For those of us who don't use LLMs and are entering the academic job market, it's anxiety-inducing. My LLM-using peers can publish more papers and apply to more jobs. Part of my brain worries that I'm risking the career I've wanted since middle school. I know that's probably not the case. Still. . .

Katie Mack@astrokatie.com · 5d ago

If this is what happens to a scientific field as a whole when LLMs dominate the workflows of researchers, I can only imagine that the outlook is even worse for any individual researcher who is soldiering on without using them. 😞

Well, there's a public website here where you can register to attend Reflect Orbital's ribbon cutting ceremony: https://luma.com/h6fva5ve It's in like an hour. Is there anybody in LA interested in politely expressing their opinions about orbital mirrors to the people building them?

Reflect Orbital Ribbon Cutting · Luma

Join us at our new Hawthorne facility for drinks, light bites, and a chance to meet the team, tour the space, and get a closer look at what we have been…

luma.com

Big day for us today at the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: it's Data Release Day! Our twentieth(!!!) data release will go out later today, with lots of spectra and catalogs of stars, galaxies and quasars, and some new webtools! Our DR20 paper has all the details: arxiv.org/abs/2607.26149 #DR20

The Twentieth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First All-Sky BOSS Spectra, eROSITA-SDSS-V Mapper Coordinated Observations, and a Preview of the Local Volume Mapper

This paper presents the twentieth data release (DR20) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the third data release of its fifth generation (SDSS-V). SDSS-V is a panoptic spectroscopy survey that is mappi...

arxiv.org

My teams have completed all necessary checks and testing of the Cebreros station. After careful review, we have declared the antenna GREEN for nominal operations as of 27 July.

Josef Aschbacher@josefaschbacher.esa.int · 2w ago

Based on current information, the Cebreros station appears to have remained unharmed. My deepest thanks go to the Spanish emergency services whose efforts helped protect the site as wildfires approached. Left: 24 July 19:57, Right: 25 July 07:54

Admirable clarity @science.org

David Roberts@volts.wtf · 2w ago

Whew, the editors of @science.org are getting real.

From NASA's press secretary, an update on the Madrid DSN site. Wildfire damage is "primarily to pavement and surrounding vegetation, with no significant structural damage observed to antennas or buildings." x.com/NASASpox/sta...

Bethany Stevens (@NASASpox) on X

On July 25, an initial onsite inspection by the NASA Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex (MDSCC) emergency response team found wildfire damage primarily to pavement and surrounding vegetation, wi...

x.com

White House science policy captured headlines this week, with the announcement of awards for its flagship AI program, Congressional hearings, and a Vannevar Bush-esque report "Science: A New Golden Age." We fashioned the news into one big story—incl. key updates at NSF. Reported w/ Kaia Glickman:

White House rolls out AI funding — and signals a new era for US science

Chief US science adviser calls for a shakeup in funding while handing out grants to accelerate research with AI.

nature.com

The Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex at Robledo de Chavela municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain on fire. Burgohondo wildfire. 📷 via Infues Avila

1. The new Trump / Kratsios plan for US science appears explicitly designed to destroy US universities. Diverting money to tech donors is probably just a bonus. Gift link.

Trump’s Plan for Science: More Money for A.I., Less for Universities (Gift Article)

Michael Kratsios, President Trump’s science adviser, proposed overhauling how the government funds research. Democrats said Mr. Trump’s actions had weakened science.

nytimes.com

There's an alternative universe where you're not only penalized for fraud (states don't need incentives to find it; they're picking up a lot of the bill) but penalized for denying benefits to eligible recipients.

Carl Quintanilla@carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 2w ago

Page One. @nytimes.com

Delete and repost to clarify degree of uncertainty: Today there is substantial uncertainty racing through academic channels about how this atrocious rule will be interpreted and enforced. Apparently some current visa holders have received notice, so it may pertain to existing visas as well.

