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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2026

To close our vacation we are visiting our other nephew at UW-Milwaukee, @jodi 's alma mater. He gave us a tour of his life on campus and Jodi took me on a tour of her life on campus 30 years ago. It is really nice to revisit these places that shaped us. #MilwaukeeWI #travel

Lake Michigan as we drive along the Milwaukee Lakefront.

Maryland Ave at the ade of the UW-Milwaukee campus

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2026

We said farewell to #MadisonWI today to continue on our #Wisconsin vacation journey to see more family.

Two lapel pins, one for SNOLAB and one for the IceCube Observatory.

Jodi, me, and our nephew at Lake Monona in Madison, WI

A fountain with the Madison State Capitol building behind it.

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2026

It has been lovely to reconnect with #MadisonWI, the first place I fell in love with as I began my journey into professional #physics. This place transformed me and gave me a chance to be better.

Madison seen from a nature trail across Lake Mendota

The (in)famous Humanities Building at UW-Madison

A view of the totally transformed East Washington area of Madison, which was mostly disused industrial zoning when I was a graduate student.

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2026

@jodi and I were very excited to be able to honour Dr. Francis Halzen at a reception to celebrate his 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics. It was a particular joy to share this celebration with our nephew (at right), who is an undergraduate at #UWMadison […] [Original post on mastodon.cooleysekula.net]

From right to left: our nephew, Dr. Francis Halzen, Jodi, and me.

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 11/10/2026

Earlier this year, while working on my next book ("Light and the Dark Cosmos") I suddenly found myself technically way out of my depth on the use of galaxy brightness and redshirts to measure the expansion of the universe. At nearby distances, like […] [Original post on mastodon.cooleysekula.net]

A book cover art concept showing a bright accretion disk swirling around a central black hole.

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 11/10/2026

We are taking vacation in Wisconsin this week, our usual "late September vacation" delayed by work commitments until this week. We are excited to visit family, especially our nephews who started university this fall at our alma maters. It will be […] [Original post on mastodon.cooleysekula.net]

A view of a field from a Wisconsin country road

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026

Seeing some amazing fall colours out here today in #Ontario!

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026

Had a lovely walk last evening in the chill autumn weather. Very grateful for that after an exciting and busy week. #Sudbury

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

Sharing this from @SNOLAB over on LinkedIn. "Wonderground at SNOLAB is back! We are kicking off another season of hands-on learning and scientific inquiry, and we're looking for Grades 4-8 teachers from across Canada to join us. Give your students […] [Original post on mastodon.cooleysekula.net]

Wonderground at SNOLAB is back! We are kicking off another season of hands-on learning and scientific inquiry, and we're looking for Grades 4-8 teachers from across Canada to join us.

Give your students the chance to get curious, ask big questions, and experience what it's like to think and work like a scientist.

Interested and want to learn more? Check our website here

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

ABSOLUTELY STUNNING rainbow this evening in #Sudbury! Look at that colour substructure below the primary inner rainbow!

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

Had a good time supporting the #PICODarkMatter team yesterday as we continue building PICO-500. A PhD student from #QueensUniversity started training a new colleague on the photomultiplier tube testing plan for our muon shield. I got my first view […] [Original post on mastodon.cooleysekula.net]

A view up into the vertical pressure vessel, highlighting the retroreflector

A demonstration of the photomultiplier tube testing and, eventually, calibration station.

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

A new article from Ivan Semeniuk at the #GlobeAndMail discusses today's #NobelPrize in #Physics and provides some @snolabscience.bsky.social and Canadian perspectives […] [Original post on mastodon.cooleysekula.net]

A screenshot of the top of the article about Dr. Halzen's Nobel Prize in Physics

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

A lovely quote from Dr. Francis Halzen, reposted from LinkedIn. lnkd.in/p/gYSX4bCg

"I hope this reflects on the really courageous people who joined me in the beginning of this project when no respectable conservative physicists would have joined me, but many talented people did, and that's why I'm here."”

- Speaking at today's prize announcement, Francis Halzen says the most rewarding part of being awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics is recognising the people who have worked alongside him.

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

Congratulations to our former professor and mentor Dr. Francis Halzen for being named the sole recipient of the 2026 #NobelPrize in #Physics. Many a hug and cry of joy was had in our house this morning upon hearing this news! Learn more from my […] [Original post on mastodon.cooleysekula.net]

A card indicating Dr. Halzen is awarded the prize for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and for the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

Press release: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2026 - NobelPrize.org www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/…

Screen capture of graphic about Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

It’s #NobelPrize week! … which means getting up early (not as early as when I lived in Texas), drinking coffee, and watching the Nobel Prize live streams of the science prize announcements! I am not live-blogging the Medicine/Physiology prize […] [Original post on mastodon.cooleysekula.net]

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

More potatoes! 🥔 🥔 🥔 The second plant seemed amenable to replanting, so if I did a good job I should get more potatoes in 90 days or so. #gardening

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

Harvested the first potatoes today from the smallest plant that resulted from a potato-planting frenzy with my niece back in July. More potatoes to come!

