Kat Troche

E.P.A. Says It Will Eliminate Its Scientific Research Arm

Terrible Friday news dump.The wealth of expertise. The decades of scientific progress. The emerging and urgent challenges we were focused on tackling. It is all so short-sided and cruel. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/c...

A smiling woman stands in a living room holding an Emmy® Award. She is wearing glasses and a black t-shirt with bold red text that reads “TOWER RECORDS.”

Huge shout out to my colleagues at @astrosociety.org for getting me this opportunity, to my family/friends for thinking what I do is cool, and my astrono-babe, Michael, for backing me up every step of the way 💖

A close-up of an Emmy® Award resting in a black velvet-lined display case. The gold statue features a winged figure holding an atom. The base inscription reads: 2024–2025 News & Documentary Emmy® Awards Outstanding Live News Special 2024 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA NASA+ Kat Troche, Cameraperson

I haven't stopped crying. The biggest thanks in the world goes to the #NASA team for bringing me in on this amazing project, resulting in an #EmmyAwards win — something I'd've never thought was possible.

The North Star Has an Age-Defying Secret: Stellar Cannibalism The iconic star Polaris appears to be much younger than its true age. The secret: it’s eating another star

Want to look young? Doctors hate this one trick!

www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...

Promotional image for Deep Space Dialogues featuring the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, with a cosmic background. Event speakers include Dr. Kristen McQuinn and Dr. Robyn Sanderson.

WEDNESDAY, 7 p.m. ET: #NASARoman Space Telescope is NASA’s next large strategic mission. University of Pennsylvania's Dr. Robyn Sanderson will tell us how Roman has the potential to discover what dark matter is—or isn't—by observing nearby galaxies: youtube.com/live/2NpN8ae... 🔭 🧪

The Sun and giant prominence with text label "GOES-19 SUVI Composite 304 Angstroms 2025-07-14 17:00:28"

There has been an absolutely enormous Prominence on the Sun. 🔭 🧪

CaFE Event Information - 2026 Grand Canyon Astronomer in Residence Read more about 2026 Grand Canyon Astronomer in Residence on CaFE

👩🏻‍💻

artist.callforentry.org/festivals_un...

🌌 New to teaching astronomy? Looking for ways to make your lessons more engaging and data-driven? Join the ASP’s expert educators for a 3-part online workshop series on using Stellarium, a free planetarium tool, to design student-centered lessons and labs that build scientific thinking. ✔️ Starts July 16 ✔️ Registration includes all 3 workshops ✔️ Perfect for new and seasoned teachers alike 🖱️ Enroll today: https://learn.astrosociety.org/products/ancient-skies-modern-tools-stellarium-in-the-classroom #STEMeducation #AstronomyTeaching #EdTech #ProfessionalDevelopment #ASP

🚨 #Science #teachers new to teaching #astronomy: Enroll in the #ASP’s #online 3-part #Stellarium workshop series starting July 16! Learn to create student-centered labs using this free tool to explore the sky like astronomers & build scientific thinking.🔭
✅ All 3 workshops included!
🔗 bit.ly/44QUMNB

A high-resolution color image of Mars with the small, dark, potato shaped satellite Phobos, seen in sharp contrast as it passes over the massive volcano Olympus Mons. Phobos appears irregular and shadowed against the softly rust colored Martian surface. In the distance, two other volcanic features Ascraeus Mons (upper right) and the flatter Alba Mons (upper left) are visible. Wisps of light clouds and the blackness of space frame the planet’s curved horizon.

1/n 🧵
Just released: NEW images of Phobos over Mars by @esa.int Mars Express 🔭🧪

This view shows Phobos above Olympus Mons!

Full-size (130MP) image & details: flic.kr/p/2rggHKy
Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/Andrea Luck CC BY

Captured on May 14, 2025 | Image ID: HQ967
Raw data from: psa.esa.int

Subcommittee Markup of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act | United States Senate Committee on Appropriations United States Senate Committee on Appropriations

🧪 BREAKING (good news): Senate subcommittee says NO! to Trump's proposed slashes to NASA & NSF funding.

Today, the subcommittee said to keep NASA + NSF funding at $33.9 billion, the same as in FY24.

See 7:15 below. Full Senate appropriations committee meets tomorrow about it.

🧵 1/3

A close-up photo of a 2025 Webby Award trophy nestled in a black satin-lined box. The trophy features a silver coil design engraved with binary code (0s and 1s to spell W-E-B-B-Y) and a metal base with an inscription that reads: “2025 Webby Award Winner Video & Film: Limited-Series & Specials–Events & Live Streams 2024 NASA Eclipse Broadcast Kat Troche.”

A person smiling while holding a large Webby Award trophy close to their face. The trophy features a shiny silver coil design with engraved binary code and a metal base with an inscription. The person is wearing a dark shirt with a light blue map-like graphic. The background is a neutral-colored wall.

Back in May, #NASA took home the #WebbyAwards win in 'Video & Film: Limited-Series & Specials-Events & Live' for their broadcast '2024 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA'! As one of the telescope operators, I was given the opportunity receive an award!

