Caroline Morley

@astrocaroline.bsky.social

Astronomer, Associate prof at UT Austin, mother of two small humans

ERCOT fuel mix from 2006 to 2024 now available: - Natural gas above its 19-year running average of 43% to 44% in 2024. - Solar hitting 10% of total energy generated. - Wind holding steady %-wise, but up in absolute terms. - The ERCOT grid is now 42% clean energy!

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WHERE DID ALL YOU PEOPLE COME FROM? WE WERE ENJOYING TALKING AMONGST THE TWELVE OF US HERE! Just kidding hi AstroTwitter! I'm an associate professor on a blue island in a deep red state and therefore have only lukewarm takes on the world unless you meet me in person. We have the best tacos though.

"Should I trust the Dark Lord who attempted to topple the White City of Gondor? Or do I trust the Elf Queen representing the coalition of Men and Elves who defeated Sauron when he tried to enslave the Free Peoples, but could maybe do more meet-and-greets?" www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/im-...

I’m an Undecided Hobbit, Torn Between a Dark Lord Who Promises an Age of Chaos and an Elf Queen Whom I Just Wish I Knew More About

I’m a well-informed Hobbit—a Boffin from Overhill, thank you very much—who is in a kerfuffle about whom to throw my Hobbit-sized support behind. Fo...

mcsweeneys.net

New email signature day! It’s been a wild ride for the past 6 years of Assistant Professor life at UT, growing a research group amidst a global pandemic and growing my family. Happy and proud to be leveling up today to Associate Professor with tenure. Here’s to the next 6 years!

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𝗥𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 '𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲'. Ok, probably everyone has seen the headlines about K2-18b by now. I've put together this thread to collate some thoughts on why many exoplanet astronomers are pretty sceptical about these claims - THREAD (1/N)

Transmission spectrum graphic of the exoplanet K2-18b made by NASA

The universe could not have better timing, to give me my biggest funded proposal a week before my department votes on my tenure case! A big push for cold exoplanet and brown dwarf modeling on the way! 🪐

Putting together one's tenure packet is a fun trip down memory lane. So many papers! Grants! Students! Service! I can't tell this to the committee but I can tell it to you: There was no more herculean task than teaching 3 days a week with morning sickness during my 1st pregnancy