Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Launch Credit: NASA/John Kraus images.nasa.gov/details/NHQ2... #Roman 🔭🧪
Danny Milisavljevic
@danmil.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Purdue University. Excitable Explorer of the Universe. Opinions are my own.
New paper! We report JWST pre-explosion imaging of a dusty AGB-like source at the site of a rare, nearby Type Ia-CSM supernova, SN 2026sqf, in NGC 3310. Likely a carbon-rich companion feeding an exploding white dwarf. A first for Webb. We may be wrong, but I doubt it! arxiv.org/abs/2608.13321
At STScI’s spring symposium in Baltimore, astronomers discussed some of the big questions being raised and explored with #NASAWebb.
Severe Storms Impacting NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory Operations in Chile Chile has been impacted by an exceptionally powerful storm with heavy precipitation and widespread flooding affecting the communities where many of our colleagues live. 🔭🧪☄️ 🧵
I'm excited to see what this telescope (and the dizzying sets of computational/organizational/IT/etc infrastructure supporting it) will do over the next decade! Here's my story from my visit last May, before it had even released its first images: www.sciencenews.org/article/vera...
The Vera Rubin Observatory is ready to revolutionize astronomy
Sporting the world’s largest digital camera, the new telescope is poised to help solve some of the universe’s biggest mysteries.
sciencenews.org
NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory@vrubinobs.bsky.social · 2mo agoThe moment we've all been waiting for is finally here… On June 29, 2026, NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory officially began the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST)! 🔭🧪☄️🌌 🔗: rubinobservatory.org/news/action-...
Tough to see the upheaval at CBS with Scott Pelley being fired from 60 Minutes. I was fortunate to be interviewed by him for a JWST segment in 2023. He was brilliant, sharp, engaging and kind. A veteran journalist who has risked safety for truth, he defended his team and the program's integrity.
"Passion and purpose are not the same thing. Passion brings you joy. Purpose brings you meaning. Passion gets you out of bed in the morning. But purpose allows you to sleep at night."
Rod Hillen@rodhillen.com · 4mo agoWant something positive for a change? Watch this.
Incredible video made using images taken by the Artemis II crew shows satellites in orbit around Earth. This is at 30x speed x.com/i/status/205...
Light from supernova 1987A reached Earth #OTD in 1987. The Hubble space telescope captured this spectacular image for the 30 year anniversary in 2017. 🧪 🔭 ⚛️ Credits: NASA, ESA, R. Kirshner (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation), M. Mutchler and R. Avila (STScI)
My wife says this is what I look like cooking in the kitchen.
Edward@edwardodell.bsky.social · 7mo agoDon’t anyone show this to Susan or I’m never gonna be allowed to get an outdoor wok burner
The ice breaker question I often ask at nerdy parties is this: What code or latex editor do you use? My answer: vi for most editing. Emacs for lengthy code and most latex documents. Answers involving web browsers are hard to accept. I love when someone brings up something random like nano.
Sarah Hörst@planetdr.bsky.social · 9mo agoWhen I first started working with @plutokiller.com I asked him if I should use vi or emacs. I vividly remember him saying “that’s a decision every person has to make for themselves”
You can access the article for free here: www.nature.com/articles/s41... (Sorry for the previous link which is broken!)
Satellite megaconstellations will threaten space-based astronomy - Nature
Rapidly growing satellite constellations pose a substantial threat to astronomical observations, with projections indicating that future space telescopes will have more than 96% of their exposures aff...
nature.com
Sad to realize that 80% of people in North America can’t see the Milky Way at night. We need these protected Dark Sky escapes to connect with the Universe.
Katrina Miller@katrinamillerphd.bsky.social · 9mo agohave you ever been somewhere so dark you could step outside & immediately spot the Milky Way? i traveled to the Upper Peninsula to learn about efforts to balance industrialization & economic growth with the preservation of starry skies: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/s...
I haven't seen research though I'd guess it exists, but handwriting letters *extensively* - as in 18th & 19th centuries- seems to produce a critical mass of great writers & thinkers. Jefferson's correspondence with Adams, for example. Maybe it's quill pens, which slow down writing to thinking speed.
Yes to this also! Everyone has different strategies to learn. I’m reminded of a saying from my dad: “If you do nothing, you know nothing.” I can read all about, e.g., basketball, but unless I’m on the court practicing shots, I’m not going to improve my game.
