I'll visit the University of Bonn next week, where I did my PhD. My grant pays for the trip, but they asked me to provide information on me, a copy of my passport, my CV+publications, asked how I'm financed, and had me sign an eight-page agreement for my visit … all just to say hi for a few days. 🙄

After just 15 hours at home*, I’m off again at sunrise, to #EAS2026Lausanne. Giving a talk this evening in SS2 (not sure how awake I’ll be for that though). * I was supposed to be home for 12h more, but the 4.5h flight back from the CLUES Meeting on Tenerife turned into a bit of an Odyssey:

„Have you tried turning if off and on again? It worked with Jesus, after all.“

Cai@annenotation.bsky.social · 2mo ago

This is probably the most traditional possible behavior for the family of a pope.

They found another WW2 bomb in my neighborhood in Potsdam, in a plot just 100 meters straight in front of my living room windows. They'll defuse it Tuesday, which means we need to evacuate that day ... but until then it is apparently fine to have a hundred kg of explosives sit around unsupervised. 😬

No Im Not Trump Weird Horse - Peter Sellers

ALT: No Im Not Trump Weird Horse - Peter Sellers

static.klipy.com

Potsdam success story 1. Kid frequently bullied and hurt at school. 2. School vicim-blames, doesn't seem inlined to do much about it. 3. Sign kid up for self-defense class to build resilience. 4. Martial arts school closes because owner arrested for humiliating, insulting, abusing, assaulting others

The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that a big factor why modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) is less popular than the cold dark matter LCDM model is less a matter of differences in scientific successes, but a relative deficit in politically savviness in the MOND community. 🔭🧪

What a nice week as an academic supervisor: one of my Master students successfully defended her thesis yesterday, and today one of my PhD students submitted her dissertation. They grow up so fast! 🧪🔭

When your employees are part of the inventory. 😂

A group of photographers in Germany started the initiative "Gesichter gegen Rechts" (gesichtergegenrechts.org) to show the many different people in society who oppose right-wing extremism. When they stopped by Potsdam last week I took the opportunity to contribute; here's my face against the right.

Artemis II: Einmal Mond 🌔 und zurück - Dr. Mirko Krumpe gibt Einblicke in die Mondmission mit einem öffentlichen Vortrag als Spezialausgabe unserer #BabelsbergerSternennächte am 23.04.2026, ab 19:15 am AIP in Potsdam Babelsberg. Seid dabei! www.aip.de/de/news/star...

Some career news: this September I will move to Denmark to join @sdu.dk as a Professor of Physics & Chair at the interdisciplinary @d-ias.bsky.social! At SDU/DIAS, I’ll continue working on dwarf galaxies, their dynamics, and dark matter, while also exploring more interdisciplinary collaborations 🧪🔭

Some career news: this September I will move to Denmark to join @sdu.dk as a Professor of Physics & Chair at the interdisciplinary @d-ias.bsky.social! At SDU/DIAS, I’ll continue working on dwarf galaxies, their dynamics, and dark matter, while also exploring more interdisciplinary collaborations 🧪🔭

Für alle in Potsdam oder Berlin, die gerne mehr über Dunkle Materie, Tanzende Galaxien, oder meine Forschung erfahren möchten: kommt diesen Donnerstag zu meinem öffentlichen Vortrag auf dem Campus des @aippotsdam.bsky.social in Potsdam Babelsberg. 💃🌌🕺 Eintritt frei, eine Anmeldung nötig. 🧪🔭

Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP)@aippotsdam.bsky.social · 4mo ago

„Tanzende Galaxien, Dunkle Materie und andere kosmische Rätsel“ 🌌🪩😀 #BabelsbergerSternennächte am Do., 16.4.2026 um 19:15 Uhr mit Dr. Marcel Pawlowski @8minutesold.bsky.social www.aip.de/de/news/live...

