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John Debes

@johndebes.bsky.social
1.3K followers 492 following 948 posts

ESA/AURA astronomer at STScI. Opinions my own. I study exoplanets and disks around stars.

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John Debes @johndebes.bsky.social · 5h
Scarily timely given the discourse over here about the division of labor in an AI-driven discovery space and a possible "underclass" simply around to make sure the AI research slop is correct.
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John Debes @johndebes.bsky.social · 5h
Here's a new one--someone cold emailing me to do a metric f***-ton of work with no context.
Dear Dr. Debes,

Would you be willing to try my evidence protocol for Venus surviving every solar red-giant phase into the white-dwarf era? Please check relevant oribtal/tidal models, compare published results, and send any reproducible calculation favoring that outcome, alongside other findings.

Thank you.
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NPR @npr.org · 07/10/2026
Researchers uncovered the graves of more than 1,000 children next to juvenile detention facilities in 29 states. At one Maryland gravesite, 230 Black boys are buried. n.pr/4zauALa
n.pr
Over 1,000 children are buried at juvenile detention centers nationwide
Researchers uncovered the graves of more than 1,000 children next to juvenile detention facilities in 29 states. At one Maryland gravesite, 230 Black boys are buried.
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Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 23h
University of Michigan's Eric Bell spoke to staff scientists about extragalactic archaeology and what mergers do (and don't do) to galaxies and their satellites today at the Space Telescope Science Institute. The lecture was part of our ongoing colloquium talks program. 🔭
A person stands in a lecture hall giving a presentation. They are positioned near a large screen displaying slides about astrophysics, including text and images related to galaxies. Multiple screens and a laptop are visible in the foreground.
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Simeon Schmauß @stim3on.bsky.social · 22h
Six months have passed since the #ArtemisII mission and NASA has just released the reentry video from the Orion capsule! Here is a timelapse of the reentry, but be sure to check out the realtime version linked below! 🔭🧪
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Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 06/10/2026
Have you seen today's Google Doodle? 🎆 Learn more about the colorful clouds of NGC 7129: go.nasa.gov/4rNzF9M
A cosmic-themed Google Doodle featuring a nebula with vibrant colors including yellows, pinks, and blues. Stars are scattered throughout the image, and the word "Google" is centered in white text.
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Kamber Schwarz @theschwarz.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I'm hiring a postdoc to work on new models of ionization chemistry in star and planet formation! Come join my new group at the University of Georgia: aas.org/jobregister/... ☄️
aas.org
Postdoctoral Position in Star and Planet Formation
The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Georgia has an opening for a postdoctoral researcher working on the development of new chemical/dynamical models of protoplanetary disks in...
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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
NEW: In March the White House released an FY27 budget request that zeroed out the National Science Foundation's directorate of Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE). For months it was unclear what would happen. Now, with FY26 over, the damage to SBE is coming to light. My reporting:
science.org
‘Complete devastation’: How NSF gutted its social sciences research
Agency body that funds sociology, linguistics, and archaeology studies in U.S. gave 90% fewer new grants this year
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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 05/10/2026
This is your occasional reminder that generative "AI" in particular could have been developed on public domain materials and/or licensed and compensated works but the major players intentionally, methodically and systemically chose to steal labor from working creative folks instead
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Geoff Brumfiel @gbrumfiel.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The IceCube neutrino detector has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in physics. The Trump administration has proposed slashing its budget in half in 2027.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 06/10/2026
The government *still* isn’t tracking how often immigration agents detain U.S. citizens. We are. 500+ Americans have been handcuffed, held at gunpoint or held against their will in Trump’s second term. Our tally is almost certainly an undercount. THREAD (content warning: violence) ⬇️
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The Daily Show @thedailyshow.com · 05/10/2026
@nickofferman.bsky.social on how Gen Z is tackling tech addiction with an old-school antidote: hobbies
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John Debes @johndebes.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
#astrosci
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Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 05/10/2026
NEW: A surprising chemical clue has broken open a Hubble cold case from 1999. Astronomers now suspect the mystery signatures in the data are from a second-generation planet that formed from gas and dust ejected by a dying star: news.stsci.edu/46WpciV 🔭
Illustration labeled Artist’s Concept at bottom right. A gaseous planet in the right foreground, seen mostly in silhouette, orbits a small, white star in the background at left. The star is surrounded by a thin, bright white disk tilted from lower left to upper right. A semi-transparent tail of material comes off the planet toward upper right. Distant stars dot the black background of space.
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Emily Hunt @emily.space · 04/10/2026
I don't think that the priority should be trying to reverse the spread of AI because I just don't think that is going to happen. By arguing for the extreme, we're wasting precious time when we could be trying to legislate protections for impacted professions *right now*.
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
If you are part of an academic society or a professor of any kind, public statements that you do not condone Drexel cutting off the academy of natural sciences from the public of Philadelphia is very important right now. We need your voices. Urgently.
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Dr. Jessie Christiansen @aussiastronomer.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Hello software developers! Come work with our Keck Observatory Archive team at the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute at @caltechipac.bsky.social!! We have a great team, a hybrid work schedule, and you get to live in fabulous SoCal! phf.tbe.taleo.net/phf03/ats/ca...
phf.tbe.taleo.net
Hiring Application Developer, IPAC - Pasadena, CA
View job details and apply now
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⭐ ᗰᗩᖇᛕ ᗩ. ǤᗩᖇᒪIᑕᛕ ⭐ @markgarlick.com · 03/10/2026
A #3Danimation across Saturn's ring plane, looking towards the so-called ring mountains. The ring mountains are strange vertical structures found on the edge of Saturn's B ring. 1/3 #SciArt #spaceart
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András Gáspár @andrasgaspar.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It worked! We observed a calibrator through the mask, but off the coronagraphic spot, in order to flux calibrate the system. We have transmission! We will get proper behind-the-mask observations in a few months. How exciting! We officially have another optical wavelength coronagraph in space! 🔭🪐
Images of the calibrator source through F070W, F090W, F115W, and F150W filters. These are only level 2 images, single position, not post-processed. This is what I could quickly grab.

