iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

They quoted me in this New Yorker piece about AI today. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

“Let’s say there’s a world or time line I exist in where A.I. has been subject to regulation. It is ethical. It has no footprint environmentally,” the novelist Jeff VanderMeer, a prominent critic of A.I., told me over the phone. “With those guardrails in place, would I read an A.I. book? All I can say is no. And the reason is, in part, because I want to read something coming from a particular mind.” Using A.I., he said, “feels like a betrayal of the whole point of why you’re a writer.”

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Ian Coldwater 🧊🚫 @lookitup.baby · 30/09/2026

BREAKING NEWS: “Do geese see God” is a palindrome

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Eos @eos.org · 29/09/2026

NASA has ignored recommended funding levels for planetary research & analysis for 15 years, according to a new investigative report by Mark Sykes (@coop.planetary-research.org). And for FY2025, it hasn’t even spent 50% of what it budgeted for R&A. 🧪🪐🔭 eos.org/research-and...

eos.org

NASA has Underspent on Research and Analysis for 15 Years - Eos

Spending for NASA’s research and analysis programs has remained relatively flat for 15 years, ignoring recommendations from community-led decadal surveys and directives by Congress.

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Dr. Adeene Denton @spacewhalerider.com · 28/09/2026

Working on my Mars slides for class, which means it's time to bring back my favorite slide I've ever made:

The "we're so back/it's so over meme" that has been edited so the x-axis is time from 1960 through 2040. The plot oscillates semi-sinusoidally between positive (we're so back) and negative (it's so over). It's labeled Mars Exploration Timeline.

The start of the timeline is small oscillations close to zero. These are labeled: first Soviet attempts (note: none of the Soviet attempts worked but they sure tried). The steep positive peak next to it, we're back, is labeled Viking landers. Then a massive negative, it's so over, is labeled: everyone crashes in the 90s. Look up Mars exploration to learn more about this. Then an even larger positive spike, we're so back, is for Curiosity and the other Mars rovers. Then a positive/negative combined spike is labeled Mars 2020 (for various reasons). Then a last negative, it's over (real) is labeled Mars Sample Return. This is accurate.

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Matthew R Francis @bowlerhatscience.org · 17/09/2026

speaking as a science journalist who is also a trained physicist, this is the FUCKING WORST POSSIBLE THING. This is the opposite of trustworthy. You can't trust a damn thing an "AI agent" tells you. An article needs to be unchanged between queries, or any change needs to be documented clearly.

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US Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (USAPECS) @usapecs.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

New preprint from USAPECS! ❄️ We surveyed US polar & cryo ECRs about recent science policy and funding changes. Key findings: • >90% worried about science funding, policy and jobs • 72% reported reduced research motivation • 44% considering leaving polar/cryo Preprint: eartharxiv.org/repository/v...

Respondent attitudes towards a selection of four statements
concerning science policy, funding, and career opportunities.

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Dr. Jessie Christiansen @aussiastronomer.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

It's so wild and wonderful that this robot has been wandering around Mars for FOURTEEN YEARS and we get to watch it trundle about and poke rocks and send home postcards. ❤️ science.nasa.gov/photojournal...

science.nasa.gov

Curiosity Postcard Celebrates Rover’s 5,000th Day on Mars - NASA Science

While parked at a sand ridge nicknamed “Chocolatal,” NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used its black-and-white navigation cameras to capture panoramas at two times

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Stephen Kane @exocytherean.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

If you are asked to review a paper/proposal, and you intend to use AI to conduct the review, please do not accept the request. Peer review is a fundamental component of the scientific process. Using AI to conduct this not only insults the authors, but your own expertise.

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Kat Dapré @katdapre.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Preparing to deliver my Enceladus talk in its fourth country and pleased to report that tomorrow I will be presenting it next to the state of Victoria, Australia, for scale (~500km north-south) Previous victims have been Taiwan, Ireland, and Maryland He's truly just a lil guy

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Greg Greene (he/him/his) @greene.haus · 16/07/2026

Canadian firefighters hauled ass to get down here when half of Los Angeles was on fire last year. What a characteristically classy way to repay that favor.

