Sarah Morrison

Lowell Observatory slashes research funding in the midst of financial struggle Flagstaff’s Lowell Observatory plans to cut nearly all its research funding and reduce the number of paid science staff to just two positions next year.

Flagstaff’s Lowell Observatory plans to cut nearly all its research funding and reduce the number of paid science staff to just two positions next year.

🚨 NASA scientists warn: critical equipment at Goddard Space Flight Center could be discarded during the shutdown, jeopardizing decades of Earth & space science missions.

📢 Act now: agu.quorum.us/campaign/146...

#sciencepolicy #saveNASA

"World's first potential trillionaire has killed 600,000 people, including 400,000 children" is the only headline that anyone should ever read about Elon Musk

Dismantling of US federal agencies will ‘destroy science’ From NASA to the National Institutes of Health, federal agencies conduct research that universities cannot. Agency scientists speak out about the irreplaceable facilities, institutional knowledge and ...

Great article from @virginiagewin.bsky.social showing that across the Federal science ecosystem, research that benefits the American public is being delayed or completely halted, and remaining programs are being consolidated under close partisan political control. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Warning. ⚠️ If you are writing an NSF GRFP, new this year, you need official transcripts to apply. Beware. They will not review applications without official transcripts. ‼️

Glad to see this story covered by the press. I've heard from colleagues that Goddard labs are being moved/closed during the government shutdown while employees are unable to receive notification/e-mail/warnings. There's fear that they'll return after the shutdown & labs will be gone. 🔭

Some charts for those who don't know the extent of the US public (and private) investment in research (particularly in biomedical research) compared to other countries and institutions. The destruction of the US' scientific institutions has global implications.

Top researchers consider leaving U.S. amid funding cuts: 'The science world is ending' A poll from the journal Nature found that 75% of researchers in the U.S. are considering leaving the country. That includes a man who’s been dubbed the "Mozart of Math." Stephanie Sy examines what’s b...

The US funds the bulk of biomedical research globally by far. It's not like other countries can simply take up the slack. The more likely: people leave research, new people don't become researchers. There is no happy ending. www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

The amount of AI generated art in slides at this conference, primarily used by older scientists, is killing me. Scientists please. Don’t use these ai platforms to make your figures or slides. They look bad and I have yet to see them meaningfully improve the message of talks.

I've received an 'exclusive' invite to try Nature's new 'research assistant', which will burn down a forest to provide a 'summary of the paper' I'm reading and I have SUCH exciting news for them, that's called an 'abstract' and the actual authors already wrote it for me, no forest-burning required.

4,000 gone: Inside NASA’s brain drain In exclusive interviews, ex-NASA scientists speak out on the impact of the agency's mass departures.

"The secret sauce has been poured down the drain," says David Draper, former Deputy Chief Scientist of NASA, over the recent firing or departure of 1000s of NASA employees, which will be catastrophic for the legacy of the US🇺🇸😖🚀

www.planetary.org/articles/400...

h/t @floragraham.bsky.social 🧪

Layoff notices at JPL are going out today.

About 11% of the Lab, or 550 people, are being let go.

I'm thinking of my friends and colleagues there, some of whom will still be employed after today and some of whom won't.

I'm sorry you're having to deal with this.

NASA's Europa Clipper launching atop a rocket.

One year ago today, NASA flagship Europa Clipper launched. Today, NASA JPL, which built it, fired another 500 people. (They've lost 25% of workers total.) We're sacrificing scientists and engineers to build concentration camps and gaudy White House ballrooms. NASA is in crisis. America is in crisis.

US Astronomy Graduate Admissions, AY 2025-2026

Are you someone who is interested in astronomy graduate school? This is a list of many/most departments and their expectations for admissions this year. Please feel free to spread it far and wide. If you are doing admissions and you'd like to update your entry, reach out as per the form!

Sad to see the University of Washington Astronomy Department has suspended graduate admissions for the 2026-2027 Academic Year. astro.washington.edu/graduate-adm...

1 to 2 Starlink satellites are falling back to Earth each day

"There are currently one to two Starlink satellites falling back to Earth every day ... Soon, McDowell told us, there will be up to 5 satellite reentries per day." 😳

And yet Acting NASA Administrator says the US will beat China to the Moon, establish a permanent lunar presence, and push outward. Newsflash: not on $18 billion we're not. Trump Administration plans to quietly impound the $10 billion Congress restored. NASA is being destroyed right before our eyes.

We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.

Economic loss from the White House's NSF FY 2026 Proposed Budget

New from #SCIMaP - analysis of the White House’s Proposed FY 2026 National Science Foundation Budget.

Take-home: Slashing NSF by >50% will lead to ~$11 billion in economic loss and extensive job loss and reduced training opportunities in communities nationwide.

Report: osf.io/e8rnc

a 🧵

Can ChatGPT help science writers?

Some people think ChatGPT has a place writing things like news briefs, stuff written to a specific style and tone and, y'know, kinda boring.

So Science did a study.

ChatGPT failed.

Why? It got stuff wrong. "Also, extensive editing for hyperbole was needed." www.science.org/content/blog...

Indeed. Earlier this summer, the White House did this to me, as a scientific expert source in media, and issued a formal statement regarding my personal campaign contribution history in an attempt to discredit my commentary on wildfire, climate, and federal policy. Yet more alarm bells ringing...

I am planning to go with one or some students. I was shocked I still have travel funding to support at least some of us to go.

Screenshot of research.gov after logging in, showing link for "Prepare and Submit Proposals" on the left in a red oval.

Screenshot of "Prepare New Full Proposal" on research.gov, with "add a new role" and "NSF 22-621" circled in red. In order to see the listing of the NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship, one must change role to "Proposed Postdoctoral Fellow"!

NSF Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoc Fellowship apps are OPEN! 🔭 However, app only appears on research.gov if your role "Proposed Postdoctoral Fellow"! Click "Proposals", "Prepare and Submit Proposals", then "Prepare New". If you do not see NSF 22-621, change role to "Proposed Postdoctoral Fellow"!

Today @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.

If you're an author and haven't yet signed up for the Anthropic settlement, do yourself a favor (and strike a blow against AI) by checking to see if any of your books were involved.

www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

YouTube video by LastWeekTonight Trump vs. Higher Education: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Among other things, makes a fantastic case for fundamental research.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk94...

If you’ve been paying attention you will know this was their strategy with all of the spending including NASA, NIH etc

Assessing Astronomical Impacts of Reflect Orbital’s Proposed Satellite System This survey is being conducted by the American Astronomical Society (AAS) to gather input from astronomers, observatories, and night sky users worldwide regarding the potential impacts of Reflect Orbi...

You might have heard of this company that wants to put giant reflectors in space to "light up" parts of the earth. It would be catastrophic not just for astronomers, but for...any people or creatures who thrive at night.
Have comments? The American Astronomical Society would love to hear from you.

Many institutions who don't have R1 status may not be hit as directly by the federal funding cuts. But stuff like this👇 is disastrous. ILL and archival digitization projects by major universities have made it possible to do serious research (as faculty OR student) at a SLAC. Both are in danger.

very funny that the world's most high profile epic-science-rocket-to-mars guy lost the actual scientists