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Michelle Collins

@runningastronomer

✨Astronomer searching for and studying the faintest galaxies in the Universe ✨co-host of the @starxiv.bsky.social podcast ✨ Enthusiastic-but-mediocre runner πŸƒπŸ»β€β™€οΈ vegan 🌱 She/her

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03.07.2023
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Latest posts by Michelle Collins @runningastronomer

I hope everyone who checked out @hogg.bsky.social’s white paper on the implications of LLMs in astronomy and shared it across slack channels similarly perused and amplified this white paper of best practices for broadening participation in astronomy!

08.03.2026 21:40 πŸ‘ 45 πŸ” 12 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

They just want us to THINK it's an asteroid so we don't fight back

04.03.2026 09:14 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

πŸ˜‚ that is very cute!

04.03.2026 09:13 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Apophis isn't just a power mad Goa'uld. It's also a large near earth object that will make a close flyby of the earth in 2029. This paper looked into where it came from and whether we expect more encounters with similar objects πŸ”­πŸ§ͺβ˜„οΈ

04.03.2026 08:07 πŸ‘ 16 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 2

Payel discussed this nice paper that used a simple model for star formation to unpack what's happening at z>5. πŸ”­πŸ§ͺβ˜„οΈ

03.03.2026 15:20 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I'm very excited to announce a PhD position that will be supervised by Eugene Vasiliev and myself on the dynamical modelling of barred galaxies. Check it out!

03.03.2026 09:28 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

Say hello to one the 7th known triple double radio galaxy! Its three distinct pairs of lobes likely trace three distinct periods of activity from the central black hole. Very cool stuff πŸ”­πŸ§ͺβ˜„οΈ

03.03.2026 07:37 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

It's @starxiv.bsky.social day! New episode is out. Join us and learn about lots of cool astronomy stuff. Including triple double radio galaxies which I did not know about until I read a paper for this episode πŸ€©β˜„οΈπŸ§ͺπŸ”­

02.03.2026 17:35 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Voice of Victim

"There was a University lectureship competition

My friend was in pole position. My Head of Department asked me if she was likely to go on maternity leave

I refused to answer

My HoD has not spoken to me since she was appointed -- & then went on maternity leave"

01.03.2026 19:45 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Beyond Ultra-Faint: revealing dark-matter rich globular clusters in the local universe | University of Surrey

Me and @readdark.bsky.social are advertising aPhD position in our lovely group here at Surrey university. We're looking to understand unusual globular clusters and faint dwarf galaxies. Check out the advert and get in touch if you have questions πŸ”­πŸ§ͺ www.surrey.ac.uk/fees-and-fun...

26.02.2026 12:43 πŸ‘ 30 πŸ” 14 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
A new space race could turn our atmosphere into a β€˜crematorium for satellites’ Planned β€˜megaconstellations’ of satellites could cause unforeseen harm to the ozone layer and climate systems. Global regulation is needed before it’s too late.

Excellent piece from @astrokiwi.bsky.social @sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy & Laura Revell.

This one sentence is the crux of it all πŸ‘‡

"There is no public mandate for a single company in one country to make changes on that scale to the planet’s atmosphere."

Highly recommended.

πŸ”­πŸ§ͺ

26.02.2026 22:33 πŸ‘ 122 πŸ” 56 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 5

"Progressives were told how to vote"

... what sort of frothing BS is this as an excuse? 'Telling people how to vote' is what campaigning is. If enough people do as told to achieve victory, that's democracy.

If you don't like it, leave the country. I'm sure I've heard that sentiment elsewhere...

27.02.2026 07:44 πŸ‘ 60 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 1

Exactly this. Can we get one of those Trump baby balloons, but for Farage? Populist babies.

27.02.2026 08:15 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Rubin Observatory has started paging astronomers 800,000 times a night Asteroids, exploding stars, and feasting black holes swarm in the first-ever batch of nightly alerts from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: Wake up, astronomersβ€”the sky is calling.