The dataset is PUBLIC! Go have at it, if you wish.
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John Debes @johndebes.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Well, definitely use that new template
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András Gáspár @andrasgaspar.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I don't know if anyone else is tracking, I assume Molly is. This is from @mpudoka.bsky.social. Look like we are possibly on track to break another record.
JWST submissions. Definitely at or above Cycle 5.
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John Debes @johndebes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Over 3100 between the first co-I submission vs one at 6pm 😁 Curious how many will get rejected due to formatting
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John Debes @johndebes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Over 3100 between the first co-I submission vs one at 6pm 😁 Curious how many will get rejected due to formatting
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Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 30/09/2026
#NASARoman’s fine-guidance system, which allows the observatory to lock very steadily onto its targets during observations, passed a spate of tests from Sept. 15 to 21. Then on Sept. 22, the mission’s Coronagraph Instrument opened its eyes to cosmic light for the very first time.
science.nasa.gov
NASA Checks Roman Guidance System, Takes First Coronagraph Observation - NASA Science
NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's fine-guidance system, which allows the observatory to lock very steadily onto its targets during observations,
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 30/09/2026
ProPublica-Texas Tribune reporter Zach Despart will take questions live from the r/politics Reddit community about his investigations on GOP senate candidate Ken Paxton. Join the conversation today at 2 p.m. CT: www.reddit.com/r/politics/c...
Reddit AMA: Ken Paxton's U.S. Senate bid. Ask reporter Zach Despart anything in r/politics. Our reporting shows that the Texas attorney general may have violated federal ethics and state election laws. Image: A bearded man wearing a green plaid shirt smiles as he holds up a sheet of paper that reads: AMA re: Ken Paxton. His U.S. Senate bid. Sept. 30, 2 p.m. CT. r/politics
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Sarah Kendrew @sarahkendrew.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
#JWST proposers, lest you not have enough to worry about already, check out some new language on use of the much-beloved \vspace parameter in your proposal jwst-docs.stsci.edu/jwst-opportu...
static.klipy.com
Carry On Queen Charlotte
ALT: Carry On Queen Charlotte
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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
One additional 'quick fact': if your name is John, the Nobel committee is twice as likely to award you the Prize for Physics, compared to scientists who are female - Number of physics prizes to a John: 10 - Number of female physics Nobel laureates: 5 Best wishes to all the John-hopefuls this yr 👩‍🔬⚛️
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Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 28/09/2026
The Hubble Cycle 34 science program is set and scheduled to begin November 1! Researchers around the world were awarded more than 2,700 prime orbits—and 31% will lead a Hubble observation for the first time: bit.ly/4xL4Ioj
Large text, Hubble Cycle 34 Approved Proposals, runs atop an image of space with the Hubble Space Telescope body at lower right.
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Paul Voosen @voosen.me · 28/09/2026
New Horizons is now *three days away* from shutting off its two heliophysics instruments, simply because NASA has not provided the $2M in funding it had promised to the mission last year or this year. There is no science basis for shutting these off. Our earlier coverage:
science.org
NASA’s New Horizons mission may shut down two instruments over lack of funding
