iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Luis Welbanks @luiswel.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

The deadline for the 51 Pegasi b Fellowship is right around the corner. www.hsfoundation.org/programs/sci... Interested in theory, modeling, and discovery? Join @nixonmatthew.bsky.social, Sagnick, and me at the Exoteric Lab at ASU @seseasu.bsky.social

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Luis Welbanks @luiswel.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

What does it mean to detect a gas in an exoplanet atmosphere? Listen to what @nixonmatthew.bsky.social and I had to say. It was a pleasure chatting with @startswithabang.bsky.social !!

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Luis Welbanks @luiswel.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

We need to understand the limits of our models and our data for reliable interpretations of exoplanetary spectra. First paper by my first PhD student! Happy advisor moment. Congrats @yoavrotman.bsky.social Check out his paper on the Arxiv and his thread below #exoplanets 🔭

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Reposted by Luis Welbanks

Matt Nixon @nixonmatthew.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

I agree with you that saying K2-18 b “can’t” have an ocean or “isn’t” an ocean world is a stretch - we can’t totally rule it out with the present data, but it does appear that Neptune-like or gas dwarf models are consistent with what we know about the planet and require much less fine-tuning

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Reposted by Luis Welbanks

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 23/05/2025

Here's my follow-up story on K2-18b, the distant planet where scientists claimed to see a possible sign of life last month. In three preprints, other researcher argue that the signal is noise. nyti.ms/4jaqQRv

nyti.ms

There’s Probably No Life on K2-18b After All, Three Studies Conclude

In April, astronomers said they had detected a possible signature of life on the exoplanet K2-18b. Now, three independent analyses discount the evidence.

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Luis Welbanks @luiswel.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Good to see Pica-Ciamarra, Madhu+ engage with our work and correct claims from last month. Following our recommendation to expand the model space, they now find: ‘No molecule reaches 2σ significance when allowing for an offset…’ 𝐍𝐨 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥! Sec. 4.4 arxiv.org/abs/2505.10539 🔭 #exoplanets

arxiv.org

A Systematic Search for Trace Molecules in Exoplanet K2-18 b

The first transmission spectrum of the habitable-zone sub-Neptune K2-18 b with JWST has opened a new avenue for atmospheric characterisation of temperate low-mass exoplanets. The observations led to i...

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Luis Welbanks @luiswel.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Still trying to process that HST and JWST are looking at the same target **simultaneously**. Moments like this fuel the part of me that grew up in awe of space and somehow ended up in a job where this is real. 🔭

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Luis Welbanks @luiswel.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

Working on this project was both fun and rewarding. I’ve kept Magritte’s The Treachery of Images in my office since my master’s—a reminder that definitions, like models, are not the thing itself. Context matters. So do the assumptions we often forget we’re making. Check out Matt's thread about it!

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Reposted by Luis Welbanks

Gates Cambridge @gatescambridge.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

Luis Welbanks on the importance of international collaboration when it comes to space research in the latest episode of our So, now what podcast - www.gatescambridge.org/about/news/w... @luiswel.bsky.social @uniofcam.bsky.social @churchillcol.bsky.social #GatesCambridge25 #astronomy

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Luis Welbanks @luiswel.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Thrilled to welcome Matt Nixon and @sagnickastro.bsky.social to ASU! A core part of the 51 Peg Fellowship is community—and I’m excited to build one alongside them. We’re ready to push boundaries, think creatively, and make the most of this moment. 🪐🚀 🔗 bit.ly/41WLH48

Matt Nixon and Sagnick Mukherjee, incoming 51 Pegasi b Fellows at ASU, standing side by side and smiling in front of a bright yellow background. Text reads: ‘Welcome to the team Matt & Sagnick. See you this Fall at ASU.

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Luis Welbanks @luiswel.bsky.social · 06/09/2023

I'm excited to be in DC this week to present at the #GiantMagellan2023 Community Science Meeting on #Exoplanets. I'll give a review talk on the rapid development of the field. What are your favourite model/observation results from the last 5 years? I'll make sure to give you a shout out!

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Luis Welbanks @luiswel.bsky.social · 03/09/2023

Well, I've made the jump thanks to @afeinstein20.bsky.social. Hopefully I will be more active here than in the other place. The less happy place.

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