iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Just a girl and her PhD dissertation ✨

Woman holding a black book and looking down at the cover

Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

In a very full circle moment, the day I found my grandpa’s Apollo memorabilia is the day my PhD dissertation came in the mail. I’m the first in my family to become a doctor, so holding this book with my (and his) name on it is kind of surreal

A black book laying on a counter. The spine reads “galaxies, black holes, and students: exploring feedback from the circumgalactic medium to online courses”. At the top of the spine is the name Grayson

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

He was an engineer that worked on the team that designed the nuclear generator that powered the scientific experiments brought to the moon on Apollo 12 (the small black box to the right of the astronaut in this image from the magazine)

Image from a magazine spread showing an astronaut on the surface of the moon with a lander behind him and miscellaneous equipment on the lunar surface around him

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

My grandfather, like thousands of others, worked on the Apollo missions. I just found some of the things he kept from that time and it’s pretty amazing to think about the small way he contributed to these historic events #space #moonlandings

Two life magazines from 1969 with covers focused on the Apollo missions

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Here it is folks: the very first photons detected by NASA's newest space telescope!!! The Nancy Grace Roman telescope launched a couple weeks ago, and now that it's out in space en route to it's home at L2, the commissioning process has begun. 1/3 📸: NASA GSFC, T. Desjardins (STScI)

Three panels against a black background. In the top panel, 18 blue-purple squares are laid out in an array that slightly curves downward, representing the detectors from the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Small green/teal specks are visible in the squares. The lower left panel zooms in on a square, where the specks are seen to take the shape of rings. The lower right zooms in on a ring, showing a more complex structure with light and dark patches radiating from the center.

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Here’s a real image from the Cassini spacecraft! 📸: NASA GSFC/JPL-Caltech/SSI 2/2

A black and white image of a hexagonal shaped storm. The hexagon is slightly dark than the surrounding area, and small swirls are visible over the entire image including within the hexagon

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Time for a new introduction: Hi! I’m Dr. Skylar Grayson, an astrophysicist and science communicator ✨ I study how black holes impact the universe by comparing hydrodynamic simulations with observations of diffuse gas. On here I talk about space news, physics, astronomy, and life as a scientist! 🧪🔭

Photo of me, sitting on a blue chair in my marroon PhD regalia. Photo is taken from above, I have my feet up on a table, and a carpet with images of craters is visible

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Driving to visit family in San Diego this weekend and randomly caught a Starlink launch at sunset!

Horizon viewed just after sunset. Dark line of mountains with an orange-light blue gradient in the sky above. A white curve shows the path of a rocket headed up and left, broadening at the end

Windmills silhouetted against a gradient sky, with a white curvy line created by a rocket launch in the background

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS BABYYYY!!! And I’m actually in London for it this is the best month ever 🤯❤️🤍❤️

Me standing on a staircase, holding an arsenal scarf that reads champions in front of the Emirates stadium

Me at the celebration after Arsenal won the league last night. I’m facing the camera in a crowd that’s facing away, looking over a giant mass of people filling the streets

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Today I officially graduated with a PhD in astrophysics 🤯 Feeling very proud and very grateful

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Don’t mind me just obsessing over my grad photos 🤩 getting a PhD in astrophysics has never felt so glamorous ✨

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Little update to my bio…today I defended my PhD in astrophysics and I’m officially Dr. Skylar!!!!

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

5 years of work and a 240 page astrophysics PhD dissertation explained in two minutes 😳: 🧪🔭

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

A week since splashdown and I’m thinking a lot about the motivations and legacy of Artemis II…🧪🔭

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Seeing this was the 273719th time I cried happy tears this mission 🥹

A screenshot from the NASA livestream showing the splashdown of the Orion spacecraft. Three red and white parachutes are visible crumpling up at various distances from the small metal craft, all against the deep blue of the ocean

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Peekaboo Obsessed with how cute our planet is in this picture, taken by the Artemis II astronauts as it sets behind the moon 📸: NASA 🔭🧪

Earth peeks above the lunar horizon, which takes up the bottom half of the image. The dark grey moon is covered in craters, and earth is a cloudy white with bits of blue peeking through