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Dr. Raphael Marschall @spacemarschall.net · 16/07/2026

📢 Join my group at the @unibe.ch as a PhD student in #planetSci. Work on how impacts and sublimation shape comets and other icy bodies using experiments and numerical modelling. 📆 Start Date: Jan. 2027 or by arrangement ⏳ Apply by 30 Sept 2026: jobs.unibe.ch/job-vacancie...

Surface of comet 67P imaged by Rosetta's OSIRIS camera on 2016-05-03 12:45:20.101.

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🌈 Drawn&Quoted 🦄 @drawnandquoted.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

This is addressed to everyone, but especially Americans under the age of 30: Read dystopian novels. Read 1984, and Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451, and White Noise, and—fuck—even Hunger Games. So many of you just aren’t getting what’s been happening just because you don’t read.

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SK Winnicki, PhD 🏳️‍⚧️ @skwinnicki.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Both totally unnecessary and extremely funny that the Guardian has an interactive graphic for you to change the color of the US flag's blue to the color of the Reflecting Pool from 8 to 19 June and counting

Screenshot of the article's graphic, showing color swatches derived from the Earthcam archive, illustration the color of the reflecting pool calibrated against satellite imagery, from 8 June to 19 June 2026. I chose yesterday, 19 June, so it rendered the US American flag with a green hue instead of blue.

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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

International or UK researcher looking for a #fellowship in #astrophysics, #planetaryscience, and/or space instrumentation? Leicester @physicsuol.bsky.social is inviting expressions of interest for this year's STFC 5-year Ernest Rutherford Fellowships (deadline June 25th): le.ac.uk/physics/rese...

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Kat Dapré @katdapre.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Stumbled across some very cool #scicomm in a Portland metro station, of all places 😂 this drilled geological core is installed on the wall wrapping around both platforms, with rocks from the surface all the way down to station depth!! I jogged the full circuit in the 2 mins before our train came 👀🧪

Geological core filled with rock samples stretching horizontally along the wall of a metro platform. In the foreground the text says "tunnel opens 1998", and the dates (and rocks!) get older along the length of the core, corresponding to the depth in the bedrock above the station at which they were extracted.

Sign above a surface-level entrance to a metro elevator. Instead of floor levels, there is a dial that goes between "16 million years ago" and "present", which indicates the age of the bedrock at the current depth of the elevator.

Metal-etched sign inside the elevator, with a cross-section drawing of the elevator shaft as it descends through the area's bedrock.

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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 18/05/2026

This is a composite of the Moon, Mars, and Earth I made. The Moon and Earth are from Artemis II, and Mars is from the Psyche mission. Each image was taken *in the last six weeks*

Three crescents. Top: the Moon. Midde: Mars. Bottom: Earth. Background: the infinite black of space.

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Nolan Void @wolter.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

This is the money paragraph for me.

What if we got away from the argument that doing cosmology and particle physics is practical or materially valuable? Then we have to accept that we're like the poets.
What we do is important culturally in the same way poetry is. A piece of this book is me saying there is value in banding with the poets, and fighting for the value of being curious and trying to articulate the world with whatever tools are available to us. Not for the purposes of selling something, but for the purpose of fulfilling our humanity.

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 23/04/2026

When Einstein developed general relativity the closest thing to a practical application that could even be imagined at the time was a slightly more precise description of where to look for the planet Mercury in the sky, and yet now we’d all be literally lost without it. Anyway: fund basic research.

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Casey Dreier @caseydreier.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

The Planetary Society has re-launched our Save NASA Science action hub today given the draconian cuts proposed in the FY 2027 NASA budget — follow here for running updates, statements, charts, and advocacy actions you can take now: planetary.org/save-nasa-sc...

planetary.org

Save NASA Science Action Hub

Updates and actions on the proposed cuts to NASA science in FY 2027.

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Josh Fruhlinger @jfruh.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

the girl guides in the UK just kicked out all their trans members specifically bc they were threatened with a lawsuit from a rowling-funded group

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Emily Lakdawalla 🏳️‍⚧️ Uranus Expert @elakdawalla.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Behold the power of a lag deposit to armor water ice against solar radiation. Jupiter’s moon Callisto knows it well.