Dear journals/editors, if you invite me to review a manuscript on Saturday morning and then send a pushy reminder less than 48 hours later on Monday morning at 7am, I am not strongly inclined to accept your request to provide my free labor in support of your for-profit publisher. 🧪

Orbán conceded; fantastic news for Hungary and the EU. Not just a loss for him, but also for all the corrosive right-wingers of various countries who supported him. Let’s get Europe back to acting as a united union, and hope Hungary’s research and university system recovers from the damages.

Ok, what the heck is going on in Australia with their ESO affiliation? Looks like their current strategic partnership was set to expire next year, and instead of going for full membership as widely expected the government decided to pull the plug? 🔭🧪 astronomyaustralia.org.au/blog/news/st...

The Australian Academy of Science posted this reaction to the government's decision to withdraw Australia from ESO (which I had not heard about?!) 🔭 science.org.au/news-events/...

For #BrainAwarenessWeek, I'm hosting 'That Sugar Film' at #ThaliaKino on March 18th. After the film, Luise Molling (@foodwatchde.bsky.social), Friedrich Johenning (#ChariteBerlin) and I will discuss the impacts of sugar to the 🧠and to society! Tickets here: www.kinoheld.de/Kino-Potsdam...

So shocking and awful. Just a few months ago I had some wonderful conversations with Carl at a conference. He was always such a pleasure to interact with due to his intellect, humor, and openness to ideas and scientific challenges. What a loss. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Renowned scientist who studied distant planets fatally shot at his home near LA

Authorities suspect Carl Grillmair was shot by man arrested for carjacking, as friends mourn him as ‘irreplaceable’

theguardian.com

Looking forward to visit the planetarium of the Sternwarte Neanderhöhe Hochdahl tonight, where I will give a public talk about my research on dwarf galaxies and dark matter. If you happen to be near Erkrath: a few seats are still available.

I'd watch a muppet show movie where the muppets infiltrate an academic conference.

Last year I was invited to speak at the "Nicolaus-Copernicus-Symposium" in Nuremberg about limits of modern astronomy and dark matter. 🔭🧪 A recording of the talk is now available (with almost 30k views already, and there's a version dubbed in English, apparently): www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMt_...

Dunkle Materie oder modifizierte Gravitation • Grenzen moderner Astronomie | Marcel Pawlowski

YouTube video by Urknall, Weltall und das Leben

youtube.com

Are you 🤬 kidding me?

Marcel S. Pawlowski@8minutesold.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Great, let’s keep it that way.

Great, let’s keep it that way.

🌈 Polarlichter über Potsdam – Letzte Nacht löste eine starke Sonneneruption Polarlichter über Potsdam aus. ☀️ 🌌Dieses Naturschauspiel entsteht, wenn energiereiche Teilchen der Sonne mit dem Erdmagnetfeld und der Atmosphäre in Wechselwirkung treten. 🔭 #polarlichter #auroraboreal #potsdam

Wow, amazing polar lights over Potsdam right now, visible despite all the light pollution.

Got some decent snow this morning in Potsdam, perfect consistency for building ☃️.

German non-profit HateAid does important work, their founder recently got the Order of Merit of Germany. They support victims of online hate speech and threats – aka "American viewpoints", apparently. Nobody forces U.S. companies to do business in Europe if they don't want to follow our laws.

Matt Burgess (WIRED)@mattburgess1.bsky.social · 8mo ago

“Imran Ahmed, chief executive of Centre for Countering Digital Hate; Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, leaders of HateAid, a German organization; former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, who was responsible for digital affairs; and Clare Melford, who runs the Global Disinformation Index.”

The primordial dark matter halo of the Milky Way had a mass distribution nothing like what we expect in LCDM. tritonstation.com/2025/12/01/t...

Press release by Pengfei, @aippotsdam.bsky.social's former @humboldt-foundation.de Humboldt Fellow, on our new paper about the odd primordial dark matter halo of the Milky Way.

Pengfei Li@pengfeili.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Here is the press release.