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 13/09/2026

It has been a really windy weekend. Has felt like something is making its way toward us. Well, here it comes, #Sudbury!

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 11/09/2026

Dear Fediverse, The Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search, or SuperCDMS, experiment is bridged into the #fediverse from Bluesky. They’ve suddenly become very active again today, and I promised when this happened I would advertise them to the […] [Original post on mastodon.cooleysekula.net]

The SuperCDMS experiment after completing construction and heading into operations in 2026.

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 10/09/2026

@sparky Hopefully you will be pleased to know that your old Toshiba laptop continues to live on with Linux as the operating system. For $11 I just replaced the old DVD drive (which had a mechanical malfunction) with a hard drive bay. Now this little […] [Original post on mastodon.cooleysekula.net]

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 10/09/2026

If you haven't voted in round 9 of the #MinCup26, the matchup is between Hafnon and Putnisite. There are 45 minutes left to vote! www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-result… I went with #Hafnon. It's a mineral involving hafnium. That […] [Original post on mastodon.cooleysekula.net]

Hafnon. Image from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hafnon.jpg

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 07/09/2026

Went for another lovely #hike today. This time, we did a 7km trail that has been a goal for a while. It did not disappoint! #nature w/ @jodi

Dense woods with sunlight streaming through the branches

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 02/09/2026

This was quite a fun day! The first thing in my inbox this morning was news of a strange particle interaction detected by an experiment called LUX-ZEPLIN, or #LZ. Containing 7 tonnes of liquid xenon, this observatory is designed to look for […] [Original post on mastodon.cooleysekula.net]

A photo of the central LUX-ZEPLIN time projection chamber, the vessel holding the central liquid xenon target. Here it is shown during either a construction or maintenance operation, but normally it’s hidden away inside a large shield to protect it from ambient, normal particle radiation.

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 31/08/2026

I didn't get a chance to share this back in mid-August, but this was a great article on the Canadian effort to construct a new northern-hemisphere neutrino telescope off the coast of Vancouver Island in BC […] [Original post on mastodon.cooleysekula.net]

A screen capture of the news article showing photomultiplier devices partially submerged in seawater during a test.

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 30/08/2026

A great relief to see the launch of #nancygraceromanspacetelescope into its first orbit avove the Earth. There are man\y maneuvers to come and months before it is at its destination, but this major milestone is passed!

Rocket at higher altitude still in atmosphere

Second stage of rocket firing booster engine to achieve orbit.

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 28/08/2026

A photo of the moon very near or at maximum #LunarEclipse tonight. It's really quite a thing to see the lunar surface bathed in the reddish wavelengths that penetrate through Earth's thin atmosphere and bend toward and onto the lunar surface. We […] [Original post on mastodon.cooleysekula.net]

The moon about 90% red near or at maximum of a lunar eclipse. A thin crescent lies in the penumbra, outside the primary earth shadow.

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 28/08/2026

We're at about 50% of totality now in tonight's #LunarEclipse. It's really impressive to watch the moon "disappear" as the Earth's shadow covers it. Looking forward to seeing the moon only through refracted and Rayleigh-scattered red light shortly.

The moon half covered in the Earth's shadow

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 28/08/2026

Enjoying the #lunareclipse from my back yard. This was taken around 10:50pm ET. We're still about 70 minutes from maximum.

The moon partially covered by the Earth's shadow

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 20/08/2026

It’s like getting a Mars rover unstuck from a rock outcropping, except it’s a Roomba and there is only a 2 second lag. That’s how it felt tonight when our old faithful Roomba j-series robot could not dock after completing a litter-sweeping routine […] [Original post on mastodon.cooleysekula.net]

A roomba robot vacuum, mere inches from the victory of docking at its charging station.

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 15/08/2026

It has been a great few days at the #Stellafane Convention. Blog posts will follow, but here are some cool photos of stuff we have been up to. You can follow the more detailed posts here: steve.cooleysekula.net/blog/tag/ste…

Jodi talks about building dark matter detectors

A spectrum of the sun showing magnesium lines

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 11/08/2026

On our way to the #Stellafane annual telescope builders convention in Vermont. It is a beautiful day to start out on a road trip through Ontario!

Blue sky with clouds over a tree-lined highway

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 10/08/2026

Had a really nice weekend enjoying rain and thunder mixed with cool breezes and blue skies. Got lots of exercise, enjoyed the scenery in #Sudbury, and did a bunch of reading (still working through Ed Yong’s “An Immense World”).

Late afternoon sun over a lake with small cottages on islands

The author and partner relaxing on a lake short

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 01/08/2026

Hangin out at the Sudbury Airport on a drizzly Friday night.

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Stephen Sekula @steve.mastodon.cooleysekula.net.ap.brid.gy · 26/07/2026

Two great tastes that taste great together: Don Norman's "The Design of Everyday Things" and Cory Doctorow's "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What To Do About It". These #books called to me over the last 24 hours. Here we go. #bookstodon

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