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Kat Dapré @katdapre.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

"Each time I understand slightly more about what you are doing 😂" - my mum Give this a read if you, too, would like to understand slightly more about what I am doing - and perhaps more importantly, *why* 🔭⚒️🧪 #planetsci buff.ly/J2mNECo

buff.ly

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gavin jones @ecologyofgavin.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

In a sea of opinions about the role of LLMs in academics I offer my own. Apart from being harmful, exploitive plagiarism machines, LLMs rob us of the opportunity to experience the gift of friction in writing, which changes how we think. We must not give away that gift. doi.org/10.1002/fee....

doi.org

Thinking like a mountain in the age of AI

Click on the article title to read more.

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US Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (USAPECS) @usapecs.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Monday, Day 1: Polar Film Festival (PFF) theme: Through an Artistic Lens. Access all films, see the daily highlights, read a mini-blog from the filmmakers, and register for Friday's Filmmaker's Roundtable at: www.usapecs.org/polar-film-f...

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Justin Walsh @jstpwalsh.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

The US spent half of NASA's annual budget in just six days of unplanned war against Iran www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03...

nytimes.com

First 6 Days of Iran War Cost U.S. $11.3 Billion, Pentagon Says

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Kat Dapré @katdapre.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Still time to submit! I want to read about your work! ❄🥼🛠🧪

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Sarah Hörst @planetdr.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

For all the but how can we afford space exploration folks…this means we’ve already spent more on this war that started last week than Cassini cost in the 26 years it took to build, launch, and operate it.

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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Starting this Friday, four separate #JWST programmes will be exploring physical processes in Jupiter's atmosphere and ionosphere. We're asking amateur astronomers to help provide context imaging over the next few weeks to understand how the atmosphere is changing with time. #planetaryscience

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Dr Dan Shugar 🇨🇦 @watershedlab.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

🚨Extremely short notice: Looking for prospective PhD or postdoc w/ geological engineering or modelling experience, w/ interests in mountain geohazards for project focused on landslide-triggered tsunamis in subarctic w/ me & @geocron.bsky.social 🧵 🧪⚒️ Pls share! nserc-crsng.canada.ca/en/news/laun...

nserc-crsng.canada.ca

Launch of new Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards

As announced in Budget 2025 -

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Kat Dapré @katdapre.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

I'm on the blog team this year and we're really hoping for submissions featuring the huge range of polar research disciplines in the US. If you've got a story about recent adaptations, challenges, or improvements in your field, from new satellites to Arctic community initiatives, get in touch! ❄🥼🛠

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Sarah Tuttle @niais.cryptoanarchy.network · 19/12/2025

YOU DUMB FUCKS. THIS IS ME. I have a scooter. I can walk. I can't, however, walk through 80 miles of airport. I can walk onto an airplane or through hallways. I can't walk the .5 mile to the convention center. People, get smarter, it's embarrassing at this point.

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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 17/12/2025

🚨 SAVE THE DATE 🚨 We're putting together a Planetary Science Community Meeting at the Kentucky Science Center in Louisville, KY on April 14–16 2026. This is a grass-roots meeting for planetary scientists to gather, discuss, and organize to address pressing issues our community faces. (1/2)

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Kat Dapré @katdapre.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

@univofmaryland.bsky.social Active Tectonics group are at #AGU25! Come track down our posters and talks this week to hear about finding slow-moving landslides using InSAR, seismology at the Ross Ice Shelf, and hydroacoustics: 🛠❄

Gimena's AGU talk: NH23A-05 Identification of Potential Slow-Moving Landslides Using PCA/ICA on InSAR Time Series and Terrain Analysis
Tuesday 16 Dec 15.15-15.30 room 295-296

My talk: S32B-02 Ambient Noise Characteristics and Cross-Correlation at Western Rift 4 in the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Wed 17th 10.40-10.50 in room 356

Neha's poster: V33I-0124 Hydroacoustic Analysis of the 2022-2023 Tanaga Island Seismic Unrest
Wed 17th 14.15-17.45 Board 0124

Claire's poster: S43C-0272 Geoacoustic Inversion of the San Diego Shallow Water Subsurface Using Active Acoustics Data
Thurs 18th 14.15-17.45 board 0272

