Misty Bentz

a man wearing a suit and tie says pick one Alt: a man wearing a suit and tie says pick one

I don’t really care which, just pick one!

Red, a dark gray cat, is sitting on a partially completed puzzle

Gigi, a small gray striped cat, has stuck her nose right in the camera

Helpful cats

I called my GA senator today to ask them to support SB 240. It seems like a little thing, but little things still matter (and can lead to bigger things).

Sending good thoughts to both of you today

A yellow daffodil is backlit by the Sun and a blue sky

A small purple crocus has emerged from the leaves and pine needles

Spring is springing 🌱

Gigi, a small striped gray cat, is perched on a beige carpet-covered kitty city and alertly looking out. Her dark little tail is wrapped around front paw

Red, a dark gray cat, is sitting on a light pink blanket on a kitty hammock with her front paws on the edge.

Caturday with Gigi and Red

For the evening crowd 🔭

The future of astronomy is both on Earth and in space The future of astronomy is both on Earth and in space

The leadership of the American Astronomical Society explains why "move all the telescopes to space" is neither possible nor desirable: spacenews.com/the-future-o...

I would only add that there are individual telescopes that mass more than everything ever launched into space put together.

Satellite proposals threaten the night sky In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the agency responsible for authorizing satellite launches and operations…

Right OK so what can you do? Great news, especially if you're in the US (insert feelings here), both @darkskyintl.bsky.social and @aas.org have handy guides for how to write an FCC comment.
This is sort of astronomers' equivalent of "call your elected officials" kind of call to action, for context.

I know! It seemed like The. Most. Obvious. HST proposal when I noticed it myself! Glad we were able to get the observations in before HST transitioned to one-gyro mode

Georgia law students push back against ICE recruiting at career fair Students at Georgia’s five major law schools are elevating last year’s protest of ICE at Public Sector Career Fair.

Hundreds of students and dozens of organizations across Georgia’s five major law schools demand ICE be uninvited to the schools’ Public Sector Career Fair Friday.

We then determined the galaxy distances using Leavitt's Law. The distance to NGC 4303 is similar to previous estimates, but the distance to NGC 1068 is quite different than usually assumed. That's important for lots of studies! Special thanks to @geckzilla.bsky.social for the galaxy glamour shots 🔭🧪

Composite image of NGC 1068 based on Hubble Space Telescope images from our project, created by Judy Schmidt. The heart of a spiral galaxy is centered in the frame with brown winding dust lanes sprinkled with blue regions of recent star formation. Some small red galaxies are visible in the background.

Composite image of NGC 4303 based on Hubble Space Telescope images from our project, created by Judy Schmidt. A spiral galaxy is centered in the frame with bright blue spiral arms highlighting regions of recent star formation while brown winding dust lanes meander throughout.

New paper day! In an effort led by PhD student Madison Markham, we determined the first accurate and precise distances to two famous AGN host galaxies: NGC 1068 and NGC 4303. Using the Hubble Space Telescope, we identified Cepheid pulsating stars and measured their pulsation periods and mags 🔭🧪(1/2)

Yep

I emailed this morning!

Red, a dark gray cat, is lounging on a soft blue blanket with her front paws folded. She is backlit by the soft glow of a lamp.

Gigi, a small gray striped cat, is sleeping on a soft blue blanket. Her eyes are closed and one front paw is stretched out in front.

Gigi and Red have been extra snuggly during the recent cold snap. It’s so nice to have them visiting with us.

Please, please, click on the link, it lets you send a letter to your Senators directly. And send the link to friends, colleagues and family now. Means' hearing is this morning. Circulate, spread the word.

Why are they attending at all?!

Participants in the AAS Publishing peer review workshop at the 246th AAS Meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, pose together holding certificates of completion.

Build Your Peer Review Skills at #AAS248

If you’d like to feel more confident the next time you’re asked by an editor to peer review a paper, consider applying to attend the upcoming AAS Peer Review Training Workshop in Pasadena on 14 June 2026. aas.org/posts/news/2... 🔭

@publishing.aas.org

Supernova 1987A is located in the centre of the image amidst a backdrop of red, blue, and orange stars. A bright pink and red ring around the central region of the exploded star is composed of material ejected by the star about 20 000 years before the actual explosion took place. The supernova is surrounded by red and orange gaseous clouds. The color of these clouds represents the glow of hydrogen gas.

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)

Satellite proposals threaten the night sky In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the agency responsible for authorizing satellite launches and operations…

The FCC just opened public comments on SpaceX's plan to launch a million satellites to do AI compute in space. Under the current proposal, an environmental review won't be required. Please consider submitting a public comment to oppose this damaging plan.
darksky.org/news/two-sat...

Hello columbine! I also spotted some coneflowers, anise hyssop, and butterfly weed sprouts that were just getting started 🌱 #nativeplants

A framed certificate: Hubble Night Sky Challenge A 2025 NASA Hubble Space Telescope 35th Anniversary Activity In Recognition of Completing the Gold Criteria Misty Bentz Signed by Dr Jennifer Wiseman of NASA and Charles E Allen of the Astronomical League In the background is an image of Hubble in orbit about the Earth with boxes on left and right highlighting the galaxy Caldwell 48 and the supernova remnant the Crab Nebula

I won!🥇

Well, in that I completed each monthly challenge and I told people about what I was doing 4 times in 2025.
I’m sure other people won too. Congrats to us all! 🤩 And yes, I will proudly display this in my office at work
🔭 🧪

🥰

Red has slid halfway off my legs and has her paws stretched over her head. She is showing a fang of contentment

Gigi is folded in half with her back legs stretched above her head. She had a smile on her face

Important updates

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Red , a dark gray cat, is lounging on my stretched-out legs and Gigi, a small striped gray cat, is curled up nearby among the folds of a blue blanket

It’s been a week, following several other weeks, and this is all the energy we have left

A reddish nebula is centered on a black background dotted with stars. The nebula has several strong dust clumps that block out the background light and give the appearance of a person wearing a pointy hat with arms raised and hands outstretched.

I've been playing around with some new processing tools. Here's NGC 7380, the Wizard Nebula. First discovered by Caroline Herschel and located in the direction of Cepheus, the nebula surrounds an open cluster of young stars.

5.4hrs, #Seestar S50 🔭🧪
Siril, SyQon Starless, Veralux, GraXpert, GIMP

There is so much pent up demand for joy and to believe in the future.