Jan Merta@lunruj.bsky.social · 9mo agoWriting was horrible for me, too much focus on writing instead of actually learning. However, getting printed notes or slides can make you just stare and pretend. I think tasks are needed, manageable task with gradually increasing complexity that make you use the info given.
I remember the “old fashioned library search”
The Conversation U.S.@us.theconversation.com · 9mo agoRelying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other. Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Very excited to share the NASA/ESA/STScI press release of our team's work on Apep! It's a terrific writeup, complete with a brand new beautiful visualisation of the nebula geometry. 1/? ⚛️🔭🧪 science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
Webb First to Show 4 Dust Shells 'Spiraling' Apep, Limits Long Orbit - NASA Science
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has delivered a first of its kind: a crisp mid-infrared image of a system of four serpentine spirals of dust, one expanding
science.nasa.gov
Those were beautiful #aurorae in the past days. A solar storm brought a lot of protons to Earth. Not only to Earth but also to #ESAEuclid – but does #Euclid notice? Oh yes. www.euclid-ec.org/here-comes-t... #ESA #Sun #SpaceWeather #space
How did I not know this?!
DiRAC Institute@dirac-institute.bsky.social · 10mo agoDid you know? In 2025, the U.S. quarter features Vera Rubin, honoring her landmark discovery of the existence of dark matter — a tribute that perfectly coincides with the first light of the Rubin Observatory(@vrubinobs.bsky.social), celebrating her enduring legacy in unveiling the unseen universe.
Astronomers have spotted the largest and most distant flare ever observed from a supermassive black hole. Nicknamed “Superman,” the flare originated 10 billion light-years from Earth, and at its peak, the light emitted shone with the brightness of 10 trillion suns. https://cnn.it/3WFwNNN
Another title for this article could be: “Superman Outshines Scary Barbie” www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/s...
Largest observed flare from a black hole unleashes the light of 10 trillion suns | CNN
Astronomers spotted the largest flare ever released from a supermassive black hole as it snacked on a giant star.
cnn.com
Danny Milisavljevic@danmil.bsky.social · 10mo agoExcellent, exciting new paper by M. Graham et al. who find the newest record holder for most energetic flare from a supermassive black hole, nicknamed “Superman”. The previous record holder was “Scary Barbie,” first reported by our group at Purdue in Subrayan et al. 2023. arxiv.org/abs/2511.02178
Excellent, exciting new paper by M. Graham et al. who find the newest record holder for most energetic flare from a supermassive black hole, nicknamed “Superman”. The previous record holder was “Scary Barbie,” first reported by our group at Purdue in Subrayan et al. 2023. arxiv.org/abs/2511.02178
An Extremely Luminous Flare Recorded from a Supermassive Black Hole
Since their discovery more than 60 years ago, accreting supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei (AGN) were recognized as highly variable sources, requiring an extremely compact, dynamic env...
arxiv.org
Michelle's first paper discusses the Pearl in the Shell, a study of an ultra compact dwarf and a debris cloud around a nearby spiral galaxy. The study combines data from professional and amatCheck it out in our latest episode! arxiv.org/abs/2509.14038 🔭 ☄️
Happy Miniature Schnauzer Day! I asked Google “What’s your favorite dog?” and it came back with Miniature Schnauzer—like our Wilbur. A+ to whoever trained this LLM. 🧑💻🐾 Does your smart assistant agree?
was v excited to see work by @danmil.bsky.social (+ many others!) featured at the @amnh.org today !!
This new JWST image is one of the most spectacular yet from the space telescope. Giant, newborn stars here are carving away surrounding gas & dust. The bright pair at center is two of the most massive stars known. The dark spire is 50 trillion kilometers tall! 🧪🔭 webbtelescope.org/contents/new...
Rai was a true scientist: curious, rigorous, and deeply committed to the pursuit of knowledge. He was also an incredible mentor who inspired those around him with his generosity, wisdom, and unwavering support. His impact on the world was enormous and he will be deeply missed.
Leo C. Stein@duetosymmetry.com · last yr.I'm sad to report that Rainer (Rai) Weiss passed away yesterday at age 92. Rai developed the design for LIGO, he and Kip got it funded, trained countless researchers, and received the 2017 Nobel Prize. Rai always had time for students and treated us as equals. May his memory be a blessing
