iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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UArizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory @uarizonalpl.bsky.social · 18h

Kudos to LPL grad student Anna Taylor! 🥳

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Emily Lakdawalla 🏳️‍⚧️ Uranus Expert @elakdawalla.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Holy shit you guys there are so many things to see in this video. My favorite detail is one I recognize from studying Curiosity’s landing sequence. The vehicle rolls alternately left and right to control its lift as it enters the atmosphere in order to target its landing range

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Ryan Stauffer @ryanswx.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Haha, this fucking sucks.

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barbylon @barbylon.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

OTD in 1959, The Luna 3 spacecraft was the first to photograph and downlink images of the far side of the Moon.

Grainy mosaic of the lunar far side taken by Luna 3 in 1959

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Nature @nature.com · 06/10/2026

BREAKING: The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to Francis Halzen “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.” More to follow.

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Linn Boldt-Christmas @nplinnspace.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I noticed this & am guilty of it too! I think it just happens to be a handy combo of being both useful + somewhat fancy-sounding (to my foreign ears!) for describing something that’s becoming increasingly popular in astro: making things like code/fits/algos custom for specific cases… i.e. ✨bespoke✨

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 05/10/2026

Astronomy news for spooky season: a zombie planet orbiting a dead (but still hostile) star. Evidence suggests the following: Star dies, expels outer layers, becomes white dwarf. Gas giant forms from the debris. White dwarf is now blasting planet with radiation, shearing off some of its atmosphere.

science.nasa.gov

Suspected Second-generation Planet Solves NASA Hubble Cold Case - NASA Science

New analysis of archival Hubble data points to the possibility of "dead" white dwarf stars hosting second-generation planetary systems.

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Dr Alfredo Carpineti @drcarpineti.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Really exciting space news: astronomers found a planet around a white dwarf that formed from the ashes of its dead star (and maybe its planetary predecessors)! 🔭 www.iflscience.com/first-ever-d...

iflscience.com

First Ever Detection Of A Phoenix Planet Around A White Dwarf – Born After Its Star Had Died

This is the first second-generation planet ever found around a white dwarf, and it is now dying.

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Michael Busch @michael-w-busch.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

It is once again time for this post.

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 04/10/2026

Stop putting off that thing you wanted to do

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Rob Tilsley @stargazerrob.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Update to my Saturns. This goes: 2015, 2016, then annually from 2020 onwards.

9 telescopic closeups of Saturn presenting in a horizontal row, oldest captures on the left with poorer technique and equipment going through to run of clearer images. The ring tilt can be seen going from open to closed, and now opening in the other direction.

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Planetary Science Institute @psi.edu · 30/09/2026

Congrats to PSI scientist Than Putzig and the entire GIMLI team on their selection by NASA for the PRISM program! PSI also congratulates the teams behind the selected LEMS-SP and DISCO investigations. We can't wait to see the science these investigations make possible. More: buff.ly/XfllKCV

buff.ly

NASA Adds New Science Investigations for Moon Base - NASA

NASA selected three new scientific investigations and their payload suites to advance our knowledge of the Moon and help pave the way for building humanity’s

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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 30/09/2026

Oh my. The aurora borealis, seen in ultraviolet light from space. Our planet, putting on a show ✨

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Andrew Parsonson @andrewparsonson.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

My latest for SpaceNews: ESA has announced that OHB and Airbus Defence and Space will lead parallel studies for a future European-led space station in low Earth orbit. spacenews.com/esa-announce...

spacenews.com

ESA announces leaders for studies on crewed European space stations

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Seven Machina Rasmussen @toomanyspectra.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

HELLO WORLD 🌎🌍🌏 STARSHIPS IS NOW OUT ON 12.5% OF SOLAR SYSTEM PLANETS

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Linn Boldt-Christmas @nplinnspace.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I somehow missed my own news item, but a little piece about this very fun (sarcasm) work on my love-hate-favourite-enemy #exoplanet WASP-107 b was published by Uppsala University last week! And why do I feel so strongly about an innocent puffy little popcorn? 🫠 Read on! www.uu.se/en/departmen... 🔭🪐

uu.se

Clouds Affect Exoplanet Observations More Than Expected – Department of Physics and Astronomy – Uppsala University

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Gene J. Mikulka @genejm1017.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Just a reminder...

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Linn Boldt-Christmas @nplinnspace.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Good point! Maybe the prompt needs to be something like ”write & answer your own exam question” so they have to craft one single cohesive response? That’s actually what I daydreamed about in undergrad, all the times I really sunk my teeth into a past paper that was then nothing like the exam I got 🥲

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Linn Boldt-Christmas @nplinnspace.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

That makes so happy to hear, haha! I have never actually (yet?) tried it on any of my students, but that’s largely been due to the classes being large cohorts where it wouldn’t be feasible — or fair! — to grade it. But on a smaller group, perhaps doing a more specialised topic, maybe I should…!