Trump Administration Issues Final Rule to End Foreign Student Visa Abuse | Homeland Security

DHS announced the publication of a final rule that officially eliminates the “duration of status” loophole that allowed foreign students, exchange visitors, and media representatives to remain in the ...

dhs.gov

Congrats we just made it impossible to come here for a PhD www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/16/m...

Trump administration limits student visas to four years, changing longstanding policy - The Boston Globe

The new rule, which also restricts the international students’ ability to transfer schools or change majors without approval in their first year, will go into effect in mid-September.

bostonglobe.com

The last paragraph of Lemaître's 1931 paper is a poetic rumination on determinism in a Universe that has a beginning and is described by physical laws. It sings on the page. (19/n)

The most anti-legal immigrant administration ever just made it illegal for international students to transfer schools or change majors or shift any "educational objective" in their 1st year and for graduate students **at any point** ever, at all. There is no legal basis for this

I feel like every day we get new examples of how AI/tech companies put forward solutions that ostensibly help people in poverty but realistically are attempts to launder their reputation and make a quick buck. And when you really care about the problem in question, it's beyond infuriating.

Graham Doskoch@astrohde.bsky.social · 3w ago

A major challenge facing rural schools is teacher retention. A prime cause of that (at least in my area) is uncompetitive salaries or salaries that don't match the cost of living. Rural schools can be helped by paying teachers more. Simple. But *this*? This is not going to solve anything.

A major challenge facing rural schools is teacher retention. A prime cause of that (at least in my area) is uncompetitive salaries or salaries that don't match the cost of living. Rural schools can be helped by paying teachers more. Simple. But *this*? This is not going to solve anything.

Mashable@mashable.com · 3w ago

AI company Realbotix is piloting STEM robots for rural schools.

At the moment, a lot of folks are doing wonderful work on pulse profile variability in millisecond pulsars. There's now a great paper out, led by Shania Nichols, focusing on better timing methods to account for profile changes in troublemakers like J1713+0747! 🔭 arxiv.org/abs/2607.12038

Mitigating the Timing Impact of Anomalous Pulse Profile Shape Variability in PSR J1713+0747 with Gaussian Component Modeling

The North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) achieves sub-microsecond timing precision for several millisecond pulsars in its pulsar timing array (PTA) with the objectiv...

arxiv.org

Monday is the deadline for public comment! The Heritage Foundation has been mobilizing its members to leave comments in favor of the rule change, so every unique comment matters (don’t use a form letter or copy/paste—similar comments are batched and treated as one).

Bethany Brookshire@beebrookshire.bsky.social · 4w ago

There's an OMB rule change that would require political oversight of scientific grants, and could pull any that don't "reflect presidential priorities" Another country has tried this before! It was the USSR and it was called Lysenkoism. By @thsaey.bsky.social www.sciencenews.org/article/omb-...

There's an OMB rule change that would require political oversight of scientific grants, and could pull any that don't "reflect presidential priorities" Another country has tried this before! It was the USSR and it was called Lysenkoism. By @thsaey.bsky.social www.sciencenews.org/article/omb-...

Here’s what happens when you put politicians in charge of science

Proposed federal rules would rely on political appointees to decide how a lot of U.S. science gets done. History shows the consequences of such actions.

sciencenews.org

For folks wondering, 14,000 people would constitute something like the 11th-largest municipality in West Virginia, just behind Clarksburg. In one of the smallest and poorest states in the US, this is a *problem*. I think most of us here either know someone on SNAP or have been on SNAP ourselves.

Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD@elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 4w ago

It is genuinely heartbreaking to see all of the people losing SNAP benefits. In West Virginia, 14,000 SNAP participants have lost their benefits. In Arizona, it’s 500,000. That’s not a typo. Half a million people in AZ no longer have nutrition assistance. Republicans strike again.