@vrubinobs.bsky.social has unleashed its first rapid-fire alerts of new celestial activity. 800k of 'emβ€”a nightly number that will soon rise to a million+!

By @meghanbartels.bsky.social

www.scientificamerican.com/article/rubi...

26.02.2026 13:05 πŸ‘ 55 πŸ” 19 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences studentships | University of Surrey

Or if astronomy isn't your bag, check out our many other physics, maths, engineering, chemistry and computing projects! share.google/WBCxAnIX8xI6...

26.02.2026 13:27 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Dynamical modelling of barred galaxies | University of Surrey

Our colleagues, Eugene Vasiliev and @payeldas.bsky.social are also hiring! The dynamical dream team! πŸ§ͺπŸ”­ www.surrey.ac.uk/fees-and-fun...

26.02.2026 13:23 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
Beyond Ultra-Faint: revealing dark-matter rich globular clusters in the local universe | University of Surrey

Me and @readdark.bsky.social are advertising aPhD position in our lovely group here at Surrey university. We're looking to understand unusual globular clusters and faint dwarf galaxies. Check out the advert and get in touch if you have questions πŸ”­πŸ§ͺ www.surrey.ac.uk/fees-and-fun...

26.02.2026 12:43 πŸ‘ 30 πŸ” 14 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

STFC CEO responds to @jonbutterworth.bsky.social

"it is important for all of our ... programmes ... to contribute to us making savings across our entire portfolio"

No mention that *all* is disproportionately falling on the particle-astro-nuclear programme πŸ€·β€β™€οΈπŸ˜‘

www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

26.02.2026 09:39 πŸ‘ 57 πŸ” 24 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 3

As @chrislintott.bsky.social points out in the thread, this is becoming an issue of Super Moon proportions πŸ˜¬πŸ”­

25.02.2026 12:16 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The Seestar S50. It's great!

23.02.2026 20:44 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Crikey O'Reilly 😬

23.02.2026 17:20 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
The Orion nebula takes up most of the image. A bright red bumble surrounds a bright star at the top, and then a skirt of illuminated gas falls beneath it

The Orion nebula takes up most of the image. A bright red bumble surrounds a bright star at the top, and then a skirt of illuminated gas falls beneath it

The horse head nebula! A dark silhouette of a horse head sts in a red band of gas

The horse head nebula! A dark silhouette of a horse head sts in a red band of gas

Last night, it was finally clear! So naturally I got out the Seestar πŸ”­πŸ˜

23.02.2026 14:10 πŸ‘ 76 πŸ” 15 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 0
Nigel Farage grifting about the Chagos Islands

Nigel Farage grifting about the Chagos Islands

Fighting age man attempts to enter British territory illegally on a small boat

23.02.2026 08:13 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Good luck and enjoy it!

21.02.2026 18:59 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

This is devastating for Carl’s family, and for his IPAC friends and colleagues. We are all shocked and saddened. His contributions to exoplanets and infrared science and the astronomy community will not be forgotten. πŸ’”

20.02.2026 04:09 πŸ‘ 145 πŸ” 37 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 0

😍 MORE little red dot stuff! I'll have to note this one down for the next @starxiv.bsky.social ... πŸ”­β˜„οΈ

19.02.2026 11:19 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

Oh! Sure, makes sense πŸ˜‰

19.02.2026 07:51 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Does this paper that @payeldas.bsky.social discussed finally explain little red dots??? We are excited! Although we're always excited about little red dots... β˜„οΈπŸ§ͺπŸ”­

18.02.2026 20:37 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

What will we learn from faint, low surface brightness features with LSST? Lots, according to this paper that Nicole discussed on the @starxiv.bsky.social β€οΈπŸ”­πŸ§ͺβ˜„οΈ

18.02.2026 12:01 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Payel discussed this near result. A high resolution map of dark matter! Fiendishly tough to map, but just another example of where JWST shines β˜„οΈπŸ”­πŸ§ͺ

17.02.2026 07:10 πŸ‘ 12 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0