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Keith Smith

@drkeithsmith.bsky.social
3.6K followers 42 following 578 posts

PhD, occasional astronomer, talking head, science geek, cynic. Senior Editor at @Science.org, responsible for research papers in astronomy and planetary science. Views own, duh. Bio: www.science.org/content/author/keit…

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Reposted by Keith Smith
Science Magazine @science.org · 16h
Following backlash from scientists, CRANE says it has suspended all grant decisions for this funding call and committed to sending rejected proposals for human review. scim.ag/46Qiqv3
scim.ag
U.K. funder uses ‘AI triage’ to reject grant proposals—leaving researchers dismayed
The AI-based assessment, which wasn’t explicitly described in the funding call, has raised privacy and fairness concerns
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
arXiv already has a moderation system. That's exactly what is being overwhelmed, see the blog post.
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
An AI-driven tsunami of rising submissions is overwhelming the moderators of @arxiv.bsky.social . In response, they are limiting each researcher to uploading no more than 2 new preprints per month (co-authorship doesn't count). The striking part is this plot of submission numbers per month. ☄️🔭⚛️🧪
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
🧪⚛️🔭
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Reposted by Keith Smith
Science Magazine @science.org · 30/09/2026
“I don’t use [generative AI] when I write grants or papers. … So I don’t particularly want them reading my work either.” scim.ag/46Qiqv3
scim.ag
U.K. funder uses ‘AI triage’ to reject grant proposals—leaving researchers dismayed
The AI-based assessment, which wasn’t explicitly described in the funding call, has raised privacy and fairness concerns
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Reposted by Keith Smith
Science Magazine @science.org · 30/09/2026
NASA has selected a far-infrared space telescope to explore the faint, cool glow of gas and dust that fuel star formation and coalesce into planets. scim.ag/4z0OZ5m
scim.ag
New space telescope will reopen astronomers’ view of the far-infrared
NASA’s $1.2 billion PRIMA will explore how galaxies evolve and how planets emerge from disks of gas and dust
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Reposted by Keith Smith
Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“We’re forgetting what darkness feels like” Tove Danovich describes multiple facets of light pollution, in the Guardian (citing a @science.org paper for the 10% per year increase in sky brightness, featured in the headline) 🧪🔭 www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
The night sky is getting 10% brighter every year. We’re forgetting what darkness feels like
If more cities start regulating outdoor lighting, we humans could make the environment better for all living creatures
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“We’re forgetting what darkness feels like” Tove Danovich describes multiple facets of light pollution, in the Guardian (citing a @science.org paper for the 10% per year increase in sky brightness, featured in the headline) 🧪🔭 www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
The night sky is getting 10% brighter every year. We’re forgetting what darkness feels like
If more cities start regulating outdoor lighting, we humans could make the environment better for all living creatures
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
TMT turns down €1 billion and the offer of a host site (La Palma) where they can actually build 🤷‍♂️ The project prefers to stick with Mauna Kea, so remains stuck in legal limbo and without sufficient funding. ☄️🔭
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Stellar astrophysicist Emily Levesque @emsque.bsky.social will be the next Editor-in-Chief of the @aas.org journals (ApJ, ApJL, ApJS, AJ, PSJ, RNAAS). ☄️ Levesque has been a scientific editor of AAS journals since 2025. She will succeed Ethan Vishniac in August next year. aas.org/press/emily-...
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Reposted by Keith Smith
Science Magazine @science.org · 14/09/2026
Increasing the breadth of researchers trained as reviewers is crucial. In 2024, we began a program that invites reviewers to add trainees as co-reviewers. Nearly 6000 scientists have participated. All our reviewers, past and present, can now get credit on ORCID. #PeerReviewWeek
Science thanks each of our reviewers for their critical contribution. #PeerReviewWeek
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Samples of asteroid Ryugu collected by Hayabusa2 are similar to Ivuna-type (CI) meteorites. Kawasaki et al. use isotopic measurements of Ryugu and Ivuna to show that their parent bodies formed only 2 million years after the beginning of the Solar System. ☄️🔭 #planetsci www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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Reposted by Keith Smith
Science Magazine @science.org · 09/09/2026
OpenAI claims it has solved the Navier-Stokes problem. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s known so far about this apparent breakthrough—and the surrounding controversy: scim.ag/4ytDoM0
How an AI math breakthrough ignited a controversy
OpenAI spent millions to solve Navier-Stokes problem, but who should get credit?
