iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Dr Carys Herbert @cbaherbert.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Headline: astronomy equipment is expensive! @iayc.bsky.social 2026 is in Spain with Bortle 2 skies and a total solar eclipse 🌚🌝 Due to the crazy increase in the cost of running camp and some poorly timed equipment failures, we are fundraising to update our equipment before the IAYC in July 🧵

A graphic showing astronomy and photography equipment with price tags, ranging from 41 euro to 1500 euro.

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Corey S. Powell @coreyspowell.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

The astonishing power of the Rubin Observatory--a tale in 4 pictures. This early-release image of the Virgo cluster shows 10 million galaxies. By the time Rubin's survey is over, it will have mapped 20 *billion* galaxies into a decade-long movie. (1/4) 🔭🧪 rubinobservatory.org/news/first-i...

Made from over 1100 images captured by NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, this image contains an immense variety of objects, demonstrating the broad range of science Rubin will transform with its 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time. The image includes about 10 million galaxies, roughly .05% of the approximately 20 billion galaxies Rubin Observatory will capture over the next decade.

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John F Wu @jwuphysics.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

My mind is absolutely blown by these stellar halos nearby NGC 4364! Left: DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys (DR10) Right: Newly released @vrubinobs.bsky.social imaging!!! #AstroSci 🧪🔭

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 03/06/2025

If you burn down a forest, you don't miss out on lumber for just that season. You have to replant all the trees, nurture them, and wait for them to grow. The science and research budget cuts happening now are wanton, senseless arson. Recovery, if it ever happens, will take generations.

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 06/05/2025

Looked a few people’s CVs yesterday and realised I’d been significantly underselling myself in a few areas. Will be fixing that ASAP 🤦

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Dr Ryan MacDonald @distantworlds.space · 17/04/2025

𝗡𝗼, 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗞𝟮-𝟭𝟴𝗯'𝘀 𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. K2-18b is back in the news, now with a bold claim that biosignature molecules (DMS and/or DMDS) have been 'detected at 3σ'. Most exoplanet astronomers are extremely sceptical about these claims, let's see why (1/n). 🔭🧪🪐 #exoplanet

Artist's impression of the exoplanet K2-18b.
Credit: A. Smith, University of Cambridge.

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Chris Lintott @chrislintott.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

An astonishing headline reporting on new observations from a team led to Nikku Madhusudhan claims they’ve found ‘hints of life’ on a planet orbiting a dwarf star some 124 light years away. What’s going on? (1/n) www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... 🔭 🧪

bbc.co.uk

Promising hints of life found on distant planet K2-18b

Scientists find new but tentative evidence that a faraway world orbiting another star may be home to life.

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 14/04/2025

This is awesome, can I have a cluster too please? One with lots of binary stars inside if possible hehe 💫

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Linn Boldt-Christmas @nplinnspace.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

📢 *3* astronomy #PhD positions now open at 🇸🇪 Uppsala University studying stars with 2 incredible supervisors! I genuinely cannot vouch for our astro dept enough: supportive yet relaxed, fun yet challenging... PLEASE apply & feel free to ask me Qs! Deadline 4 April 🧪🔭🪐 uu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

A photograph showing the Fyrisån river that flows through Uppsala, taken in the city centre with a view of the Cathedral in the background

A photograph of Ångströmlaboratoriet (the Ångström Laboratory) which is where the astronomy department is housed at Uppsala University. It is a modern glass building with pretty green space around it, and another brick building part also visible to the left.

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Joachim Wiegert @astrojoachim.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Colleagues at my division at Uppsala university are hiring PhD students in astronomy. 4-5 yrs of stellar populations and Milky way evolution plus a very nice work place and town in general: uu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

uu.varbi.com

PhD students in astrophysics

PhD students in astrophysics, with focus on stellar chemical compositions and Galactic evolution The Department of Physics and Astronomy is one of the largest departments at Uppsala University. It com

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Bibiana Prinoth @handle.invalid · 28/02/2025

One of the possible supervisors is Diane and let me tell you, she‘s one of the most awesome women I‘ve met. Want a great supervisor for your PhD? This is your chance! 🔭 ⭐ 🪐 ⬇️⬇️⬇️

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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 24/02/2025

Tired of wondering which atomic lines are in your spectra? You need: *whose line is it anyway?* An interactive tool for identifying atomic spectral lines. 🧪🔭 #stars install: pip install whoseline source: github.com/bmorris3/who...

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René Heller @drreneheller.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

The Service Module of the #PLATO spacecraft arrived at the OHB space technology company in Oberpfaffenhofen (Germany). Also, 18 out of 26 PLATO cameras have now been installed on the Payload Module. 🚀 Image Credit: OHB

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 11/02/2025

Detached eclipsing binary #stars really do make for satisfying plots. I combined radial velocities from two different 🔭datasets (one about 10x less precise than the other) and fitted them with a simple ellc model and it just ✨ works ✨

Radial velocity scientific plot. Top panel shows two sets of data points (red and blue) following a sinusoid-esque curve mirrored around 0km/s. The data points fit the model well and the residuals in the bottom panel are mostly around 0km/s, with a few outliers up to 1km/s.

