hours in Tucson - Including the Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter
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Eric Bellm @ebellm.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
Kinds of 🔭 instrumentation papers
Fake "Types of Astro Instrument Papers"
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Dr. Jessie Christiansen @aussiastronomer.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
One place where Bluesky could help replace the utility of Twitter is live conference posting. Is anyone at Exoplanets in our Backyard 3 this week? I’d love to hear how it’s going!
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Mark Marley @markmarley.bsky.social · 10/11/2024
The LPL Bluesky account will be spinning up as well. We are @uarizonalpl.bsky.social
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Steward Observatory, University of Arizona @stewardobservatory.bsky.social · 09/11/2024
Welcome to Steward Observatory’s official Bluesky account! We represent both the century-old astronomy research unit and the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona. Follow to hear about our world-leading research, our outreach efforts, and the people who make it all happen.
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Dr. Timothy Pickering @tepickering.bsky.social · 04/11/2024
if anyone on here is up for the heady challenge of helping complete the migration of a complex saoimage workflow from solaris to macos, reach out to @markmarley.bsky.social
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Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 09/10/2024
Many of the gorgeous space images that you see from #NASAWebb come from the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam). It provides high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy for a wide variety of scientific investigations. What can NIRCam “see” in space? webbtelescope.pub/4dEjG67 🔭 🧪
Infographic titled “Near-Infrared Camera” is divided into two sections vertically. 

Section 1: Components
Three labeled icons, one for each of NIRCam’s components.

Left icon labeled “cameras”: Line drawing of the front of a traditional camera. 
Center icon labeled “spectrograph”: Line drawing of light being refracted by a prism. 
Right icon labeled “coronagraph”: Line drawing of a partially eclipsed Sun. 

Section 2: Wavelength
Shows the wavelength range of NIRCam from visible to near-infrared.

Consists of a horizontal bar with a wave pattern running from left to right. The wavelength in the pattern increases from left to right. The bar is divided into thirds. The left third of the bar, labeled “visible,” has a subtle rainbow coloring. The middle third, labeled “infrared,” is divided into three sections, labeled “near,” “mid,” and “far,” The right third, labeled “microwave” is almost black. The right end of the visible through the near-infrared section of the bar is bright-dark red.
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ewan douglas @douglase.bsky.social · 18/09/2024
Bluesky now has over 10 million users, and I was #500,463!
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ewan douglas @douglase.bsky.social · 28/07/2024
We’re hiring a senior project manager for major space telescope programs🔭🧪🚀🚀 ask me questions! arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
arizona.csod.com
Director, Space Telescope Programs
Directs the strategies and oversee business activities including cost projection, budgeting, task management, contract management, cost tracking, and ...
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ewan douglas @douglase.bsky.social · 24/07/2024
Congrats Elisabeth! Many years of persistence paid off mightily!
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