Kevin Hardegree-Ullman

I guess it's quite different in the states. I'm mostly getting at the wide variety of situations students can be in. For example, someone who needs to work full-time while being a full time student (🙋‍♂️) is going to be in a very different situation than a full time student who doesn't have to work.

Even grades aren't completely objective. Students take ~15 credit hours each semester, and I was frequently told I should be working 3 hours each week per credit hour or ~45 hours/week. If anyone has other obligations (e.g. work, family, clubs, etc.) it can all take a toll on grades.

So I’m reviewing *post doc applications* and so far I’ve seen multiple applications with 30-80 papers. Astronomy what are you doing.

I was an extreme exception: no first author publications until a few months into my first postdoc. I had a few co-authorships, but my dissertation project took years to collect, process, and analyze data.

The culture of "you must first-author publication(s) as an undergrad in order to succeed/get into grad school" is toxic and favors privileged students. It needs to stop. 🔭🧪

Halloween observations this year: kids prefer fruity candy over chocolate by at least 2:1. Also, nobody ever has, or ever will, like Almond Joy. 🎃

A screenshot of a list of 6 papers on the Astrophysics Data System (ADS) with Kevin Hardegree-Ullman as the first author. The second paper on the list has a red circle around the citation count, which is 100.

Awesome, another paper of mine has reached 100 citations! 📜

About 100 people lined up to look through several telescopes at the Madison-Macdonald Observatory.

Thank you Colorado State University! Congrats on 60 years of the Madison-Macdonald Observatory! 🔭

Happening tomorrow!

An image of the Gaia spacecraft logo in red with text above it that says Gaia DR3 IDs.

The NASA #Exoplanet Archive now has Gaia DR3 IDs! This should hopefully make your work and planning observations easier!

exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu

The Madison-Macdonald Observatory on the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins. A 14-inch Celestron telescope on an equatorial mount inside a room with a roll-off roof and red lights on. The telescope is pointing at a twilight blue sky. A door is open and Dobsonian telescopes line the wall.

It has been a while since I just got to "play" with a telescope! 🔭

Why do I suspect this will be me in 7 years? 🙈

Many Exoplanets

How do giant planets influence the type of #exoplanets that form in the habitable zone?

A thread 1/🧵

YouTube video by NASA Exoplanet Archive A Quick Tour of the NASA Exoplanet Archive Homepage

Hey, that narrator sounds familiar!

Check out our new NASA #Exoplanet Archive homepage overview! 🔭

youtu.be/RHbvnodAX3g

Now I want a statistical survey of astronomers' favorite planets. But at least K2-138 made this article's list. 🤣

Two turtles (larger round one on the left, very flat one on the right) sitting on a rock with some moss on it in the middle of a very green pond.

Do you even lift?

The Arecibo sky bridge, as seen from the secondary support structure in 2013. Sadly, this bridge no longer exists. 😞

Join me at Colorado State University's Madison-Macdonald Observatory 60th anniversary celebration on October 17th from 3-8:30 pm! 🔭

There will be solar observing, physics demos, and stargazing, and I will be presenting a public lecture about #exoplanets!

www.physics.colostate.edu/about/astron...

Join me at Colorado State University's Madison-Macdonald Observatory 60th anniversary celebration on October 17th from 3-8:30 pm! 🔭

There will be solar observing, physics demos, and stargazing, and I will be presenting a public lecture about #exoplanets!

www.physics.colostate.edu/about/astron...

Also, this was made the old fashioned (non-AI) way with a bit of elbow grease and (too much) time spent making modifications in GIMP.

Postdoctoral Researcher in Extragalactic Astrophysics Haverford College invites applications for our full-time (37.5 hours per week), fixed-term (2 year appointment), exempt, benefits-eligible Postdoctoral Research in Extragalactic Astrophysics opportuni...

I'm hiring at Haverford - a 2 year NASA funded postdoc to work on Galaxy Zoo with Roman Space Telescope Data: www.haverford.edu/human-resour... 👩‍🔬🔭

A screenshot of the show-within-a-show "The Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon" in the Apple TV+ series Murderbot.

The original source material from Murderbot on Apple TV+.

I gave a talk about my paper last month with this as the title slide. Can you tell I recently watched #Murderbot? 🔭 #Exoplanets

You can access parameters for all 6,007 planets on the NASA Exoplanet Archive at exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu!

A close-up photo of a box of cupcakes with gold candles spelling out ‘6000’.

A group of smiling people - scientists, engineers, data analysts and writers - standing behind a table of goodies.

Sometimes 2025 just feels like a lot, and you need an excuse to celebrate your fabulous team (and the whole exoplanet community!) reaching a new milestone…

Happy 6,000 Confirmed Exoplanets Day, everybody!!!!

(You may recognize the narrator of the video at the link! 🫣)

www.nasa.gov/universe/exo...

A gold-plated 1997 Hot Wheels Sojurner Mars Rover and a 2012 Hot Wheels Curiosity Mars Rover sitting on the box for Sojourner.

On the way to daycare, my 3 year old saw me bringing my Hot Wheels Mars Rovers to work today.

3 yo: I want to go to Mars... with you. We go on rocket ship to Mars.

Me: 🥹

Extra observing time tonight because I got bad weather last month? I'll take it! 🔭

The advertisement for Carnegie EPL's 2026 postdoctoral fellowship is out! aas.org/jobregister/... We are also happy to host external fellowships like NHFP, NSF, and 51 Peg b (the latter is due Oct 3rd, one month away!). Please feel free to reach out if you have questions. (1/2)

Announcement of Opportunity Find in-depth information about the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program (NHFP) and its requirements.

Hey #exoplaneteers (and other early career folks) - applications for the 2026 NASA Hubble Fellowship Program are open!

www.stsci.edu/stsci-resear...

Thanks, and congrats to the team for the cool discoveries!