From @qwasistellar.bsky.social & Caroline von Raesfeld: The Office of Management and Budget has proposed to completely restructure federal funding. We review the proposal and describe how to submit public comments on it by July 13th. ⚛️ 🔭 ☄️ 🧪 astrobites.org/2026/07/03/omb-proposal/

Saving science as we know it: Overview of new proposed rule from the Office of Management and Budget, and how we can make our voices heard.

The Office of Management and Budget has proposed to completely restructure federal funding for science as we know it. In this bite, we review the most relevant points in the proposal and describe how ...

astrobites.org

Another plot twist in the Long-Period Transients story ... Study reports J0901-4046 is not a white dwarf but is likely closer to a neutron star origin. 🔭

Long-period radio transient PSR J0901-4046 is not an Isolated White Dwarf Pulsar

We report the {\it Chandra} non-detection of PSR J0901$-$4046, a $P=75.89 $ seconds long-period radio transient (LPT). For a distance of 467 pc, the upper limit on X-ray luminosity is $L_X \leq$ few $...

arxiv.org

New @nanograv.bsky.social paper is out! Jeremy Baier and Bjorn Larsen co-led an analysis of how per-pulsar custom noise models improve gravitational wave analyses of pulsar timing array data sets. The paper's been submitted to ApJL, but a preprint is available on arXiv. 🔭 arxiv.org/abs/2606.28554

The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Impacts of Customized Chromatic Noise Models on Gravitational Wave Analyses

We report updated nHz gravitational wave (GW) significance, characterization, and interpretations using the customized chromatic-noise models (CNMs) developed in Larsen, Baier et al. (2026). for the N...

arxiv.org

In light of everything this reads a lot more like a threat than a job ad.

Excited to announce the first data release from our ASKAP Variables and Slow Transients survey is now available! doi.org/10.1017/pasa... This is a database of 6.4 million measurements of 0.5 million radio sources in our survey footprint. (By @ozgrav.bsky.social Iris de Ruiter) #RadioAstronomy

Here at Gettysburg College for the Central Pennsylvania Consortium Astronomers' Meeting! I'm excited to hear about cool science and give a talk on radio transients and the valuable work still being done with Arecibo data.

From Tori Bonidie and Skylar Grayson: The president’s budget requests for NASA and the NSF were released last week. We summarizes the major cuts and their impacts while providing resources to help fight back against this attack on science. ⚛️ 🔭 ☄️ 🧪 astrobites.org/2026/04/16/budget-request-fy2027/

Back to work to save science funding! All you need to know about the FY2027 Budget Request

The president’s budget requests for NASA and the NSF were released last week. We summarizes the major cuts and their impacts while providing resources to help fight back against this attack on science...

astrobites.org

This report came out today by minority staff of the House science committee on how three NASA missions were aborted due to NASA illegally following the FY26 president's budget request instead of congressionally approved budget. Very important reading. 🔭🧪 democrats-science.house.gov/staff-report...

I'd say that this applies to anyone traveling in a car in any city. Being in a car versus walking, riding, or taking transit fundamentally changes how you view a place and your relationship to it. I wish more leaders set this kind of example. www.npr.org/2026/04/16/n...

beautiful @astrobites.bsky.social by @qwasistellar.bsky.social on AI in astronomy; strongly strongly recommend giving it a read!! 🔭🧪☄️ "We need humane astrophysics because astrophysics is one of the places where humanity rehearses what kind of species it wants to be." astrobites.org/2026/04/10/t...

Tell me why? A case for Human(e) Astrophysics

Artemis, AI, Astronomy, and our place in it. The author asks why do astrophysics at all. To produce results faster, or to turn graduate students into inefficient stand-ins for software? Or because astronomy is one of the most human things we do. It gives us wonder, yes, but also responsibility: to remember the histories of colonialism and militarization tied to our instruments, to use new tools without surrendering judgment, and to insist that people remain the point of the enterprise. The universe is not only something to be computed. It is something to be encountered, interpreted, and loved.

astrobites.org