owlice

hahahahahaha!!

🔭
Though the main NASA #APOD page isn't being updated due to the US Govt shutdown, APOD continues on; you can catch your daily dose of #astro goodness at a mirror site, such as www.star.ucl.ac.uk/~apod/apod/a...

See the About APOD page for others: apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/abo...

#astro

YouTube video by Science Explorer (SciX) Welcome to SciX - Powering Discovery Across Earth and Space Sciences

What is #SciX? Think of it as your one-stop platform for exploring #research across #EarthScience, #EnvironmentalScience, and #SpaceScience, including #PlanetaryScience, #Heliophysics, #Geology, #Geophysics, #AtmosphericScience, and #Oceanography. Watch our new video! bit.ly/WelcomeToSciX

#SciX is created by the #ADS team & operates out of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory under a NASA Cooperative Agreement. Created and developed by scientists, for scientists, SciX builds on decades of open research infrastructure and collaboration: https://bit.ly/CfASciXNews

a black and white photo of a group of soldiers getting off a boat in the ocean . Alt: Allied forces landing on Normandy beaches in WW2.

Anti-fascists (Antifa) storming the beaches of Normandy.

Lovely photos and great alt text!

From me, @mhmdhsini.bsky.social, and @scedmunds.bsky.social

Code Plagiarism and AI Create New Challenges for Publishing Integrity

“Do not offer thoughts and prayers as you systemically enable such tragedies. Do not claim prayers are sufficient when children die as they pray. Do not pretend you do not understand.”

— Lydia, 16, Minneapolis

This Wed, Aug 20, 11:00 EDT/15:00 UTC
Virtual Astronomy Software Talks seminar: Teaching Computational Astrophysics in an AI World
Panelists are:
Dr. Stella Offner
Dr. John Wallin
Dr. Michael Zingale

Info: vast-seminars.github.io
Join mailing list: groups.google.com/g/virtual-as...

#astronomy

🔭

This Wed, Aug 20, 11:00 EDT/15:00 UTC
Virtual Astronomy Software Talks seminar: Teaching Computational Astrophysics in an AI World
Panelists are:
Dr. Stella Offner
Dr. John Wallin
Dr. Michael Zingale

Info: vast-seminars.github.io
Join mailing list: groups.google.com/g/virtual-as...

#astronomy

🔭

This Cedar Waxwing is perched on a small vertical tree branch; it is turned toward the photograph with its head cocked to one side, seeming to indicate disapproval or disbelief. Its feathers are floofed. Its crested head, face, and bib are a buffy light brown; its tummy is a light lemon yellow, as is its vent. The bird has a black mask and grey wings; the tips of its secondary flight feathers look as though they have been carefully dipped in red wax. The legs and feet are dark grey/blackish, and its tail, only a tiny bit of which is visible, has a yellow terminal band.

🦉🪶 #birds

Not the first time a bird has looked at me this way...

Cedar Waxwing
Houghton, MI

... etc...

Yeah, I think there's a children's book here! Educational, from the tiny telescope's point of view, with spare artwork along the lines of The Little Prince... I couldn't write it, but it's something I'd definitely buy for a kid (not mine; mine's 31) if it existed!

Of course -- it's tiny!! 😆

"Tiny Telescope looks up into the enormous sky, fixing her steady gaze on the neighborhood above her. She views her favorite Moon craters to see the play of light and shadows in them, examines stars to learn why they are different colors, and watches for ...

"my tiny telescope"

Sounds like a good name for a children's book of your tiny telescope's adventures in looking at the sky!

to someone! -- who can use it (which is permitted by EAS). If that's you -- or a friend or colleague -- let me know!

Meeting info: eas.unige.ch/EAS2025/

This is only for registration; so probably best for someone in Cork.

Let's get this registration to a better owner!

🔭

🔭
Please help this EAS registration find a good home!!

I have an in-person registration for next week's European Astronomical Society (EAS) meeting in Cork, Ireland, already paid for, but now am unable to go.

Rather than cancel the registration, I would prefer to transfer it to someone -- free

Hand-drawn infographic showing two network diagrams. The first diagram is labeled “With Academic Networks” and shows a central circle labeled “You” connected to a few surrounding circles, each linked to a single star. The rest of the stars (representing opportunities) float disconnected in the background. The second diagram is labeled “With Academic + Non-Academic Networks” and shows the same central “You” circle connected to many surrounding circles, each linked to one or more stars, representing a higher number of opportunities. Below the diagrams, a key indicates that each star symbolizes an opportunity.

I’m 39. 3 years ago I left academia.

My biggest regret?
Not building a network outside it.

I thought great science would be enough.
It wasn’t.

Visibility builds trust

Visibility opens doors — especially when you leave the lab.

Start showing up. Share your Science.

Start now.

🧪 #SciComm

📌

YouTube video by Naomi Brockwell TV How to Stop Phone Searches When Traveling

I’d be getting a new phone now if I were you.

If you are an iPhone user, this video has some steps to prevent downloading.

youtu.be/fDm5e_-600I?...

Least Bittern Houghton, Michigan, US August 2022 Small bittern perched between reeds, one foot clinging on reeds to its right, and the other foot clinging to reeds on its left. Its body is facing the viewer; its head is turned to the left of the image so we see only one of its bright yellow eyes.