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Kat Dapré @katdapre.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Very exciting projects being advertised, including some with my PhD supervisor @jessicairving.bsky.social - if you're at AGU and want to chat about STFC planetary PhDs at Bristol, feel free to reach out! #AGU25 🛠🪐

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Kat Dapré @katdapre.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

Last month we buried 7 seismometers in a cornfield to see if we could detect groundwater changes using ambient noise cross-correlation. Last week we went to retrieve them - my first snow day in Maryland, and much less corn than before! It sure added an extra layer of excitement to the process... ❄️⚒️🧪

I'm standing next to a groundwater well on snow-covered ground in a cornfield that has been recently harvested. I'm wearing winter gear, holding a shovel, and smiling at the camera, blissfully unaware of the hardships in my near future (we spent half an hour trying to find the seventh instrument)

Photo angled downwards into a recently-dug foot-diameter hole in the ground, in which we have uncovered a very muddy seismometer. Also visible are my feet, the end of a shovel, a groundwater well, and some snow cover at the edges of the photo where we haven't disturbed it.

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David Mimoun @moonnext.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Great news for lunar science! 🧑‍🚀🌓🚀 NASA has selected the SPSS payload for the Artemis IV mission (2028) It will be deployed near the Moon’s South Pole to record moonquakes and reveal the deep interior. A proud international effort led by JPL! #ArtemisIV

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Kat Dapré @katdapre.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

Fascinating study from CU Boulder discussing dramatic effects associated with glaciers at grounding lines. Thinning of the glacier caused the seaward part to float, which let the ocean in to form cracks at its base and break off more icebergs. Full story: buff.ly/D43Y8nv

buff.ly

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Kat Dapré @katdapre.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

Having an excellent time at the @seismosocam.bsky.social Environmental Seismology conference so far, and thanks to everyone who came by our poster! (if you missed it, feel free to corner me later this week) Looking forward to the rest of the talks and posters lined up for the next two days 🥼❄🧪

I'm taking a selfie in front of my poster titled "Seismic Properties of Mélange in an Ice Shelf-Penetrating Rift from the ARROW Deployment at the Ross Ice Shelf". Some of the figures visible include a location map of the seismic array, a cartoon cross section through the rift, spectrograms, and work on ambient noise cross-correlation.

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Dr. Adeene Denton @spacewhalerider.com · 04/10/2025

PSA for folks visiting any National Public lands (parks, forests etc) during the shutdown: PLEASE take everything you brought in with you, including trash! Don't leave it in the bins if you can avoid it - those are emptied by National Parks/Forest workers. If they're furloughed that job isn't done.

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cassandra seltzer @rocksmusher.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

The last paper from my PhD is out today in JGR Planets! we looked at how Titan's topography can interact with tidal and possible tectonic stresses to generate fractures, which could erode over time to produce icy sediment and provide fresh surface area for hydrocarbon interxn doi.org/10.1029/2024...

doi.org

Topographic Stress as a Mechanical Weathering Mechanism on Titan

Stress perturbations induced by topographic features on Titan can lead to fracture in its icy crust, enhancing mechanical weathering This mechanism could help generate sediment on Titan Titan's ...

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Kat Dapré @katdapre.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

I am now a postdoc at @univofmaryland.bsky.social! I'm joining the ARROW project to study some very cool seismic data collected at a floating rift in the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica. We hope to learn about the ice structure and seismicity of this region and how they're affected by tidal forces 🥼❄🧪

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Kat Dapré @katdapre.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

Have we considered classifying geological terranes by making a surface image into a jigsaw and setting professional jigsaw solvers on it? It’s not even funny how well these (independently evolved) piles are going to line up with descriptions of surface categories I learned during my PhD 😂 🪐🔭⚒️

A jigsaw that will eventually be a photo of about 2/3 the surface of Enceladus, but currently only has the outer rectangular border and the curved outline of the moon completed. A box of puzzle pieces is sorted vaguely by lightness, while about 30 pieces with blue tint are laid out unassembled on the table.

Closeup inside the box of puzzle pieces. Many geological terranes are represented in the patterns of surface features on each piece, such as areas that look more like fresh snow compared to areas with deep, clear grooves.

Closeup of the blue-tinted pieces, which include many types of faulting and varied lightnesses.

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