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Great, thanks!
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
This coffee system at #EPSC2026 clearly isn't going to work. The queue takes longer than the scheduled length of the break 😮
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Reposted by Keith Smith
Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
This week I am attending the @europlanetmedia.bsky.social conference #EPSC2026 in The Hague. If you’re here and interested in publishing in @science.org, please grab me for a chat in a coffee break!
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
This week I am attending the @europlanetmedia.bsky.social conference #EPSC2026 in The Hague. If you’re here and interested in publishing in @science.org, please grab me for a chat in a coffee break!
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This paper has now been published in final print format, with my editor's summary. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... First author Collin Cherubim was interviewed on the @science.org podcast, and the results were featured in the Science Advisor newsletter. Links from the paper (above). ☄️🔭 #exoplanet
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Editor's choice: Shimizu et al. use the Emirates Mars Mission to study the distribution of craters on Mars' moon Deimos. They find more craters on the side facing Mars, contrary to expectations. What caused this distribution? ☄️🔭 #planetsci www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
🧪🔭☄️ #planetsci
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Reposted by Keith Smith
Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
One event, but still 2.6 sigma. Funny old thing, statistics
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Reposted by Keith Smith
Daniel Clery @danclery.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Extreme black hole merger may be a cosmic illusion | Science | AAAS 🔭🧪 @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Extreme black hole merger may be a cosmic illusion
Puzzling event could be an artifact of gravitational lensing, a new model suggests
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
It's one data point, and the preprint states the statistical significance is 2.6 sigma. That's not enough to claim the detection of even a routine event, let alone discover a new type of particle. The scientists report their results reasonably, but media coverage should not get carried away. ⚛️☄️
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
The preprint link works for me: lz.lbl.gov/wp-content/u...
lz.lbl.gov
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Reposted by Keith Smith
Daniel Clery @danclery.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
NASA’s Roman telescope readies a sweeping view of the universe | Science | AAAS 🔭🧪 @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
NASA’s Roman telescope readies a sweeping view of the universe
With a view 100 times larger than Hubble, the observatory will survey the cosmos for distant worlds and clues to dark energy
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
I had no idea that Top Gear is still going! Weren’t they shut down years ago?
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Reposted by Keith Smith
Science Magazine @science.org · 26/08/2026
China has abruptly postponed the launch of its Chang'e-7 mission to study lunar water ice, a resource that could help establish crewed bases on the Moon. Learn more: scim.ag/4y4r44L
China abruptly delays mission to probe Moon’s hidden water
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Now published in final print format, and featured on the @science.org cover. ☄️🔭 #planetsci www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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Reposted by Keith Smith
Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Do you want to work on breakthrough discoveries? @science.org is recruiting a full-time research editor to handle papers in physics, preferably with expertise in photonics. ⚛️🧪 Can be based in Cambridge (UK), Washington DC (US), or remote in either country. recruiting.ultipro.com/AME1123ASEM/...
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
NASA expects the Swift space observatory to de-orbit ‘later this year’. The mission to save it has failed, though the press release tries hard to put a positive spin on the attempt. ☄️🔭 #highenergyastro
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
The peer-reviewed paper itself is available for free with registration: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... (as are all Science papers after 12 months)
science.org
A three-dimensional map of the Milky Way using classical Cepheid variable stars
Mapping the Milky Way in three dimensions using Cepheid variable stars shows the Galaxy’s warped disk.
