Hey, so, we have some news about something that won't be happening in 2032.
05.03.2026 15:59
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Hey, so, we have some news about something that won't be happening in 2032.
Karl Stapelfeldt (JPL/Caltech) and I summarize the historical context that has led us to the Habitable Worlds Observatory. We always build upon the work of many. HWO is no exception. We hope you find this short paper enlightening.
arxiv.org/abs/2602.14823
This image is a composite of artist's illustrations of NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope pointing towards a lengthy collection of exoplanets against a background image of the Galactic Plane. The text says "2026 Sagan Summer Workshop" and the theme "Exoplanets with Roman Surveys: Microlensing and Transits July 20-24, 2026, Pasadena, California" followed by the hashtag #sagan2026.
⏰Time to Register for #sagan2026⏰
The hybrid workshop focuses on expected #exoplanet science from the @nasaromantelescope.bsky.social Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey. Travel support requests for early-career participants are due 3/5. nexsci.caltech.edu/workshop/2026
🔭 #astrocode #instrumentation
Jupiter bonanza scheduled for JWST starting this Friday 🔭 - woo hoo! The teams are calling on amateur astronomers to assist with context imaging of the Solar System's largest planet.
Another job was just posted, at the senior software engineer level at @stsci.edu: 🔭 #astrocode
recruiting2.ultipro.com/SPA1004AURA/...
Entry level software engineer position at @stsci.edu, application deadline Feb 28: 🧪🔭 #astrocode
recruiting2.ultipro.com/SPA1004AURA/...
I know it's called the "Habitable Worlds Observatory", but what about uninhabitable worlds? Check out the below paper to learn what HWO can teach us about our sister planet and its analogs that are scattered among the stars!
arxiv.org/abs/2602.02728
today! 🔭✨🧪☄️
#exoplanets
#extragalactic
#cosmology
Check out the @caltechipac.bsky.social booth at #AAS247!
Also, be sure to ask about our student opportunities! (www.ipac.caltech.edu/page/students) 🔭
Image labeled Fomalhaut system, Hubble Space Telescope. A grainy orange oval ring tilts slightly from upper right to lower left. At two o’clock, a white box outlines the ring’s edge and white lines extend to a larger pullout at lower right. Two spots are labeled cs1 2013 and cs2 2023. Inside the ring is a black circle with a white star symbol in the middle.
In a historical milestone, Hubble has witnessed the catastrophic collision of asteroids in the nearby Fomalhaut planetary system 🪨💥
Observations also revealed that an object previously suspected to be a candidate planet was, in fact, a dust cloud.
🔭 🧪
A screenshot of the Edit site search widget showing the following entries: Name: Exoplanet Archive Shortcut: exoplanet URL with %s in place of query: https://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/overview/%s
A holiday gift for #exoplanets Chrome users: how to set up the coolest exoplanet shortcut ever.
Click the three-dot menu in the upper right -> Settings -> Search Engine -> Manage search engines and site search.
Scroll to site search and click Add. Fill like this and save:
(1/2)
As an astronomer I get asked a lot what kind of telescope 🔭 so-and-so should get for themselves or their [spouse/kid/etc]. I’m clueless. I use BIG telescopes and have never purchased one in my life. But @philplait.bsky.social knows! Thx, Phil! badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/ban-275-te...
Two technicians in clean suits inspect a the completed Roman Space Telescope in a clean room at a NASA assembly facility.
NASA has completed the construction of #NASARoman! Last month, technicians joined the inner and outer portions of the observatory in Maryland.
After final testing, Roman will move to the launch site at the Kennedy Space Center for launch preparations in summer 2026: https://go.nasa.gov/48EqnE8 🔭 🧪
This is great news that Roman Space Telescope 🚀🔭 is functionally completed! Still some testing, and then Roman will move the Kennedy to be mated with the launch vehicle. Roman is a wide-field Hubble - exciting!
Come do a PhD at the @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social
Astrophysics Research Centre (ARC). The avaialble PhD projects starting in the 2026/2027 school year are now up. Application deadline is January 16th . I have project on doing cool things with @vrubinobs.bsky.social Solar System discoveries 🧪🔭.
I like it! spooky because it’s ~elusive~
Poster from NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program of “The Roasted Planet” HD 80606b, showing the planet’s atmosphere being blasted away by its star. Caption: “Can you hear this exoplanet screaming? As HD 80606 b approaches its star from an extreme, elliptical orbit, it suffers star-grazing torture that causes howling, supersonic winds and shockwave storms across the planet. Its torturous journey boils its atmosphere to a hellish 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit every 111 days, roasting both its light and dark sides. HD 80606b will never escape this scorching nightmare.”
It’s Halloween week and I haven’t seen any talk about our favorite spooky #exoplanets yet this year!
Crowd-sourcing ideas for our exoplanet journal club this week — what’s your nomination for spookiest exoplanet? 👻
For anyone applying to grad school in the US this fall, the @aas.org has made a working group to monitor which programs have faced cuts - this spreadsheet contains all the info: 🔭☄️
Seeking PhD candidates that want to do a thesis on exoplanet atmosphere retrieval + machine learning inference. Please apply by 31 October to Dr. Max Dax's and my shared project here: is.mpg.de/news/new-max... . Abstract for the thesis project is attached to this thread below!
A lot of comments on Mars rovers or Moon landings, but it's important to remember that the planet NASA studies most is Earth. This is less about cutting flashy things like moonwalks and more about keeping communities in the dark on climate, weather, agriculture, pollution, natural hazards, and more.
Screenshot from the live Guardian US politics blog, with the following text highlighted "Trump added that he’s spoken to a donor who said he would be willing to supplement the shortfall for paying the troops."
It feels useless to point out but if we stop pointing it out that's definitely worse:
SURELY IT'S ILLEGAL FOR TRUMP TO ORGANIZE PRIVATE FINANCING FOR THE US MILITARY.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...
So many spectacular, kind, brave people who I've worked with for years being let go from JPL today. We will all be poorer for their absence from the forefront of human knowledge.
An NSF Graduate Research Fellowship helped launch my career - the next generation of scientists deserves the same opportunity, just as Americans deserve the benefits of a well-supported scientific pipeline. But this year's solicitation is MIA.
Please take a minute to speak up for the program👇
For those who may not know ... the magnetic field of Uranus is tilted ~60 deg relative to its spin axis.
So it looks like the aurorae are occurring near the equator, because, in fact, they are! Within ~ 30deg of the equator.
Autism is not a "disease" or "epidemic".
Autism has a strong genetic component.
There is no evidence that vaccinees or Tylenol cause autism.
Access to autism diagnostics have dramatically increased as reported rates increased.
Neither Trump nor RFK Jr are scientists or medical professionals.
My first NASA position, as a contractor in the Kepler Science Office, was on a H-1b visa. NASA ended up giving me a medal and now I’m the Chief Scientist of NASA Exoplanet Science Institute and an American citizen to boot. Seems like a net win for the US, no? But now this:
pretty much! trojans are specific to the Lagrange points — over time, one could become the other if their orbit shifts
🪐🔭 JWST is letting us learn about disks around PLANETARY-MASS OBJECTS!!!
In case you didn't know, Jupiter totally has rings.
You can see them (faintly) in this #JWST image.
You are cordially invited to our next AoT Boston event at Aeronaut Brewing on Thursday, September 4!!! We're bringing you some exciting talks about the Rubin Observatory (@vrubinobs.bsky.social), which will capture the ultimate time-lapse movie of the universe in the next 10 years 🔭💫