Decision risks “incalculable loss” of data from the edge of the Sun’s influence, scientists say
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Today was incredible. The fight to save the academy of natural sciences is far from Over
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Adam Kinzinger @adamkinzinger.substack.com · 27/09/2026
This admin has spent years going after science. It proposed the largest cut in NASA’s history, about a quarter of the agency and half of its science programs. But last month, a groundbreaking telescope left the launch pad anyway. And the story of how it got there is our good news this Sunday.
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Anybody who would decide to close this museum does not have Philadelphia’s best interests at heart.
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John Debes @johndebes.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I was really getting worried that Paris was just a hoax.
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John Debes @johndebes.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This thread reminds me of the 24 hours I got stranded in Lima and my wife had to call the airlines back in the states to get any information.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 23/09/2026
Vought holds one of the most powerful jobs in D.C., and he’s used his position to wage a quiet war to change the shape of the entire U.S. government. Here's what you should know about Trump’s shadow president. (Published Oct. 2025)
propublica.org
What You Should Know About Russ Vought, Trump’s Shadow President
Vought is the architect of President Trump’s broader plan to fire civil servants, freeze government programs and dismantle entire agencies. Here are some key things to know about the D.C. insider who ...
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Attention Philadelphia! We need your help saving the Academy of Natural Sciences! The Save the Academy Coalition needs volunteers to help hand out organizing flyers in front of the museum this weekend, Sept 25-27. Please sign up here if you can take a shift! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com
Help Save the Academy: Volunteer to talk with visitors and hand out flyers at the Academy.
Sign up for a shift outside the Academy of Natural Sciences during its last open days: Fridays to Sundays, Sept 18 to 20 and 25 to 27, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Volunteers will be on the ground outside the Ac...
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Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 15/09/2026
#NASARoman activated the Wide Field Instrument—a 300-megapixel infrared camera that will allow it to explore wide swaths of the cosmos quickly. This test image captures the very first photons of starlight to reach the instrument—taken as an initial performance assessment: go.nasa.gov/4rg4qEc
At the top, a grid of 21 panels shows a series of blue images with tiny neon green and yellow circles. A larger image highlights a section of the grid with circular patterns, and an inset presents a detailed star-like diffraction pattern. The colors consist of blue, green, and yellow.
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NPR @npr.org · 15/09/2026
NASA employees say they've lost vital equipment and staff needed to make sophisticated spacecraft amid the agency's abrupt relocations over the past several months. n.pr/3SK34oz
n.pr
NASA rushed engineers out of their labs. They say it risks future space missions
NASA employees say they've lost vital equipment and staff needed to make sophisticated spacecraft amid the agency's abrupt relocations over the past several months.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 14/09/2026
Look at this photo we found from Donald Trump Jr.’s lavish Bahamas wedding. Can you spot the Russian oligarch close to Putin who bankrolled the event? 🧵
A group photo shows about 35 people, including Donald Trump Jr.; his wife, Bettina Anderson; Ivanka Trump; Jared Kushner; Tiffany Trump; and Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev.