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Alrighty so NASA (and me and a lot of other people) had a little goof. But I think it’s a great opportunity to remind people that sometimes mistakes can actually be pretty cool and lead to a lot of new perspectives and understanding! 🧪🔭

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Holy sh*t. A solar eclipse, seen for the first time by human eyes during a lunar flyby. The Earthlight illuminating the crescent of the moon and part of the spacecraft, the stars and planets in the background…I’m in tears 🤯 📸: NASA 🔭🧪

Image from the Artemis II mission taken from a camera on the solar array. The Orion spacecraft is visible in silhouette on the left, with the top part slightly illuminated. On the right, a solar eclipse, with the moon blocking out sunlight. The moon is surrounded by a faint haze, and a slim crescent is lit up on the upper left of the side facing the camera, illuminated by Earthlight

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

That is incredibly far from both the earth and the moon, allowing for this particular sense of scale. By contrast, the Artemis II astronauts were at most ~250,000 miles from earth/4,000 miles from the moon. That gives you this sort of perspective! (2/3) 📸: NASA

Earth set: the illuminated crescent of earth is visible above the illuminated crescent of the moon. Swirling clouds are visible over blue ocean on Earth. The moon in the foreground is a grey brown and pockmarked with craters

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

I’m seeing this picture going around today being dropped in with the other amazing Artemis II shots, but this is not an Artemis photo!!!! This was taken by the DSCOVR satellite in 2015, from a distance of a million miles from Earth. 🧪🔭 (1/3) 📸: NASA, NOAA

A high resolution image of earth fully illuminated. In the lower left region, the far side of the moon is lit up as it transits the earth, appearing about 1/4 the size of the planet

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Let’s talk about the iconic new images from Artemis II…and why they look a bit different from Apollo 8’s Earthrise!

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Oh my god this almost doesn’t look real 🤯 this is a solar eclipse-the moon blocking the sun-as seen by the crew on Artemis II during their lunar flyby yesterday. The haze is the sun’s atmosphere, only visible during eclipses. The illumination on the left of the moon is coming from Earth!!! 🧪🔭📸:NASA

The moon, almost completely in shadow, blocks out the sun in an eclipse. The suns atmosphere is a white haze extended out past the moon, and stars are visible in the background. The left side of the moon is slightly lit up due to light coming from earth

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Earth set and Earth rise from Artemis II. Views of our home humans haven’t seen since 1972. A generation defining moment. I just woke up and I am sobbing 🧪🔭 📸: NASA

Earth set: the illuminated crescent of earth is visible above the lunar horizon. Swirling clouds are visible over blue ocean (the Oceania region). The moon in the foreground is a grey brown and pockmarked with dozens of craters

Earth rise: the earth is a slim crescent with the right edge illuminated but partially blocked by the limb of the moon. The moon is completely dark, but rugged terrain is visible in its silhouette against the earth

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

The first image we get after comms come back is us. All of humanity is in this shot. And I’m crying again. 🧪🔭 📸: NASA, annotations by me

An image of the Orion spacecraft with the crescent earth in the background. Annotations labelling Orion “4 people” and earth “8.3 billion people”

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

From #ArtemisII right before they lost signal going behind the moon: “As we prepare to go out of radio communication, we’re still able to feel your love from Earth. And to all of you down there, on Earth and around Earth, we love you, from the moon.” Godspeed Artemis 🫡 ❤️ 🔭🧪

Screenshot from NASA livestream showing the Orion spacecraft on the left, with a crescent moon in the foreground and in the distance on the right the crescent Earth

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

“There is so much magic in the terminator” -Victor Glover 🥺 📸: NASA (screenshot from Artemis livestream two minutes ago)🔭🧪

Screenshot from the Artemis II livestream showing the edge of the Orion spacecraft and a half moon. A red arrow points to the line that cuts the moon in half-the terminator

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

What my day looks like: watching humanity travel farther from Earth than ever before on one screen and wrapping up my PhD dissertation work on the other ☺️🧪🔭

Image of a desk, live footage of the Orion spacecraft shown on a laptop while a larger monitor shows code running on terminal. Lego T-Rex in the background

