Karen Masters

Heading offline for a restorative break before getting busy again. Teaching both upper level statistical physics and observational astronomy this semester. And taking daughter to college. It’s going to be a lot.

The US could see a 30-40% decline in new international student enrollment, resulting in nearly $7 billion in lost revenue and more than 60,000 fewer American jobs. https://www.nafsa.org/fall-2025-international-student-enrollment-outlook-and-economic-impact

Goals!

(The witches are on the side of good which I personally prefer. Need to find myself some words and ways somewhere).

The Once and Future Witches In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used t…

Just finished this and strong recommend if you want to read a story of underdogs fighting (and winning) against the cruel and powerful www.goodreads.com/book/show/49...

people are so weird about the radicalization of men thing.

if i told you that one social group was becoming violent and aggressive in response to a social group that they've traditionally repressed gaining resources and power, it would be immediately comprehensible.

My other reaction though is sadness that she doesn’t get to explore and learn from the other subjects and classes she would take in an undergraduate program.

Obviously this young mathematician is amazing.

But the article is an enjoyable read about the universal human story of looking for a path, for proof, the value of interaction w other great minds, & the silliness of institutions' valuing traditional credentials over the advances she *had* achieved.

That’s an impressively symmetric three armed spiral.

orange cat lying on floor with square lights reflected on his flank that resembles lit windows

live action catbus looking pretty sweet

There is nothing that gets my red flag meter going quite like men saying things like "it was hard meeting women because I was interested in (insert nerdy thing here)" when I have distinct memories of certain kinds of men in nerdy thing specifically and repeatedly excluding me from nerdy thing.

August 1: N=4 letters (for three different people) and two addition requests with deadline TBC.

Wind and Solar Energy Are Cheaper Than Electricity from Fossil-Fuel Plants Even without subsidies, renewable energy is staying competitive with power from gas and coal

Wind and Solar Energy Are Cheaper Than Electricity from Fossil-Fuel Plants

Even without subsidies, renewable energy is staying competitive with power from gas and coal

www.scientificamerican.com/article/wind...

Well it’s August. Ok!

There is no real athletic reason for this. It's just hate.

A “catastrophic failure called sunset”🤔 Astronomers would like a word.

*we moved to a back up plan of pizza and movie night.

That our end of summer physics/astro research pool party has been called off* for thunderstorms and flash flood warnings kind of summarises how summer weather has been this year.

Reminds me of other advice (iirc this was from Christi Tremonti) that time being a co-author on other people's papers takes time away from your ability to work on your own first author papers. And at many career points the latter counts a LOT more than the former.

Helicopter parenting also removes opportunities to practice being responsible for things while the stakes are low.

The Ring Nebula, Now with Argon!

AstroBin's Image of the Day: "The Ring Nebula, Now with Argon!" by Nico Carver
www.astrobin.com/jk9lev/
#astrophotography

Light pollution is encroaching on observatories around the globe – making it harder for astronomers to study the cosmos Some observatories that used to be dark and remote are now adjacent to bright urban centers. And sending all telescopes into space isn’t a viable solution.

Light pollution is stealing our view of the stars ⭐

Mountaintop observatories worldwide face growing skyglow from city lights and LEDs.

Protecting dark skies isn’t just for astronomers – it’s about preserving a universal right to see the cosmos.

Readers, if you don't know, course evals are often a nightmare for women & faculty of color. I've had friends & colleagues report students commenting on their appearance, using racial slurs, & making all sorts of misogynistic comments.
white male = genius, non-white/female = pushing an agenda.

And good luck with the move.

I am very bad at doing that though!

Early on in my first postdoc I got advice I often think about. It’s usually better to prioritize one paper and get it out (and move on to the next) than to juggle all of them.

Amazon review of Pride and Prejudice, left by carlton p morgan on 30 July 2010: "Just a bunch of people going to each other's houses"

Happy 15th anniversary of the peak achievement of literary criticism, to all who celebrate

Not that this is news, but comments about “stealing” women from him were incredibly gross.

Rejoice! ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ Is Finally Getting a Sequel Those still reeling from the Lionesses’ historic victory have even more news to celebrate.

Someone just alerted me to this news by being snarky about it and friends, I HAVE BEEN WAITING SINCE I WAS PREGNANT WITH THE DAUGHTER WHO JUST GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE FOR A SEQUEL TO BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM.

Snark however much you want, internet stranger, I am choosing joy!

As an actual Astronomer… pretty please yes this?