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Kevin T. Trinh

@icymoonskevin.bsky.social
278 followers 231 following 45 posts

Barr Postdoctoral Fellow at Caltech🦫 Planetary science + icy moons 🌕🧊🚀 www.kevintrinh.space

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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
My soul frowns whenever I see an AI-generated figure in a science.
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Mike Brown @plutokiller.com · 23/06/2026
Excited at our paper just out in PNAS. We used JWST to detect frozen deuterated water ("heavy water") on the moons of Uranus. There is **much more** on the moons than on Uranus itself, showing that Uranus and the moons formed from separate reservoirs of water. Fun lab work in the supplement, too.🔭🪐
pnas.org
Deuterated water and the formation of the satellites of Uranus | PNAS
The satellites of Uranus orbit in a low-eccentricity, equatorial plane that is tilted by 98° relative to the solar system—a geometry that mirrors U...
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
New paper on icy moon dynamos, led by @ltilke.bsky.social !
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Joe O'Rourke @geojgo.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Icy satellite dynamos >> oceans 😈 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
A modern dynamo at Triton as a consequence of its capture by Neptune - Nature Astronomy
Triton, Neptune’s largest moon, is presumed to be a trans-Neptunian object that was later captured by the ice giant. Thermal evolution modelling shows that the capture may have provided energy to gene...
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Looking through conference abstracts... it feels like a weirdly addicting form of procrastination. Regardless, excited about the upcoming #JpGU-AGU joint meeting in Chiba, Japan!
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
📢 🧲 🌕 Out of 300+ moons in our solar system, only Jupiter's Ganymede is known to produce a core-hosted magnetic field (i.e., dynamo) today. Why? Published today in #ScienceAdvances, we propose a new explanation: Ganymede might still be forming its bulk metal core today. Link: shorturl.at/QwYVk
shorturl.at
Powering Ganymede’s dynamo with protracted core formation
Jupiter’s moon Ganymede might still be forming its metal core today, which no other planetary body is known to do.
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Joe O'Rourke @geojgo.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Not at #LPSC2026 myself — but my group has 7 talks! Psyche, Venus, Venus, Venus, Venus, Triton, and Io! 📣🧑‍🔬
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Do you know of an undergrad who would be a good fit for icy moons or geophysics research? If so, encourage them to apply here: stemgateway.nasa.gov/s/course-off...
lnkd.in
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Coding is fun, but I really enjoy the occasions where most of my day is spent with just pen, paper, and doing math 🖊️📄🧠
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Joe O'Rourke @geojgo.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
📣 JOB: ASU SESE is hiring a (open rank, TT) professor in—you guessed it—Geoscience of Critical Minerals: apply.interfolio.com/179443
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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Hannah Richter @hannah-richter.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
“Is Europa truly dead?” a planetary scientist asked himself after some disheartening results for the moon. “Or should we broaden our perspective on other mechanisms that can sustain life?” (Spoiler: he chose the latter)🌱🦠 Read my last #AGU2025 story (for now!) at @science.org: tinyurl.com/4dd67hhw
tinyurl.com
Life in Europa’s ocean could feed on rocks’ radioactive decay
After series of bleak findings, theory sparks hope for alternative energy source within Jupiter’s intriguing moon
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Nature @nature.com · 19/12/2025
Nature research paper: Titan’s strong tidal dissipation precludes a subsurface ocean go.nature.com/4s061hm
go.nature.com
Titan’s strong tidal dissipation precludes a subsurface ocean - Nature
Reanalysis of radiometric data from Cassini indicates that Titan does not contain a subsurface ocean, as strong tidal dissipation observed in its gravity field is not consistent with the presence of a liquid layer.
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
📢 Session announcement for #AbSciCon26! Are you doing work in geophysics and astrobiology? Do you ever combine the two? If yes, then consider submitting an abstract to this session, led by Dr. Natalie Wolfenbarger! Link: agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon...
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Joe O'Rourke @geojgo.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
Want a great job? Think I deserve raises and promotions? Please apply to be Director of ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration 🚀🥺 apply.interfolio.com/176991
urldefense.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 19/06/2025
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
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Joe O'Rourke @geojgo.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
Our new survey of parabolas on Venus, and evidence for True Polar Wander at ~1°/Myr is now published! (TLDR @jtuttlekeane.bsky.social was right. nananana BAT region) agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
Sketch by JT Keane of a talk at 2025 LPSC (True Polar Wander of Venus as an explanation for misaligned parabolas). Impacts on Venus loft material into the atmosphere. As the material falls back through the atmosphere, winds push it downrange — forming a parabola. This parabola should point west... but old parabolas aren't. Perhaps Venus reoriented! Parabolas are effectively paleo-west indicators. Old, misaligned parabolas might record TRUE POLAR WANDER.
