Becka Phillipson

Very excited to be working on a novel LSST project involving the rapid alerts, data compression, and service to the community.... we had fun coming up with a title, but landed on "Democracy Now" as our most tame version 😉

Satellite megaconstellations will threaten space-based astronomy - Nature Rapidly growing satellite constellations pose a substantial threat to astronomical observations, with projections indicating that future space telescopes will have more than 96% of their exposures affected by satellite trails, necessitating urgent mitigation strategies.

Nature research paper: Satellite megaconstellations will threaten space-based astronomy

go.nature.com/3Kxp5m8

Direct link to application portal: jobs.villanova.edu/postings/32197

I am hiring a postdoc to work with me on time domain astrophysics, primarily in prep for Rubin LSST. Job ad here: lnkd.in/esamU7gy
Please share! :)
Start date is flexible & can be as early as this Fall. There have been Q's about the application portal, so do not hesitate to email me for help!

A field of galaxies scattered across the deep black of space. It is filled with galaxies of many shapes, sizes and colors, as well as the multi-colored points of stars. To the lower left is a region filled with the hundreds of golden glittering gems of a distant galaxy cluster. In the foreground, below and left of center, two blue spiral galaxies look like eyes to the left of the entangled mass of a triple merger. A few bright blue points of foreground stars pierce the glittering tapestry.

A field of galaxies scattered across the black of space. It is filled with galaxies of many shapes, sizes and colors, as well as the bright multi-colored points of stars. The image focuses on a collection of interacting galaxies connected by delicate streams of stars. Like spider silk, these stellar bridges link the large elliptical to the few larger galaxies beneath.

A tapestry of glowing tan and pink gas clouds with dark dust lanes. In the lower right, the Trifid Nebula resembles a small flower in space. Its pink gas petals are surrounded by blue gas, and streaked with dark veins of dust. To the upper left, the larger Lagoon Nebula stretches wide like a churning sea of magenta gas, with bright blue, knotted clumps sprinkled throughout

Dense cluster of bright blue stars shining like beacons against wispy nebula cloud of orange and blue. The background is filled with countless smaller stars.

#WallpaperWednesday: #RubinFirstLook edition 🤩

Need a new phone background? Loved the first images from NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory?

We've got you! Save one of these to use, set it, and enjoy the cosmos captured by Rubin every time you use your phone 🌌🔭🧪

I was also a Jenkins fellow during my PhD, and it undoubtedly helped launch my research independence as well. The bottom line: more diverse avenues for opportunities = more people engaged in STEM.

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/...

My mind is absolutely blown by these stellar halos nearby NGC 4364!

Left: DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys (DR10)
Right: Newly released @vrubinobs.bsky.social imaging!!!

#AstroSci 🧪🔭

Mmm

YouTube video by Rubin Observatory Trifid and Lagoon Nebulae - VIDEO - EN

Here it is: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIJf...

A sprawling, textured field of galaxies scattered across the deep black of space. It is filled with the delicate smudges and glowing cores of galaxies of many shapes, sizes and colors, as well as the bright multi-colored points of stars. The image focuses on a collection of interacting galaxies connected by delicate streams of stars. At top center lies a large elliptical galaxy that is dense and smooth, like a polished stone glowing with golden light. Like delicate spider silk or stretched taffy, these stellar bridges link the large elliptical to the few larger galaxies beneath, evidence of past collisions. All throughout the image, thousands of galaxies gather in clusters or are spread throughout, like glittering gems strewn on a table. Some are sharp-edged and spiral, like coiled ribbons; others round and diffuse, like polished pebbles. Still others are just smudges of various colors against the black of space. The background is peppered with pinpoint stars in reds, yellows, and blues, crisp against the velvet black.

A cosmic tapestry of glowing tan and pink gas clouds with dark dust lanes. In the upper right, the Trifid Nebula resembles a small flower in space. Its soft, pinkish gas petals are surrounded by blue gas, and streaked with dark, finger-like veins of dust that divide it into three parts. It radiates a gentle, misty glow, diffuse and soft like the warmth of breath on a cold hand. To the lower left, the much larger Lagoon Nebula stretches wide like a churning sea of magenta gas, with bright blue, knotted clumps sprinkled throughout where new stars are born. Both nebulae are embedded in a soft tan backdrop of gas that is brighter on the left than on the right, etched with dark tendrils of dust and sprinkled with the pinpricks of millions of stars.

A sprawling, textured field of galaxies scattered across the deep black of space. It is filled with the delicate smudges and glowing cores of galaxies of many shapes, sizes and colors, as well as the bright multi-colored points of stars. To the lower left is a region filled with the hundreds of golden glittering gems of a distant galaxy cluster. In the foreground, below and right of center, two blue spiral galaxies look like eyes beneath the entangled mass of a triple galaxy merger in the upper right. A few bright blue points of foreground stars pierce the glittering tapestry. All throughout the image, thousands of galaxies gather in clusters or are spread throughout, like glittering gems strewn on a table. Some are sharp-edged and spiral, like coiled ribbons; others round and diffuse, like polished pebbles. Still others are just smudges of various colors against the black of space. The background is peppered with pinpoint stars in reds, yellows, and blues, crisp against the velvet black.

