@karenlmasters
Prof. of Astronomy and Physics, Haverford College. PI of Galaxy Zoo. Radio astronomer. Check out my latest book “The Astronomers Library” about books, libraries and astronomy - three of my favourite things. Brit/US.
The polar opposite of enshittification:
"What can we do to promote our tyre sales?"
"How about we write this guide to promote fine dining around the country?"
*chorus of "Oui!" and "Bien dit!" erupts in the board room*
Portrait of Émile du Châtelet by Maurice Quentin de la Tour
For #WomensHistoryMonth: Let us celebrate the life and accomplishments of French mathematician and physicist Émilie du Châtelet (1706-1749). She spread the then-new ideas of Isaac Newton on the Continent, and played a key role in developing the idea of energy conservation. 🎢⚛️🧪 #WomenInSTEM 🧵1/7
Just bc I'm a nerd and bc our days of the week were named after gods who also have planets named after them...
I'm gonna do a daily thread on book about the corresponding planet!
Today is Monday which is MOON-DAY. So here are some amazing books on the Moon for sale 🌝
#ASPLibrary 🧪 📚 🔭
#BookSky 📚💙
"BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that we affirm the rights of students and teachers to refuse to sign up for, prompt, or otherwise use generative AI in the writing classroom."
College writing teachers have spoken, y'all.
The CCCC resolution affirming students' and teachers' right to refuse generative AI in the writing classroom passed by an overwhelming majority at the #4C26 Annual Business Meeting this past Friday, March 6.
Link to the full resolution below.
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!
#sciart 🔭
"Just after starting on Cars 2, I was told by a superior that I would be uninvited from all weekly art department meetings because Lasseter 'has a hard time controlling himself' around young women... It was clear that the institution was working hard to protect him, at the expense of women like me."
Yellow and white crocuses.
Spring is coming! 🌸🌼🪻
What inspires someone to pursue physics for life?
From discovering general relativity to the encouragement of mentors, women in our community share the moments that shaped their journeys.
This #InternationalWomensDay we’re celebrating women advancing physics and inspiring the next generation. 🌟
To my Canadian friends, an acquaintance started a petition to allow US transgender citizens to claim refugee status here.
www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...
If you’re Canadian please sign it.
If you’re not, please share ❤️
My understanding as a Mandarin Chinese learner is that there is a similar set up there with “bu cuo” (不错) literally meaning “not bad” but actually meaning really good. Most of the time.
Reminded by a mail from @nccomfort.bsky.social that in UK English “quite” is a negative modifier unless applied to a superlative. So quite good, quite smart, quite tasty etc imply something less than good, smart, tasty. Quite excellent, quite brilliant, quite scrumptious are all better. But why?
Im a historian of vaccination.
Every semester/year since 2015, I teach the histories of smallpox vaccination.
And every semester/year, I have had anti-vaxxers/vaccine hesitant people in my classes.
If I want to change their minds, telling them how evil or stupid they are isn't going to cut it.
A white cat playing with a coloured ball with a long red string. A black cat lies nearby. Background is silver.
'Playing cats' - Takahashi Hiroaki, ca. 1930.
#Caturday #JapaneseArt
Thanks for the recommendation. The Haverford bookclub also mostly (many retired) female faculty and staff from humanities. Plus me and a male biology professor! But it’s great.
Here’s a full draft of the upcoming second edition of my “Data Visualization: A Practical Introduction”: socviz.co
Growing up in the UK where this is just not a thing and I don't think I will get used to it. In the UK you go to the Doctor, then you are done... In the US - you get bills, you have to push back on denied claims etc. etc...
My regular musing on how much money is wasted by how time intensive US medical bill payment (and understanding if your insurance covered something or not ) is to people...
This story, from @natezuke.bsky.social, is absolutely wild. A trans woman who never changed her gender marker was issued a letter invalidating her license. At the DMV they cut up her license, which had an "M" marker.
www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...
If, like me, the #TrollClouds have ruined your #LunarEclipse experience, which has now commenced - tune into Griffith Observatory's live feed.
The music is great!
💥New post | The majority of UK academic institutions now no longer post on X
✍️ @andytattersall.bsky.social
#AcademicSky #X #AcademicSocialMedia
The first image off my camera of the Blood Moon. This is right at totality, 3:33 a.m. I did very little processing on this. I sharpened it. The light and color are exactly as they came off my camera. #astronomy #astrophotography
A night photo of the moon during the lunar eclipse, there is a hint of red in the illuminated area.
Totality, lunar eclipse. The moon has a very red color to it.
Lunar eclipse 3 March 2026 approaching totality and totality at 4:33am this morning. Mainly clear sky, handheld shots using a tree stump for a bit of stability so not as sharp as they could be, still, fun to see it all unfold.
Flat boats on a river with trees alongside and a full moon low in the sky beyond.
'Moon at Seba' from the series '69 Stations of the Kisokaido' - Utagawa Hiroshige, ca 1834.
#FullMoon #ukiyoe #JapaneseArt
A full moon in the sky reflected on still water on which a boat with three people is passing. Reeds grow on the shore in the foreground.
'Moonlit Sea' - Koho, ca. 1930's.
#FullMoon #JapaneseArt
Hey, there is good news out there.
🔩🔧🧰🩻💉🧬🌡️🩺🔬🪄🎁 😅
Yeah @standupforscience.bsky.social
💌🙏✍️ @princess-vimentin.bsky.social 👏👍✊✊✊
👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
“No stupid rules of engagement” is a hell of a thing to say after killing 165 little girls at school in Minab, Iran.
OPPORTUNITY: The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD, is searching for a Senior Full Stack Engineer to join the Web Application Services Branch, performing software development, support and maintenance of applications and processes to our NASA missions: https://bit.ly/4l9HF1Q
OPPORTUNITY: The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD, is searching for a Senior Finance & Grants Analyst to support financial and operational efficiency across NASA-funded research programs, including Hubble, James Webb, and future missions: https://bit.ly/4rM6p2A