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Mike Brown @plutokiller.com · 29/09/2025
Hey planetary science PhD graduaters: I know thinking about applying to postdocs this year seems daunting, so I am here to remind you that we have some REALLY GOOD prize fellowship at Caltech. Come work with me. Or Katherine. Or Heather. Or Konstantin. Or someone. Seriously. These are good. 🔭🪐
gps.caltech.edu
Postdoctoral Positions
From the Caltech Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Had a great time kicking off the academic year by giving a talk at Caltech’s Planetary Science Seminar!
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Joe O'Rourke @geojgo.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
📣 PAPER ALERT. Title says it all. I've been super excited about this project for years 🌋😍https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adw1621
science.org
The importance of carbonatite lavas in outgassing Venus’ modern-day atmosphere
The erosion of canali on Venus by carbonatite lavas transformed Venus’ atmosphere within the recent past.
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Sarah Hörst @planetdr.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
I am community sourcing a list of people who are actively in search of MS/PhD students in planetary science/astrobiology/exoplanets for Fall 2026. If you are such a person, please fill out the following google form: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com
Planetary Science MS/PhD Positions for Fall 2026
Crowd sourced list of people who are looking for MS/PhD students to help connect prospective students with advisors so we can do even more fabulous planetary science! (Submitting a response indicates ...
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Joe O'Rourke @geojgo.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
ASU SESE is hiring an Assistant Teaching Professor in Astrophysics: apply.interfolio.com/170951 🧑‍🏫 🔭
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
Planning to submit an abstract to hashtag#AGU25? If you're working on ocean worlds, then please consider submitting to our annual and crossdisciplinary session 🌊 Title: "Ice and Ocean Worlds: Geology, Oceanography, Chemistry, and Habitability" Link: agu.confex.com/agu/agu25/pr...
agu.confex.com
Ice and Ocean Worlds: Geology, Oceanography, Chemistry, and Habitability
This annual session brings together studies of icy and ocean worlds in our solar system (Earth, Europa, Enceladus, Titan, Ganymede, Triton, etc.) and possibilities in extra-solar systems to understand...
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
The "Cython" library in Python is phenomenal. My old thermal evolution code in C++ took ~10 minutes to run. Now, in Python, I can run the code in ~6 seconds. Granted, my C++ code was far from perfect, but it's nice being able to code primarily in Python while having the performance of C.
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Nature @nature.com · 09/06/2025
Hundreds of policies across China have been designed to lure researchers and new graduates to settle there go.nature.com/3HvZQiq
go.nature.com
How China is vying to attract the world’s top scientific talent
Hundreds of policies across the country have been designed to lure researchers and new graduates to settle there.
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Perks of attending a conference in Japan 🇯🇵 #JpGU
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
It was nice visiting the Earth Life Science Institute (ELSI) at the Institute of Science Tokyo (formerly Tokyo Tech)! Lots of great planetary scientists and astrobiologists here.
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James Tuttle Keane @jtuttlekeane.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
This is insane, and sabotages the future of US science—and it’s so easy to see why… AI, quantum, etc., all started as niche research 10, 20, 50 years ago. They’re “trendy” science of national importance today because of decades of investments in broad, fundamental research. (🧵1/3)
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Laurie Leshin @laurieofmars.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
After serving as Director of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and VP of Caltech for three years, I have decided to step down, effective June 1. Though not an easy decision, I strongly believe it is the right one for me, my family, and the Lab. www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/dave-ga...
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
Forever a Sun Devil 🔱
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The Onion @theonion.com · 16/04/2025
NASA Announces Bold Plan To Still Exist By 2045
theonion.com
NASA Announces Bold Plan To Still Exist By 2045
WASHINGTON—In what is being described as the most ambitious mission ever undertaken in the space agency’s history, NASA officials announced at a press conference Tuesday their bold new plan to still e...
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Officially Dr. Trinh! So glad to be surrounded by amazing people along the way. 🎓🌕❄️🚀
Joe (Kevin’s advisor) introducing KevinKevin and his committee after a successful PhD defense.Kevin and his friends celebrating with tomahawk steak tacos.