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Can you image what it would be like to go from the first image to the second? To literally watch your home planet shrinking behind you until most of what you see is the emptiness of space? For every minute to further hammer in our insignificance against the vastness of the cosmos? (1/2)🧪🔭

A view of the interior of the Orion capsule. A window takes up most of the frame, through which Earth is visible. About 1/3 of the planet is shown, with cloud patterns over the ocean

A view out a window of the Orion spacecraft. Earth is visible as a slim crescent in the distance, with most of the field of view being black space

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

whERe aRe thE vIDeoS? Y’all you can literally go watch a livestream of the astronauts just chilling up there right now we are SPOILED for content it’s so much fun

Phone screenshot from YouTube live broadcast entitled “NASA’s Artemis II Live Mission Coverage”. Shows three astronauts adjusting various things and preparing for their day.

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

NASA just dropped this image of Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch looking back at us. The first woman to ever see our planet in its entirety. I’m not crying you’re crying 🥹🔭🧪 📸: NASA

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Atlas says stop doomscrolling comments from idiots saying Artemis II images are fake or boring. Remember that most people are excited about this and believe in science! Hold on to your wonder! Protect your awe! Atlas commands it!!!

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

My thoughts and feelings post launch…a bit much to type out so you get to see the emotions right on my face 🥹🔭🧪

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

And because there are *fewer* barriers in their way this can now include a woman, a black man, and a Canadian. They are here not because of their identities but because of their abilities. But this doesn’t mean their identities are not important and significant.

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Why is it a big deal that there’s more diversity in the Artemis II crew? Because this is what everyone who has gone to the moon up to this point looks like: 🔭🧪

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

If you’re having problems conceptualizing why going to the moon is such a big deal, here’s your reminder that you can fit every planet in the solar system in between the Earth and the moon. The Artemis II astronauts are going so insanely far compared to anyone else in my lifetime 🔭🧪

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

We are sending people to the moon for the first time since 1972 TODAY. Don’t let this historic moment pass you by! 🧪🔭

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Guys I was on a paper published in Nature today so I had to talk about it!!!!

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

Paper day! My latest first-author work is out!! TLDR: I built a suite of simulations based on SIMBA that varies the energetic efficiency of different modes of AGN feedback. We explored how these modes impacted different galaxy and gas properties and uncovered degeneracies in the parameter space 🧪🔭

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Dissertation writing off to a strong start 😅

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Everything is terrible…except for maybe this one thing. There’s a sense of relief around the office now, and a bit more hope for science. So let’s enjoy this victory, and keep fighting for the things we believe in!

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

Episode no. 6264 of a computational astrophysicist desperately trying to connect to the hands-on aspects of her field 😁 Actually had a blast visiting Kitt Peak today and can’t wait to share more about what I did and learned!! 🔭🧪

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

A bit of good news this week…Y’all may remember this graphic I made, showcasing what the President’s budget request would do to NASA’s science fleet (tldr it would decimate it). Well the house just passed a bill that soundly rejects these cuts, keeping NASA funding roughly the same as last year🧪🔭

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

Happy AAS week to those who celebrate! If you’re attending catch my dissertation talk this morning 👀

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

As light travels through an expanding universe, it changes. And those changes can have some interesting implications for how we perceive time… 🧪🔭

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

We’ve taken images of two supermassive black holes…why not more? 🧪🔭

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

One of the most impressive equation slides I’ve ever seen at a conference 😂 as the speaker said: don’t try to understand it, you shouldn’t try to understand it

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

In a shocking turn of events, the interstellar comet is still an interstellar comet and not an alien spaceship 🧪🔭

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

Paper day!!! My most recent first-author paper is officially published. I’ll make a post breaking it down soon but TLDR I compared X-Ray observations of hot gas around galaxies to cosmological simulations and it looks like simulations aren’t consistently able to match the real universe! 🔭🧪

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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

I find this fundamental misunderstanding of science so fascinating. Eventually I’ll have figured out my thoughts enough to articulate why, but for now just gonna drop it here for your reactions 😅

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