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Reposted by Keith Smith
Nereide @drnereide.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
1/9 In 2019, a Warsaw research team presented the first 3D map of the Milky Way in the journal Science. The map is based on direct distances to thousands of Cepheids. A pioneering achievement, still widely cited. 🔭🧪⚛️ #galactic #astronomy #universe
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Reposted by Keith Smith
Science Magazine @science.org · 14/08/2026
Two scientists working on Italy’s bid to host the Einstein Telescope, Europe’s next-generation gravitational-wave observatory, had their cars set ablaze in Lula, the village in Sardinia where the project would be built. scim.ag/4hywK1U
scim.ag
Arson attack jolts Italy’s bid to host the Einstein Telescope
Two scientists' cars were burned at the proposed Sardinian site, in what researchers say was an attempt to intimidate supporters of the gravitational-wave observatory
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Reposted by Keith Smith
Science Magazine @science.org · 14/08/2026
A radiation shield vest tested onboard Artemis I could reduce risk from solar particle events, according to a new study. Learn more in #ScienceAdvances: scim.ag/3RN9Pp8
scim.ag
First evaluation of wearable radiation protection for human deep space exploration, as flown on Artemis I
With preparations underway for extended-duration crewed deep space missions, the health risks of solar particle events (SPEs) to astronauts are becoming increasingly pertinent. To address this hazard,...
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
It’s an aubergine
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
I used a pair of binoculars to project yesterday’s partial solar eclipse onto a piece of paper. It’s a simple way to get a good view of what’s happening, and plenty of passers by stopped for a look. 🔭🧪
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Do you want to work on breakthrough discoveries? @science.org is recruiting a full-time research editor to handle papers in physics, preferably with expertise in photonics. ⚛️🧪 Can be based in Cambridge (UK), Washington DC (US), or remote in either country. recruiting.ultipro.com/AME1123ASEM/...
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Reposted by Keith Smith
Science Magazine @science.org · 31/07/2026
Neptune’s inner moons may have formed from the deep interiors of ancient icy satellites, new observations show. Learn more in #ScienceAdvances: scim.ag/4pGwU9f
scim.ag
Neptune’s inner moons and rings are exposed icy body interiors
Triton’s destructive wake exposed clay-like minerals from within ancient icy worlds, now reaccreted as Neptune’s inner moons.
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
An Editorial in @science.org discusses the recent reorganisation of the UK science ministry, and plans to improve commercialisation of British science. @profgeraintrees.bsky.social & @jameswilsdon.bsky.social argue that capital investment is the main limitation. 🔭🧪⚛️ www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Editor's choice: Will the Sun destroy Earth? Esseldeurs et al. simulate the fate of the inner Solar System when the Sun evolves into a red giant star. ☄️🔭🧪 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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Reposted by Keith Smith
Daniel Clery @danclery.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
U.K. physics cuts may force iconic 1950s telescope to close | Science | AAAS @science.org 🔭🧪 www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
U.K. physics cuts may force iconic 1950s telescope to close
Jodrell Bank Observatory is one of several projects to lose funding following a review by the cash-strapped Science and Technology Facilities Council
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Or everyone gets upset about Jodrell Bank, which gets all the media coverage; some money is miraculously found to save it (but not the rest of eMERLIN); meanwhile all the other cuts fly under the radar. They’re probably not so Machiavellian to plan this deliberately, but it might happen anyway.
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
☄️🔭🧪⚛️
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
☄️🔭🧪⚛️
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
I am sorry to hear that Ralph Wijers has died aged 62. We were colleagues at MNRAS, where Ralph was a long-standing editor, and he was a great help to me at Science. We both enjoyed swapping opinions on peer review, open access, preprints (he was scientific director of arXiv), and open science. ☄️🔭
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
A great illustration of how wide-field astronomical surveys have improved over the last three decades. The first image here used photographic plates on 1-m class telescopes. The last one is from an 8 m diameter telescope equipped with a digital camera the size of a small car. ☄️🔭🧪⚛️
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Using Gauss for magnetic fields is conventional in astronomy. The journal does not enforce any particular system of units.
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Now published in final print format, with my editor's summary. ☄️🔭 #exoplanet www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
☄️🔭🧪
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
I think we can all agree: the correct team lost a terrible game.
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