Dr. Michele L. Silverstein (she/her/hers)

This was absolutely a team effort. Thank you to my collaborators at the Naval Research Laboratory and Bucknell University!

All of this is only possible thanks to the ongoing VLA Low-band Ionosphere Transient Experiment (VLITE; vlite.nrao.edu), led by the Naval Research Laboratory for over a decade. 📡

These guys are nearby at only about 5 parsecs (17 light-years), and there’s potential to dig in further with focused observations, now that we know they’re emitting at this frequency 🔭.

a glowing yellow star on a blue background Alt: a slowly rotating, glowing yellow star on a blue background

Intriguingly, these two stars are highly magnetically active (think solar flares, sunspots) ☀️, yet one of them might be rotating uncharacteristically slowly.

an artist 's impression of jupiter with two moons in the background Alt: An artist's impression of Jupiter with two moons in the background. The magnetic interaction between Jupiter, its moons, and Io's plasma disk is analogous to what we might find in system with an ultracool dwarf system with exoplanets and a disk.

Part of the excitement is that we can use this frequency to search these cold objects for planets and disks of material that could go undetected at higher and lower frequencies 🌍. At the same time, we have a unique opportunity to learn about their magnetic properties! 🧲

a large white satellite dish with a blue sky in the background ALT: a large white satellite dish with a blue sky in the background

Using an array of radio antennas in New Mexico, we found a pair of very small stars at a frequency which we’ve found no other “ultracool dwarfs” to-date. Ultracool dwarfs are the brown dwarfs and the least-massive stars, smaller than the Sun but bigger than a giant planet 🪐.

First Detection of an Ultracool Dwarf at 340 MHz: VLITE Observations of EI Cancri AB Magnetically driven phenomena such as flaring events and aurorae lead ultracool dwarfs to emit at radio frequencies. Despite decades of scrutiny, a comprehensive physical understanding of their radio ...

I’m excited to announce my latest astronomy research publication! 📝☀️📡

“First Detection of an Ultracool Dwarf at 340 MHz: VLITE Observations of EI Cancri AB”

arxiv.org/abs/2512.11120

A quick low-down in the comments!

A pika sits on a mossy rock.

Tighter crop of the same pika, focusing on its head.

An even tighter crop, focusing more on the pika's eye.

An extremely tight crop of the pika's eye, emphasizing their reflection of an early morning mountain scene.

"Pat, why do you carry that ridiculous 600mm lens on long hikes?"

Buddy, I can see mountains reflected in the eyes of a trailside pika.

Congratulations Eliot!!! 💜

Protest planned to save NASA from Trump cuts! Join us in DC Monday, June 30, from 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM.

Looking for some respite-escapism from <horrified looks at the news>? Join a #RubinFirstLook watch party on Mon 23rd June: the cosmos is calming.🔭🧪

#Edinburgh - come to Dynamic Earth (🎟️ almost sold-out): dynamicearth.org.uk/event/rubin-...

🍿: Watch live on YouTube: www.youtube.com/live/Zv22_Am...

I got together with some mom friends tonight sans kids and we ate mac & cheese and made s'mores and talked about our gardens.

It's so nice to have casual friends you can unwind with every month or so. Busy or out of town this month? No worries, you can see them next month.

Sorry for your loss 🙁. A good reminder.

It’s like people forget that NASA has been through these ups and downs, developing processes and rigorous check systems to ensure mission safety and success. But no, we’re going to pay for rich billionaires’ pet projects to reinvent the wheel.

Tell Congress: Save NASA Science The current administration's 2026 budget request includes a staggering 47% cut to NASA's science programs as part of a 25% cut to NASA overall. This is an extinction-level event for the Earth and spac...

Tell Congress: Save NASA Science www.congressweb.com/PlanetarySoc...

Astronomy is in trouble, but you can help! 🔭🧪

I made this video as part of the @aas.org #savescience week of action. Check out their resources on how you can help here

aas.org/advocacy/get...

Gordon Stacey is great. He was my first research mentor back when I was an undergrad 🙂

And I said HEEEY-EEEY-EEEY-EEY-EY, HEEEY-EEEY-EEEY…I said HEY! What’s GOIN’ ON

“It's hypocrisy to call yourself a Christian and chase away a refugee or someone seeking help, someone who is hungry or thirsty, toss out someone who is in need of my help.
If I say I am Christian, but do these things, I'm a hypocrite."

-Pope Francis

Promising hints of life found on distant planet K2-18b Scientists find new but tentative evidence that a faraway world orbiting another star may be home to life.

An astonishing headline reporting on new observations from a team led to Nikku Madhusudhan claims they’ve found ‘hints of life’ on a planet orbiting a dwarf star some 124 light years away. What’s going on? (1/n) www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... 🔭 🧪

Trump and DOGE Are Planning Deregulation at a Massive Scale (Gift Article) The White House will soon move to rapidly repeal or freeze rules that affect health, food, workplace safety, transportation and more.

Gift link:

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/15/u...

Even accepting the premise that AI produces useful writing (which no one should), using AI in education is like using a forklift at the gym. The weights do not actually need to be moved from place to place. That is not the work. The work is what happens within you.

Trump and DOGE Are Planning Deregulation at a Massive Scale The White House will soon move to rapidly repeal or freeze rules that affect health, food, workplace safety, transportation and more.

“Many people don’t realize how high the American quality of life is because of the competent & stable enforcement of regulations, &if that goes away a lot of lives are at risk,” said Steve Cicala… “This affects airplane safety, baby formula safety, the safety of meat, vegetables and packaged foods…”

Why are the rare earths China is withholding so precious? China is blocking exports of these vital minerals. What makes them so special?

Why Are Rare Earth Metals So Precious? www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...

Museum and Planetarium Friends,

Many of you use NASA SVS material. Right now it is critical that we are able to document SVS's impact.

Please let us know how you are using our content (use my email address at the bottom of this page: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov).

Thank you!

So is this the time when we advise the people whom we have a duty of care not to go to the US for academic conferences?

Look you know you needed some feel-good news today.

False colour JWST NIRCam image of a nearby star forming region in front of a deep back ground of colorful galaxies. NASA, ESA, CSA, K. McQuinn (STScI), J. DePasquale (STScI)

Oh come ON now. This new JWST image is just ASTOUNDING.

I feel like I’m falling looking into it, and that I would fall forever, and that I would enjoy it.

NASA, ESA, CSA, K. McQuinn (STScI), J. DePasquale (STScI)

It was an excellent talk on an important topic! Congratulations :)