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International Astronomical Youth Camp @iayc.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Applications to the 2025 International Astronomical Youth camp are rolling in — join us this summer for hands-on experience with a scientific project, adaptable to all skill levels. Below is the IAYC 2025 poster pdf, please feel free to share it within your institution! www.iayc.org/documents/ia...

Text: where: Netherlands (De Klonie-Ellertshaar), When: first to twenty first of august (camp runs from friday evening to thursday morning), How to Apply: Find all the info about applying on our first info page! applications close march 9th, 23:59 CEST

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 10/02/2025

Over the weekend, I went down a rabbit hole trying to answer a basic question: How many new songs are released every year? The internet did not give any satisfying answers, so I tried to find out myself... nikkimiller.space/2025/02/09/h...

nikkimiller.space

How much music is released every year?

The music industry has gone through significant changes in the last century, with the death (and re-birth) of vinyl, the rise and fall of CDs, the advent of digital downloads and streaming, and fin…

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European Space Agency @esa.int · 29/01/2025

Today, during the European Space Conference, @esa.int and #Arianespace signed an agreement to launch the planet-hunting #Plato satellite on an #Ariane6 rocket 🔭 🚀 www.esa.int/Science_Expl... @cmundell.bsky.social

From left, the ESA Director of Space Transportation, Toni Tolker-Nielsen, ESA Director of Science, Carole Mundell, and Arianespace Chief Commercial Officer, Steven Rutgers, shake hands after signing the launch agreement to fly ESA’s scientific mission Plato, at the European Space Conference in Brussels.

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 26/01/2025

#NewProfilePic Throwback to a warm summer day playing guitar with some silly folks at IAYC 2024 @iayc.bsky.social

A happy guitarist sitting on a picnic bench in the summer sunshine. They are in their late 20s, white, with short brown hair and are smiling with their eyes closed. They’re playing an orange classical guitar and wearing a black t-shirt that shows a Star Wars parody of the Beatles’ Abbey Road album, where the Beatles are droids

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 26/01/2025

What’s up with all these passport controls on the train from Hamburg to Stockholm - they just did it once on the Danish border, and likely will a second time when we come into Sweden. So much for Schengen 🤨

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 26/01/2025

Finally got around to deleting my old Twitter account, encouraged by Musk’s recent actions. I hadn’t used it in more than a year, I left it up to signpost people here, but honestly f*ck that guy. If it talks like a N*zi and gestures like a N*zi…

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 26/01/2025

I really wish it wasn’t so bad, but I’m struggling to justify 24h+ train travel for 300€ when a flight would take 2h and 100€ (e.g. Wien - Stockholm)

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 26/01/2025

I’ve been trying to cut down on my air travel this year but the European (and UK) train systems are really not making it appealing long term. Not only is it a lot more € and time, but disruption and delays are far too common… 6/10 of my long-distance trains since 1st Jan have been 90+ mins delayed

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 23/01/2025

Great idea - please count me in!

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Emily Hunt @emily.space · 17/01/2025

Astronomy & Astrophysics have almost halved their page cap from 20 pages to 12 pages - you have to pay 150€ per extra page. The reasoning is that they're getting too many submissions. But surely this just encourages authors to submit *more* short papers? 🔭 www.aanda.org/2025-press-r...

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Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

Okay I suspect I play a lot more video games than most people on here, but this is actually completely damning about all of Musk's claims about gaming, including about being a top Diablo player. I've played these games a few hours tops, and he looks hapless even to me www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ui4...

youtube.com

Elon Musk Fraud Gamer Situation is Pathetic

YouTube video by penguinz0

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Kelly Lepo @kellylepo.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

This thing is enormous! The quarter-res version available on our website is 748.98 MB. As you zoom in you realize all of the little grainy things are actually stars. Go check it out.

The Andromeda galaxy, a spiral galaxy, spreads across the width. It is tilted nearly edge-on to our line of sight so that it appears as an extreme oval on its side. The borders of the galaxy are jagged because the image is a mosaic of smaller, square images. The outer edges are blue, while the inner two-thirds are yellowish with a bright, central core. Dark, dusty filamentary clouds wrap around the outer half of the galaxy’s disk. At 10 o'clock, a smaller dwarf elliptical galaxy forms a fuzzy, yellow blob. Hubble's sharp vision distinguishes about 200 million stars within the image. The background of space is black. There are what appears to be steps toward the bottom, mainly toward the middle, which indicates where no data were taken.

