Alexandre Branco

Planetary Science MS/PhD Positions Starting Fall 2026

Prospective graduate students, please find the resulting list at:

docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Questions- Please email Sarah Horst (Sarah.horst@jhu.edu)

Planetary Science MS/PhD Positions for Fall 2026 Crowd sourced list of people who are looking for MS/PhD students to help connect prospective students with advisors so we can do even more fabulous planetary science! (Submitting a response indicates ...

I am community sourcing a list of people who are actively in search of MS/PhD students in planetary science/astrobiology/exoplanets for Fall 2026. If you are such a person, please fill out the following google form:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

This month I had an absolutely fantastic experience learning about origins of life research at the XXI International Summer School of Astrobiology “Josep Comas i Solà” in Santander, Spain 🇪🇸🪐🧬🌏

Huge thanks to @esa.int for making this possible!

Cuts have consequences, illustrated. As seen on TV 📺

I wrote a research note about the recent publication of the MIRI/LRS spectrum of K2-18b. The authors had claimed the detection of potential signs of life. I find the data to be consistent with a flat line 🔭🧪

Artist's impression of the exoplanet K2-18b. Credit: A. Smith, University of Cambridge.

𝗡𝗼, 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗞𝟮-𝟭𝟴𝗯'𝘀 𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲.

K2-18b is back in the news, now with a bold claim that biosignature molecules (DMS and/or DMDS) have been 'detected at 3σ'.

Most exoplanet astronomers are extremely sceptical about these claims, let's see why (1/n).

🔭🧪🪐 #exoplanet

YouTube video by Cool Worlds In Defense of Science

In Defense of Science
youtu.be/ABU06LDZpfY

So great connecting and sharing these past few days, Jools

Such a pleasure as always to get to present my work at @arieltelescope.bsky.social consortium meeting 🪐🔭

I know it was a packed 3 days so if you missed me please feel free to still drop me a message!

-- Also thankyou Leiden for being such a pretty city 👀

Trump Admin Plans to Cut Team Responsible for Critical Atomic Measurement Data The team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology publishes measurement data crucial for advanced research in areas like astrophysics, nuclear fusion, and semiconductors.

SCOOP: The Trump administration is planning to eliminate an entire team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology responsible for publishing critical data that underpins advanced scientific research around the world. from me and @willknight.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/nist-d...

Sign the petition: chng.it/wyb9ppnsKQ 🧪🔭

The atomic spectral lines in this app come from the NIST atomic spectroscopy group, which has provided the world with spectroscopic measurements for 120 years.

Today we got word that the federal government is laying off the entire group. 🔭🧪

A spreadsheet of telescope observing periods

I keep forgetting when and where telescope observing cycles/periods are, so I spent a part of this morning making this spreadsheet which you can view. I will attempt to keep it updated (and yes, P116 is 7 months, not six!) #astrodon #exoplanets 🔭🪐

Trump moves to close government lab that tracks planet-warming pollution The lab is connected to the Mauna Loa Observatory, where scientists gather data to produce the Keeling Curve, a chart on the daily status of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.

New: A NOAA lab in Hawaii that is connected to the longest-running observation of global greenhouse gas concentrations is slated for closure in August, according to a list of lease terminations Democratic members of Congress shared with @washingtonpost.com.

🔭🧪 There are many bad shutdowns, but this is very bad. The Mauna Loa plots are one of the best #scicomm tools available to show rising CO2, and they’re so impactful specifically *because* they’re up to date w/ such a clear trend over such a long time. Explore while you can: gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/

🔭 The JWST Cycle 4 science program is out today! 🔭

Some truly exhilarating #exoplanet programs will be carried out by JWST starting in July 2025.

Let's take a look at some highlights. 🛰️🔭🪐

THREAD (1/9)

See that small dot to the lower left of the Sun's centre?

That's the planet Mercury.

NIH cuts billions of dollars in biomedical funding, effective immediately The move halts a large slice of money for most universities and research institutions virtually overnight, imperiling vital research in everything from cancer to heart disease.

NIH has cut billions of dollars in biomedical funding, effective immediately
The move halts a large slice of money for most universities and research institutions virtually overnight, imperiling vital research in everything from cancer to heart disease.

www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

White House budget proposal could shatter the National Science Foundation “This kind of cut would kill American science and boost China.”…

The US government has been turned over to a group of extraordinarily ignorant people, and they are working to destroy science in this country. Cutting over half the NSF budget would save < 0.1% of the federal budget, but do incalculable harm. Simply heartbreaking.

arstechnica.com/science/2025...

Doge staffers enter Noaa headquarters and incite reports of cuts and threats Members reportedly sought access to IT systems at agency that Project 2025 has called ‘harmful to US prosperity’

USAID, NOAA …

NASA did a feature on me last year. It was up this weekend but now when you click on the link you get a 404 message.

Extreme supersonic winds measured on planet outside our Solar System @eso.org
Astronomers have discovered extremely powerful winds pummeling the equator of WASP-127b. Reaching speeds up to 33 000 km/h, the winds make up the fastest jetstream of its kind ever measured on a planet. #astronomy

World's darkest and clearest skies at risk from industrial megaproject On December 24th, AES Andes, a subsidiary of the US power company AES Corporation, submitted a project for a massive industrial complex for environmental impact assessment. This complex threatens the pristine skies above ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert, the darkest and clearest of any astronomical observatory in the world [1]. The industrial megaproject is planned to be located just 5 to 11 kilometres from telescopes at Paranal, which would cause irreparable damage to astronomical observations, in particular due to light pollution emitted throughout the project’s operational life. Relocating the complex would save one of Earth's last truly pristine dark skies.

The skies above Paranal are at risk from a proposed industrial megaproject. 

This would be located in the vicinity of ESO's Observatory. If constructed, it would irreparably impact astronomical observations.

Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2501/
🔭 

📷 ESO/P. Horálek

Reviewing PhD applications is going to be a tough one because of the competitive profile of prospective grad students. A PhD is meant to be a training ground for learning how to conduct research and not a place requiring applicants to demonstrate they already possess exceptional skill

A thread 🧵1/7

I made a new gif for a new site tracking JWST observations of exoplanets (still a work in progress): jlothringer.github.io/Dashboard.html

What an exciting ~3 years it has been! ✨🔭✨

Check out this new article from the researchers at the Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço (IA) 👀

The IA's Pedro Machado is an Ariel Consortium board member & coordinator of the Ariel working group linking the study of exoplanet atmospheres with that of the Solar System

A Rare Venus Solar Transit Helps Unravel Exoplanet Atmospheres - Astrobiology In the next decade, researchers will start probing the atmosphere of planets as small as Earth and Venus orbiting nearby stars.

A Rare Venus Solar Transit Helps Unravel Exoplanet Atmospheres
astrobiology.com/2024/12/a-ra... #astrobiology #Venus #exoplanet #astronomy #habitability

Summer internships

The Max Planck Institute for Astronomy Summer Internships are open for applications! This is an opportunity for bachelor and masters students 🤩 If you are interested in doing some exoplanets research, contact me!

More info: www.mpia.de/en/careers/i...

🔭🪐⭐🧪👩‍🔬