Introducing...your sneak peek at the cosmos captured by NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory!

Can you guess these regions of sky?

This is just a small peek...join us at 11am US EDT for your full First Look at how Rubin will #CaptureTheCosmos! 🔭🧪

#RubinFirstLook
ls.st/rubin-first-look-livestream

Skyviewer

Want to see NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory's Cosmic Treasure Chest for yourself?

Explore using Rubin's Skyviewer! There are billions of pixels to explore, and you might be the the first to lay eyes on a small, distant galaxy! #RubinFirstLook #CaptureTheCosmos

skyviewer.app

Next year’s incoming college freshmen were born after I got paired with this project 18 years ago.

The effects of suffocating this and other projects today will erase generations of scientists in the US going forward. 🧪🔭

Elementary Particle Physics: The Higgs and Beyond Read online, download a free PDF, or order a copy in print.

MAJOR PARTICLE PHYSICS REPORT RELEASE ⚛️🧪

The National Academies particle physics decadal report is out! Read read!

(I was a member of the committee that wrote this report but resigned during drafting bc of a conflict of service w/my HEPAP appointment.)

nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/2883...

A fantastic view from outside the plenary at #AAS246 in Anchorage is a lovely reminder that the Earth carries on despite us wee humans

Dara Norman @aas.org President kicks off the meeting with inspiration. “We are all in this together”. #aas246
🧪🔭✨

At the #AAS246 conference in Alaska. Raise your wriggly arms if you're jazzed by astro!

The night sky above Rubin Observatory's dome. The dense glowing band of the Milky Way appears to emanate from the top of the observatory's angular silver dome. The rest of the sky is sprinkled with the tiny white points of stars.

Did you know YOU will be able to work on NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory data in your free time as a volunteer scientist?🔭🧪

We've partnered with the Zooniverse, a platform where researchers build projects for volunteer scientists. Find out more at rubinobservatory.org/explore/citizen-science

📷: B. Quint

This Budget Plan Would Devastate U.S. Space Science Scientists are rallying to reverse ruinous proposed cuts to both NASA and the National Science Foundation

Rep Lofgren: “This sick joke of a budget is a nonstarter" - No truer words.

"For every $100 the US government spent, it put 40¢ in the bucket for NASA. And what do we get for that?
✨The Universe ✨"

"One of these bills represents, to scale, the federal budget & the other with NASA’s total budget trimmed off the edges. Can you tell the difference?" @philplait.bsky.social

Yes, the proposed NASA & NSF cuts would shutter many high-priority next-gen US astro facilities. But even more importantly, the proposed budget surgically targets & eliminates the pathways for training & employing the people req'd to get science out of the facilities we can still afford to complete.

A screenshot of p.43 of https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fiscal-Year-2026-Discretionary-Budget-Request.pdf showing $119.3B moved from Defense to Non-Defense.

Briefly wandered over to The Other Place to gauge the response to the NASA budget devastation to encounter a bunch of gleeful 'we spend too much money, so this is great.'

TO BE, ONCE AGAIN, PERFECTLY CLEAR, THE BUDGET REQUEST MOVES ALL THIS MONEY TO DEFENSE. IT SPENDS IT. NO MONEY IS SAVED.

Donald Trump’s proposed budget would gut American science It would slash cancer research, drug trials, space exploration, and so much more.

Cutting $20 billion to NIH over 25 years may save $500 billion on paper, but it’d end up costing $8.2 trillion in lost human health.

But NIH isn't the only thing being cut. The budget also slashes all NSF-funded science by 73 percent. NASA faces “the biggest single-year cut to NASA in history."

There's a lot to unpack in the president's FY26 requested #NASA budget, but the near zeroing of the physics of the cosmos program (from $196M to $1.5M) is especially bleak. If passed, the future of high-energy astrophysics is not in the US. 🔭

something that stands out about this is just how cheap it is for us to have world-leading scientific capacity

we spent ~6.75 trillion last year, and the combined budgets for NIH, NSF and NASA are barely more than 1% of that

what an incredible waste to lose it all for a drop in the bucket

Following the inspiration of @ohdearz.bsky.social @theplanetaryguy.bsky.social @jtuttlekeane.bsky.social here’s the NASA fleet with the proposed budget cuts. Red X’s will be fully defunded, green X’s will lose all NASA funding but have other funding sources, and exclamation point means >50% cuts

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Lots of neat anecdotes in this article for fellow ADHDers :)

NSF, NASA and NIH budgets per year, inflation adjusted from 2000-2025 along with the proposed cuts. NSF includes research component only. Massive cuts across all sectors, well below support spanning 25 years.

How bad will it be? Catastrophic.

Proposed cuts to #NSF, #NIH, and #NASA will set the US R&D landscape back 25 yrs+, cause economic and job loss now, and undermine innovations to come.

But, this is the WH's *proposed* budget.

Speak up now before it is too late.

(inflation adjusted $-s below)

I was an MPS Ascend fellow, now in my first year post-fellowship in a faculty position. This is devastating on so many levels.