Little Pipe Cay/Lux Hospitality Bahamas; Laura Gordon Photography via Instagram; Laura Gordon Photography
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John Debes @johndebes.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Important to note that there is a “background” usage of marker words. So the study measures the word frequency relative to that and sees a large increase in LLM assisted papers.
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Save the Academy organizers need some volunteers to help hand out informational flyers at the academy of natural sciences this weekend. If you are able to help please get in touch via this contact form save-the-academy.org/contact.html
save-the-academy.org
Contact us — Save the Academy
Questions, press, partnerships, or a way to help? Write to the Save the Academy campaign.
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Dr. Laci Brock 🪐 @stellerarts.com · 09/09/2026
Amaze amaze amaze. Tiny paintings for space nerds. Project Hail Mary and Artemis II mini print restock is in one week! stellerarts.com/pages/shop
Mini painting of Rocky in field of dandelions Mini painting of Erid. A blue planet with rings 4 mini prints of my Project Hail Mary paintings
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 11/09/2026
Did you know? Every year, the Supreme Court’s nine justices fill out a form that discloses their financial connections to companies and people. Our database allows you to search for organizations and people that have paid them, reimbursed them for travel and given them gifts.
projects.propublica.org
Supreme Connections: Search Supreme Court Disclosures — ProPublica
Search Supreme Court financial disclosures for organizations and people that have paid justices, reimbursed them for travel, given them gifts and more.
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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Scoop: This afternoon NSF will formally announce its four 'Frontier Initiatives', and a suite of other changes in a public letter. These Frontier Initiatives (left) are identical to OSTP's 'Grand Research Challenges' that we have been reporting on (right). www.nature.com/articles/d41...
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Matthew R Francis @bowlerhatscience.org · 08/09/2026
theonion.com
CDC Successfully Eradicates Children
ATLANTA—Hailing its success as a major victory for the public health and safety of all Americans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday that it had successfully eradicated ch...
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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
This is seismic news for fisheries scientists. Northern cod is *the* iconic symbol of total fisheries collapse due to overfishing (and other factors) *and* the iconic symbol of a complete failure to recover for decades afterwards. This is like announcing the complete recovery of bison on land.
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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Penultimate? FY26 NSF grantmaking update One month ago (8/4) New grants: 4310/7761 — 55.5% of avg. Obligations: 4.10/5.08 billion — 80.7% of avg. Now (9/7) New grants: 6,144/10,857 — 67% of avg.* Obligations: 5.97/7.49 billion — 80% of avg. *avg. from 21–24 grantwitness.org/nsf/analyses...
grantwitness.org
Agency Pulse: Grantmaking at NSF
An independent, up-to-date, grant-level record of federal science funding disruptions in the United States.
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Caltech IPAC @caltechipac.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
#NASARoman’s Coronagraph Instrument is powered on and being tested as we speak 🔋 ⚡️ 🔭 Check out these photos from the Coronagraph Command Center at IPAC, right when we confirmed that the instrument turned on! roman.ipac.caltech.edu/news/nasa-ro...
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Dr. Susan E. Mullally @mustaric.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Take a tour of the sky as stored by the MAST archive and presented by Dr. Meghan Gray. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zs6.... She does an excellent job of showing off an image created by Julie Imig, a scientist at MAST.
youtube.com
The Most Observed Patch of Space - Sixty Symbols
YouTube video by Sixty Symbols
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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission @cpsc.gov · 06/09/2026
Tabletop fire pits that refuel by pouring rubbing alcohol in bowl where the fire was just burning are dangerous. This Labor Day weekend, throw these away. Show anyone who has one this video.
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