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
It was a pleasure sharing my research and connecting with the geophysics community at Stanford University!
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
I’m thrilled to share that I will be joining @caltech.edu this June as a Melza M. And Frank Theodore Barr postdoctoral fellow. Super excited for all the science to be done in the coming years.
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
In these past five years, I've really grown to appreciate #Arizona (despite the heat...). Lots of hiking and hidden gem restaurants around!
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Once again, I wrote a sentence that I really liked, only to throw it away because it no longer fits the flow of my manuscript 🥲
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
+128 new moons for Saturn! Granted, many of them are tiny and irregular, but they also might represent a graveyard of past moons lost through collisions. The Saturn system is so interesting and complex. Link: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Saturn has a whopping 274 moons ― scientists want to know why
A huge haul of 128 newfound satellites might be a hint of past collisions in the planet’s orbit, or something else.
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
What the Keck
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Despite all the chaos going on, it’s nice to see a bit of shared laughter and humanity over technical difficulties in the NASA HQ session #LPSC2025
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 10/03/2025
It's a packed house for NASA Night at this year's LPSC. With things afire generally and at NASA specifically (see my earlier posts today), it's going to be an interesting town hall.
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Thank you for the shout out!
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Astrobiology @astrobiology.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
THUNDER: A Titan Orbiter Mission Concept for the New Frontiers Program Designed at the JPL Planetary Science Summer School astrobiology.com/2025/03/thun... #astrobiology #Titan
astrobiology.com
THUNDER: A Titan Orbiter Mission Concept for the New Frontiers Program Designed at the JPL Planetary Science Summer School - Astrobiology
Saturn’s moon Titan is an enigmatic icy world whose surface is constantly modified by its active, Earthlike precipitation system. Here, we propose the Titan’s Hydrocarbons: Uncovering New Dimensions o...
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Ed Rivera-Valentín @planettreky.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Proposed Science Themes for NASA’s Fifth New Frontiers Mission - a NASEM CAPS report nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/2799...
nap.nationalacademies.org
Proposed Science Themes for NASA's Fifth New Frontiers Mission
Read online, download a free PDF.
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Cynthia Phillips, PhD @planetcynthia.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
Europa ICONS is still funded and applications are open until 2/28 if you have interested undergrads! science.nasa.gov/planetary-sc...
science.nasa.gov
Europa Clipper ICONS Internships - NASA Science
The new Inspiring Clipper: Opportunities for Next-generation Scientists (ICONS) internships will bring members of the Europa Clipper science team together
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Excited for my second paper to be featured in #AGUPubs! Here we argue that a small metal core size may prevent dynamos at the Galilean moons, even if there is core convection. This work was done in collaboration with my mentors, Carver Bierson and @geojgo.bsky.social 🧲🌝❄️
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Trajan Hammonds @starlord37.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Last night I found out that the NSF math postdoctoral fellowship I applied for is being deleted because it does not comply with Trump’s executive orders on DEI in the federal government. I’m going to answer some FAQs and share some thoughts about this ordeal in this thread 1/n
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Joe O'Rourke @geojgo.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Enjoyed giving SESE’s first post-RenFest “cloakuium” today 😹
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Adobe Illustrator humbles me 😅 but I'm still trying to get better at my graphic design skills! Currently trying to make art for Enceladus (moon of Saturn) and Triton (moon of Neptune). Hoping to improve these for my future presentations ⌛ Yes, I overlaid a picture of a cantaloupe on top of Triton.
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Earth and Planetary Sciences at ETH Zurich @eth-eaps.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
#postdoc (or #phd) #jobalert The Experimental Planetology research group at @ethzurich.bsky.social is offering a Postdoc in Experimental Geochemistry and on the determination of liquid iron alloy densities with application to the Moon's and other planets core.
jobs.ethz.ch
Postdoc (or PhD) position in Experimental Geochemistry
The Experimental Planetology Group of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (D-EAPS) invites applications for a 2-yr post-doctoral position on the experimental determination of liquid iron…
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Astrobiology @astrobiology.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
Laurie Leshin: “JPL is closed except for emergency personnel. No fire damage so far (some wind damage) but it is very close to the lab. Hundreds of JPLers have been evacuated from their homes & many have lost homes. Special thx to our emergency crews. Pls keep us in your thoughts & stay safe.”
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Kevin T. Trinh @icymoonskevin.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
My pet cockatiel’s debut on Bluesky… here’s him sleeping on one foot! 🦶
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