Little Bittern Mérida, Spain November 2024 Small bittern perched in nearly the same position as the previous Least Bittern: perched between reeds, one foot clinging on reeds to its right, and the other foot clinging to reeds on its left. Its body is also facing the viewer but its head is turned to the right of the image rather than to the left as in the previous observation. It is difficult to see its yellow-orange eye because the bird was quite far away and the photographer is not very good.

#birds 🦉🪶

American Bittern Bombay Hook, Delaware, US November, 2013 Bittern standing in a marsh, neck outstretched and beak raised; he is facing to the left in this image, so we see only his left side.

American Bittern Padre Island, Texas, US February 2022 This bittern is standing in a body of water, in a marshy area with reeds, in the same position as the previous bittern.

Least Bittern Houghton, Michigan, US August 2022 This small bittern is in almost the same position as the previous two but is perched on reeds, so we can see its feet, and is angled a bit more towards the viewer.

Bitterns be bitterns where'er they be
No matter what kind, never easy to see

#birds 🦉🪶

Read WashPost articles for free by adding archive.is/ to the very beginning of any WashPost article URL.

(Or so I've been told [and tried, and it works], but you didn't hear it from me.)

On April 20, 2023 the shadow of a New Moon raced across planet Earth's southern hemisphere. When viewed along a narrow path that mostly avoided landfall, the Moon in silhouette created a hybrid solar eclipse. Hybrid eclipses are rare and can be seen as a total eclipse or an annular "ring of fire" eclipse depending on the observer's position. Viewers of this much anticipated hybrid event were able to witness a total solar eclipse while anchored in the Indian Ocean near the centerline of the eclipse track off the coast of western Australia. This ship-borne image from renowned eclipse chaser Fred Espenak captured the active Sun's magnificent outer atmosphere, or solar corona, streaming into space. The composite of 11 exposures ranging from 1/2000 to 1/2 second, taken during the 62 seconds of totality, records an extended range of brightness to follow alluring details of the corona not quite visible to the eye.

🔭 Solar Eclipse

Image Credit & Copyright: Fred Espenak

apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap25061...

One side of my double-sided sign. It is handwritten black text on yellow posterboard. The sign says Dump the racist fascist indicted misogynist Tramp! Dump Trump is in large letters.

The other side of my sign was a dark blue posterboard with two printed sheets of 8"x11" paper taped to it. One sheet has a black background and has No Kings in America in block text. Under the block text are drawings of six hands of different skin tones, each one holding a heart, with each heart representing a different ideal, such as peace (peace sign), support for LGBTQIA+ (rainbow flag), the US (US flag), and woman's rights (Venus glyph). The other sheet is white with black printing. The printed black text is "Every sitting Republican is complicit in the destruction of America." There is a negative space image of Trump's face in the upper right quadrant of the paper.

I usually take photos of the crowds when I participate in a protest, but given that I live in a mostly minority community, I took no photos of people. I did take pictures of a few signs, however. This image is of one gentleman's sign that had four rows of white text on a blue background, and under the last line of text, an American flag. The text reads: DEC 7, 1941 SEP 11, 2001 JAN 6, 2021 NEVER FORGET

This last image is of a sign that made me laugh out loud and then wish I'd thought of it! The background is white; there are two lines of black text on the sign, and a graphic between them. The first line of text reads YES QUEENS; the second line reads NO KINGS. The graphic is of a vertical clenched fist with long tapered fingernails; its color is a rainbow gradient going from red to indigo.

Protesting yesterday--seeing & being with so many others who are not OK with the US's dive into fascism--was good for my soul. Small town, most of the protesting was done on a (packed!) pedestrian overpass; responses from those driving under the overpass were overwhelmingly positive. Yay!!

SO CUTE!!

(I want one!!)

(Probably not really, but really, SO cute!!!)

A banded Song Sparrow is perched on a small stick. The bird is facing to the right and is backlit by the sun, making the feathers along most of the perimeter of the bird glow. There's a bit of sunlit spider web trailing from one of the bird's tail feathers.

A Blue Jay sits perched on a short brown stick that is branched off from a longer stick that runs vertically from the bottom to top of the photo. The Jay's body is facing the camera and its head is turned to its right (our left), so the bird is looking directly at the camera with its left eye. The background is all blue sky, making the photo quite simple and spare: only a few sticks and the perched bird.

A male American Redstart is on a thick horizontal branch partially adorned with lichen. The bird is facing to our left, so we have a side view of it, and looks slightly apprehensive.

A male Cape May Warbler in breeding plumage is perched in a cherry tree in bloom. The bird's body faces to our right, but the bird's head is looking directly into the camera so we see his full face -- his black cap, yellow face, and orange cheek spots -- above his black-streaked yellow chest and tummy.

Four #birds from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
🦉

This Ring-billed Gull has a question and a comment about your behavior last night...

#birds 🦉

What sad news; I'm so sorry, James.

Signal, which is a non-profit, doesn't collect and sell users' personal data.

WhatsApp is owned by Meta.

Join the Virtual Astronomy Software Talks (VAST) mailing list to get the Zoom link:

groups.google.com/g/virtual-as...

And please, (please!) when you ask to join, include your real name and institution if they are not part of your email address. Thanks!