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Linn Boldt-Christmas @nplinnspace.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I always HATED exams because I was really bad at them. In my physics undergrad, I jokingly wished exams had a Q saying ”whatever topic you studied really well but didn’t come up, write what you know here for extra points”. Now that I’m on the other side (teaching at uni), I kind of still think it 🙃

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

#PPOD: Roman has opened its eyes! These fuzzy rings are the first photons of starlight captured by the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s 300-megapixel Wide Field Instrument. And yes, they’re supposed to look like that—for now. 🧪 🔭

This test image captures the very first photons of starlight to reach the Wide Field Instrument on NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Roman’s primary science instrument has opened its eyes to the universe for the first time, revealing a sea of out-of-focus stars, each spread out over many thousands of pixels. The image, which zooms into one detector and zooms again to a single star in the insets, offers a baseline the Roman team will work from to align the telescope’s optics and tune the focus.

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Jonathan O'Callaghan @astrojonny.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Updated satellite statistics per planet4589.org/space/stats/... Satellites orbiting Earth: 16,810 Starlink satellites: 11,114 Dead satellites: 3,087 Empty rockets: 2,065

Graph of active satellites orbiting Earth

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @rami.spaceaustralia.com · 24/09/2026

HEO have a fresh new pic of the Chinese Space Station (TIANHE-1) captured from above! This resolution here is 12cm / pixel 🤯🤯🤯

Satellite image of a space station taken from above showing solar panels and modules of station

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Dr. Jey McCreight 🏳️‍⚧️🧬 @jeymccreight.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Reposting because all of my jobs have always come from someone in my network referring me or knowing someone who needs a science communicator 🤞

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Jason Wright @astrowright.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Back in 2024 I was invited to give a talk at Space Climate 9 in Nagoya, Japan on work by Anna Baum and others at Penn State on Maunder Minimum stars. This is an extension of my thesis work, where I tried to establish whether any other stars were in a state analagous to the Solar Maunder Minimum.🔭🧪

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Das Baskill @drdasb.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

It's that time of the year again! Happy Equinox everyone for Tuesday night / Wednesday morning! The September Equinox occurs this year just after midnight at 00:06UT (01:06BST) on the 23rd September 2026. [1/2]

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Emily Lakdawalla 🏳️‍⚧️ Uranus Expert @elakdawalla.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

This is super cool! And apparently it goes back at least 600 million years

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Michael Busch @michael-w-busch.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Cool science. Not aliens.

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Guardian US @us.theguardian.com · 21/09/2026

The “jaw-dropping” El Niño currently heating up the planet has burst through the highest temperature ever recorded for the phenomenon, several months before its expected peak.

A line chart showing temperature anomalies in the Niño 3.4 region of the Pacific Ocean, compared to a 30-year rolling base period since 1982.

A gold line shows temperatures in 1997, a teal line in 2025, and a red line in 2026. The red line surpasses all others reaching 3.07ºC, and at an earlier point (September) than the previous El Niño that reached a comparable range in November 2015.

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Michele Bannister @astrokiwi.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Interested by ISOs like 3I/ATLAS? PhD opportunity in interstellar object observations, here in New Zealand. Join our Ōtautahi-Oxford group & the NZ Gravity collaboration. Start by March 1. ☄️🔭

gravity.ac.nz

PhD Scholarships – Statistics, Astrophysics, Cosmology and Gravitational Wave Astronomy | New Zealand Gravity

About us The NZ Astrostatistics and General Relativity Group (NZ Gravity) is a cross-institutional research team spanning astrophysics, cosmology, ma...

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Melina Thévenot🏳️‍⚧️ @melina-iras07572.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Proper Motion of stars in the galactic center with #JWST NIRCam F182M. programs: 1306, 4515 www.stsci.edu/jwst-program...

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 20/09/2026

Fully electric aviation has some major challenges (mostly: batteries are heavy and don't get lighter as they get used up) but I love the idea of decreasing aircraft emissions through a hybrid approach, perhaps as a step toward new, clever solutions for fully electric air transport in the future.

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Kerstin Neuhaus @microtopico.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

#Quartz deserves the win. It's the reason that started #MinCup.

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Linn Boldt-Christmas @nplinnspace.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

The battle of common sense vs AI summaries appears to rage on… a relative of mine sent me this screenshot after they tried to find a TV segment I did (SVT = Swedish TV channel). Maybe an exoplanet holiday special could be a thing?! Ho-Ho-HD 209458 b? Chestnuts roasting on an open lava world? 🎅🏻🪐🎄🔥🔭

An AI summary in response to Google search term ”linn boldt christmas svt”. It summarises her work as an astrophysicist but includes the text: ”her connection to SVT (Sveriges Television) is rooted in her work as a scientific expert and communicator rather than a holiday special”

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Kevin Hardegree-Ullman @kevinkhu.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This is an ultra cool result from @bemiles.bsky.social and team! The brown dwarf community has wanted to get time-series spectra since Spitzer data revealed near ubiquitous broadband variability. TACs take notice, we should study the weather on more brown dwarfs! 🔭

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Sarah E Moran @offallingstars.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I'm so excited about every single one of these projects-- when you apply to one, note you'll get enthusiastic support from us all across the collaboration ☁️🪐☁️

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Planetary Crater Consortium @planetarycraters.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Crater Fact Friday ☄️ DID YOU KNOW ☄️ that the Moon has a new crater? Named after lunar scientist Tom McGetchin, this 222-m-diameter crater formed sometimes between April 11 and May 22, 2024, and is an incredibly informative tool to understand the local and regional lunar geologic history.