Now, back to the grind ✨🔭

everyday we ask for many healthcare and 0 zero capitalism

and everyday we get many capitalism and 0 healthcare

Never forget 🫡

Critical Hurricane Forecast Tool Abruptly Terminated U.S. Department of Defense announced Tuesday it would no longer process and deliver data essential to most hurricane forecasts

A huge blow was dealt to hurricane forecasters this week as a critical tool was abruptly terminated by the Department of Defense and NOAA. The immediate discontinuation of data from three weather satellites will severely impact hurricane forecasts this season and beyond. More ⬇️

‘This is bull——”: National Science Foundation employees protest HUD's takeover Dozens of National Science Foundation employees crowded the agency’s headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, Wednesday to protest the news that the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, w...

Another day testing the limits of resilience.

The Alexandria NSF building was designed for the NSF merit review process (gold standard), complete with a floor devoted to panels.

Now we aren’t allowed to have in person panels.

The loss of US science leadership will haunt this country for decades.

This was certainly a sentence 😐

Join the #ASP! We’re a community passionate about #science literacy! We invite you to get involved through our programs, use our #astronomy materials in the classroom, join our webinars, attend a #virtual workshop, or present at our annual conference on August 21! 🧪🔭

Get Involved!
buff.ly/wTAbSgJ

ASP’s Vivian White & Kat Troche are in Utah this week! 🌌 Catch them at ASTROCON 2025 — the Astronomical League’s national convention — and at Bryce Canyon’s Astro Fest on Friday, June 27 from 2–5 PM MT at the Visitor Center! Stop by & say hi! 💫 #ASTROCON2025 #BryceAstroFest

ASP’s Vivian White & Kat Troche are in Utah this week! 🌌 Catch them at ASTROCON 2025 — the Astronomical League’s national convention — and at Bryce Canyon’s Astro Fest on Friday, June 27 from 2–5 PM MT at the Visitor Center! Stop by & say hi! 💫 #ASTROCON2025 #BryceAstroFest

#ASP’s Vivian White & Kat Troche are in Utah this week!🔭

Catch them at #ASTROCON 2025 — the Astronomical League’s national convention — & at Bryce Canyon’s #Astro #Fest on Friday, June 27 from 2–5 PM MT at the Visitor Center!

Stop by, say hi & chat about stargazing! 💫 #ASTROCON2025
#BryceAstroFest

It's not just #NIH. It's not just #NSF. It's not just #NASA.

The whole scientific community has to make clear that all science across fed agencies is being destroyed in the US.

We can't just ask for our particular piece of the pie. The whole pie is being thrown out - saving your bit won't work.

NEW: NSF will be kicked out of their building. Announcement will be made tomorrow by HUD Sec. and Governor of VA. HUD will take over the NSF building over the next two years.

NSF staffer: "There is no planning for NSF, no identified future location, appropriation for a new building or a move."

Ever-changing Universe Revealed in First Imagery From NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory - From distant stars and galaxies to asteroids whizzing through the Solar System, this next-generation facility ... Ever-changing Universe Revealed in First Imagery From NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory

I just got an email saying the embargo is lifted, so here's the full @vrubinobs.bsky.social press release: noirlab.edu/public/news/...

Meet your new cosmic neighbors ☄️

Introducing a swarm of over 2100 new asteroids discovered by NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory!

Rubin discovered these asteroids in about 10.5 hours of observing across 7 nights.

They've never been seen by humanity before...until now.🔭🧪

youtu.be/DTuq-vBsDJE

A Hater’s Guide to Life on Mars Colonizing Mars is bullshit.

I got tired of having the "should we colonize Mars" argument, so I wrote something that makes my feelings, and reasoning, extremely clear: medium.com/@adeene.dent...

A dog and whistle.

Looks like you dropped this.

You live in a time when you can see our Universe like this.

The current U.S. administration wants to gut science and stand in the way of our next steps in understanding where we came from.

Call your Senators and Representatives. Tell them to save U.S. scientific leadership. To save science.

Swirling green bands of Aurora in the night sky above a thick band of clouds, as seen from an airplane 30,000 feet up. Near the top of the aurora, purple colors appear along with a dark night sky scattered with stars.

Being in a space with passionate astronomy educators and researchers helps remind me why we continue the fight for science.

#ExploreAstronomy

A woman in blue jeans, a gray shirt and a red ball cap standing in front of a mural pained on the side of a building that says 'Greetings from Alaska' with the northern lights painted into the picture, and various scenes of a bear catching salmon and an eagle flying over mountains and a glacier painted into the letters.

A dark mountain range with snow covering the tops of the mountains in the background, with a dense green forest in the mid ground, and a lake in the foreground. The mountains are reflected in the lake due to its clarity.

A woman at a podium addressing an audience with an image of people on a projector screen along with text that says "Why success requires diversity. (Pictured above: eclipse ambassadors from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific."

A woman standing on a lawn with green grass, between two telescopes that are looking at the sun, and a person looking through one of telescopes. There are several people in the background walking around.

I had a blast representing @astrosociety.org at #AAS246! Huge thanks to the @aas.org Education Committee and #AnchorageMuseum for putting on an incredible outreach event, in addition to the various special sessions I was invited to be a part of.

Gemini weekly footprint

Science observations @GeminiObs from 2025-05-27 to 2025-06-02: #astronomy

If you burn down a forest, you don't miss out on lumber for just that season. You have to replant all the trees, nurture them, and wait for them to grow.

The science and research budget cuts happening now are wanton, senseless arson. Recovery, if it ever happens, will take generations.