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Brett Morris @brettmorr.is · 22/10/2024

I'm attending a workshop on accurate flux calibration at @spacetelescope.bsky.social this week. I've always wanted to learn more about how the experts do this. If you have too, the whole workshop is streaming on YouTube. Join below! 🔭🧪 #stars www.youtube.com/@stsciresear...

youtube.com

STScI Research

This is the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) Research Staff Channel where we post videos of colloquia, seminars, journal clubs and various events led by our research staff and groups.

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International Astronomical Youth Camp @iayc.bsky.social · 11/03/2024

In addition to our own grant program, we have grants generously provided by the Wilhelm und Else Heraeus-Siftung available for German citizens or residents in Germany in financial need, all the information is on our website!

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 10/03/2024

IAYC is such an incredible opportunity that shaped my career and life over the last decade - as a first-gen astronomer I likely wouldn't have found the knowledge, community or confidence to pursue a PhD without it. Please help us spread the word to young astronomy enthusiasts!

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IAU Office of Astronomy for Education @astro4edu.bsky.social · 12/02/2024

Applications are open for this year's International Astronomical Youth Camp (IAYC) - a three-week long summer camp for young people aged 16 to 24 from all over the world - taking place 4-24 August 2024 in Germany! Application deadline: 17 March 🔭 More info: iayc.org/nextcamp/

Poster announcing the 58th International Astronomical Youth Camp 2024, taking place 4-24 August 2024 in Klingenthal, Germany. In the background an image of the night sky with a lookout tower in the forest

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Evie Ahrer @eahrer.bsky.social · 12/02/2024

Spread the word! 🔭 I was 18 when I first went and IAYC had a huge impact on my life. Meeting people working towards their PhDs was eye-opening for a 1st-gen university student! I would've never gone on to study for a PhD without IAYC! 🪐 (or met my partner 🥰)

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 22/02/2024

They told me that the weather would be bad when observing in February in Chile. Little did I expect: - Rain, in the desert - Thunderstorm - Dust devil - Persistent cloud cover - Humidity <3% (ouch) - Humidity >90% - Winds >70km/h Welp. At least we had a few good nights lol 🔭

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Emily Hunt @emily.space · 12/02/2024

I can highly recommend the IAYC! I know from @nikkimiller.space (who has helped with them in the past) that's it's a really amazing experience! 🔭

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 31/01/2024

Thanks, this is really helpful! :)

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 30/01/2024

Excited to be heading to Chile on Sunday for 3 weeks at Cerro Murphy Observatory (next door to the ELT)! Astronomers- is there something I absolutely will/won’t need to bring? Or any advice? Photographers- any advice/resource to help me make the most of the dark skies? (I have Canon70D+10-18mm)🔭📷

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 10/11/2023

Did you know that Polish has a secret eighth grammatical case? It’s called the “basket case”, which is what you risk becoming if you study the language for too long.

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 09/11/2023

My take: As a native English speaker it does feel a bit presumptuous of me to demand these emails in English. But also, it doesn't make me feel welcome to apply for these opportunities or welcome in general. Plus it makes checking my emails a lot longer because it involves Google Translate...

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 09/11/2023

For a research institute with ~50% international staff and students, do you think it's acceptable for most emails about funding and other opportunities to be sent only in the language of the institute's country, without a translation to English? Curious to hear people's thoughts.

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Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 14/10/2023

This is just a filter I’m holding, not a lens, so that’s the actual angular size of the sun in the photo. I’m always a little unnerved to realize how small the sun is when you take away all the glare.

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 05/10/2023

Update: Someone asked me where I did my PhD (Keele) before the talk, and then asked me about some people that they knew there. Turns out we were talking about different Kiels. Confusion all round, task successfully failed

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 04/10/2023

I use a Kiel diagram (surface gravity vs effective temperature) quite a few times in my seminar talk tomorrow to highlight some work I did during my PhD, at Keele. This won't get confusing for anyone...

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Lucy West @lucyweststudios.bsky.social · 03/10/2023

"Mighty M106" / acrylic on canvas

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 02/10/2023

There’s a secondhand games shop a few streets away; the thought did cross my mind…

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 02/10/2023

The accommodation I’m staying at during my current research visit has a CRT television. Somewhat fittingly, the clock on the wall has stopped ticking.

An old CRT television on a wooden television unit, switched on but not tuned to any channel so there is a fuzzy screen of white noise.

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 26/09/2023

Does anyone have suggestions to make the process of scientific writing more enjoyable?

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 24/09/2023

I forgot how fun it is to tell new people you’re an astrophysicist, and explain your work to them. It’s also refreshing when non-scientists are curious about and impressed by what we often consider mundane, routine things. Astrophysics is pretty damn cool; I should try to remember that more often.

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Nikki Miller @nikkimiller.space · 23/09/2023

Ah that’s great! I’d love to see more UV space observatories; even just a new GALEX with more reliable absolute photometry and wider sky coverage would make a notable difference to my work.

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