Figure 1 from the Science paper. The ew impact site, before and after.
(A) NAC image acquired before the impact event, showing undisturbed lunar surface. (B) NAC image acquired after the impact, showing a crater with a bright ejecta blanket.

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Linn Boldt-Christmas @nplinnspace.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

There is a wonderful book exactly about this key phrasing you just used: ”but are not seeking any other” — it’s called None of the Above by Travis Alabanza (www.goodreads.com/book/show/20...). Strongly recommended to you, anyone with whom that phrasing resonates with, and frankly everyone else too.

goodreads.com

None of the Above: Reflections on Life beyond the Binar…

A “humane and heart-rending” memoir exploring what it m…

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Linn Boldt-Christmas @nplinnspace.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

🔭 Really enjoyed stumbling over this paper, and in particular the sass of its title: Saturns Are Not Large Neptunes! Not every day we get a new flavour of #exoplanets — will definitely be using ”Saturnian” from now on 😊 cool work by @niamhk12.bsky.social and others! ✨🪐 arxiv.org/abs/2609.170...

Screenshot of the paper in the link of this post. The section that has been screenshotted is the first part of Section 5 - Conclusions. It reads as follows:

5 CONCLUSIONS
In this paper we have presented an empirical mass-radius relation
fitted to a sub-sample of the PlanetS catalogue, where inflated giant
planetshave been excluded. Our main results are as follows:
•Weupdatethewell-knownirradiationthresholdforgiantplanet
inflation presented in Demory & Seager (2011), defining 𝑆thr =
99 S⊕, the irradiation below which 90% of giant planets have a
radius excess Δlog 𝑅 < 2𝜎.
•We fitted our mass-radius relation to nine versions of the
inflation-cleaned sample and find that in all cases, a breakpoint was
placedbetweenNeptuneandSaturn,whileineightoutofninethere
wasalsoabreakpoint betweenSaturn and Jupiter.
•Ourbest-fitmass-radiusrelationhasthreebreakpointsandfour
distinctsegments,oneofwhichcorrespondstoaregimeofSaturnian
planets. This newly defined regime is between 54.3 ±2.7 M⊕ <
𝑀 < 257.8 ±10.8 M⊕ and has a slope of 0.270 ±0.007, with a
corresponding radiusrange of 8.0 ±0.5 R⊕< 𝑅 < 12.2 ±0.5 R⊕.
•The lower slope of the Saturnian regime compared to the Nep-
tunian regime (0.668 ±0.007) is consistent with the increased im-
portance of electron degeneracy in hydrogen-rich interiors, and the
corresponding onsetof gravitationalself-compression.

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Chris Lintott @chrislintott.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Ah, I’ve been waiting for this…

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Caltech IPAC @caltechipac.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Huge congratulations to the NExScI team on launching AstroFetch! This new tool makes it easier than ever to query #exoplanet science data. 🔭 Give it a spin at exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu!

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Josh Peek @jegpeek.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

My god… it’s full of point spread functions…

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Bibiana Prinoth @bibianaprinoth.ch · 15/09/2026

In case you have missed it, we are hosting a super cool workshop on #exoplanets studies in Garching, Vitacura and Nice (YES, 3 places at the same time!!!) in November. Bridging Horizons: Harnessing ESO's current facilities for the dawn of exoplanet population studies Dates: **2-6 November 2026**

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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 12/09/2026

I have a new paper out! Over the weekend I'll do a thread on what the Solar System can tell us about rocky exoplanets— but for now, enjoy this to-scale set of cross sections I made of the rocky worlds in *this* system! (They're all different, but still all variations on a theme...)

Interior structure models of Earth, Venus, Mercury, Mars, the Moon, and Io, all shown to scale and key elements labelled.

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Chris Lintott @chrislintott.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

This is quietly big news for @esa. General chat around #EPSC2026 is a strong desire to reduce dependence on perfidious NASA, driving Europe to new capabilities and partners (see expanding partnership with JAXA for BepiColombo and beyond)

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Markus Pössel @mpoessel.de · 10/09/2026

When we do outreach or education, astronomers frequently claim that public and student interest in astronomy is greater than in other sciences, making it an ideal entry way for science. My article analyzing Wikipedia page views which (somewhat) supports this claim is out in the CAP Journal. 🔭⚛️🧪🎢

capjournal.org

English-speaking Wikipedia users’ interest in astronomy

Wikipedia users’ interest in astronomy is examined using data available for pageviews over the period 2016–2025. Interest, as measured by the level of engagement, is gauged by examining the top 30 ast...

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Laura Kreidberg @lkreidberg.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Applications are open for Max Planck Research Groups - these are a great gig: six years of funding with support for the group leader + students and postdocs (up to 2.9 MEuro). Contact me if you have any questions about applying for one hosted at MPIA!

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