Marcel S. Pawlowski
@8minutesold.bsky.social
Astrophysicist studying cosmic choreographies of dwarf galaxies. Junior Research Group Leader at AIP, Street Photographer (he/him)
Autor des Buchs „Von tanzenden Galaxien, Dunkler Materie, und anderen kosmischen Rätseln“
Potsdam, Germany
Autor des Buchs „Von tanzenden Galaxien, Dunkler Materie, und anderen kosmischen Rätseln“
Potsdam, Germany
Pinned
Es ist soweit: heute erscheint mein Sachbuch "Von Tanzenden Galaxien, Dunkler Materie und anderen kosmischen Rätseln" ISBN: 978-3-95972-788-4
Auf 304 Seiten schreibe ich über Astronomie, Galaxien, und wie Astrophysiker*innen Herausforderungen des Dunkle-Materie-Modells begegnen. 🔭🧪
Auf 304 Seiten schreibe ich über Astronomie, Galaxien, und wie Astrophysiker*innen Herausforderungen des Dunkle-Materie-Modells begegnen. 🔭🧪
Reposted by Marcel S. Pawlowski
🌈 Polarlichter über Potsdam – Letzte Nacht löste eine starke Sonneneruption Polarlichter über Potsdam aus. ☀️ 🌌Dieses Naturschauspiel entsteht, wenn energiereiche Teilchen der Sonne mit dem Erdmagnetfeld und der Atmosphäre in Wechselwirkung treten. 🔭 #polarlichter #auroraboreal #potsdam
January 20, 2026 at 9:20 AM
🌈 Polarlichter über Potsdam – Letzte Nacht löste eine starke Sonneneruption Polarlichter über Potsdam aus. ☀️ 🌌Dieses Naturschauspiel entsteht, wenn energiereiche Teilchen der Sonne mit dem Erdmagnetfeld und der Atmosphäre in Wechselwirkung treten. 🔭 #polarlichter #auroraboreal #potsdam
Wow, amazing polar lights over Potsdam right now, visible despite all the light pollution.
January 19, 2026 at 10:13 PM
Wow, amazing polar lights over Potsdam right now, visible despite all the light pollution.
Got some decent snow this morning in Potsdam, perfect consistency for building ☃️.
December 31, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Got some decent snow this morning in Potsdam, perfect consistency for building ☃️.
German non-profit HateAid does important work, their founder recently got the Order of Merit of Germany. They support victims of online hate speech and threats – aka "American viewpoints", apparently.
Nobody forces U.S. companies to do business in Europe if they don't want to follow our laws.
Nobody forces U.S. companies to do business in Europe if they don't want to follow our laws.
“Imran Ahmed, chief executive of Centre for Countering Digital Hate; Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, leaders of HateAid, a German organization; former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, who was responsible for digital affairs; and Clare Melford, who runs the Global Disinformation Index.”
US bars five Europeans it says pressured tech firms to censor American viewpoints online
The State Department is barring five Europeans it accuses of leading efforts to pressure U.S. tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints.
apnews.com
December 24, 2025 at 1:23 PM
German non-profit HateAid does important work, their founder recently got the Order of Merit of Germany. They support victims of online hate speech and threats – aka "American viewpoints", apparently.
Nobody forces U.S. companies to do business in Europe if they don't want to follow our laws.
Nobody forces U.S. companies to do business in Europe if they don't want to follow our laws.
Reposted by Marcel S. Pawlowski
The primordial dark matter halo of the Milky Way had a mass distribution nothing like what we expect in LCDM.
tritonstation.com/2025/12/01/t...
tritonstation.com/2025/12/01/t...
tritonstation.com
December 1, 2025 at 7:39 PM
The primordial dark matter halo of the Milky Way had a mass distribution nothing like what we expect in LCDM.
tritonstation.com/2025/12/01/t...
tritonstation.com/2025/12/01/t...
Press release by Pengfei, @aippotsdam.bsky.social's former @humboldt-foundation.de Humboldt Fellow, on our new paper about the odd primordial dark matter halo of the Milky Way.
Here is the press release.
Nanjing Univ. press release: Our Galaxy’s Primordial Dark Matter Halo is a Major Oddity
astronomy.nju.edu.cn/EN/NewsEvent...
Article by Li et al.: www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004...
astronomy.nju.edu.cn/EN/NewsEvent...
Article by Li et al.: www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004...
November 27, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Press release by Pengfei, @aippotsdam.bsky.social's former @humboldt-foundation.de Humboldt Fellow, on our new paper about the odd primordial dark matter halo of the Milky Way.
Look what finally arrived! The proceedings of our International Astronomical Union Symposium 379 „Dynamical Masses of Local Group Galaxies“. 🌌🧪🔭☄️
Which was held in early 2023, with all manuscripts submitted later that same year. So it took CUP only *checks notes* two years to publish.
Which was held in early 2023, with all manuscripts submitted later that same year. So it took CUP only *checks notes* two years to publish.
November 27, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Look what finally arrived! The proceedings of our International Astronomical Union Symposium 379 „Dynamical Masses of Local Group Galaxies“. 🌌🧪🔭☄️
Which was held in early 2023, with all manuscripts submitted later that same year. So it took CUP only *checks notes* two years to publish.
Which was held in early 2023, with all manuscripts submitted later that same year. So it took CUP only *checks notes* two years to publish.
Reposted by Marcel S. Pawlowski
Please check the great summary of our new paper, inferring the primordial dark matter halos from observations.
A (dark matter) Space Oddity:
We have an exciting new paper led by @pengfeili.bsky.social: arxiv.org/abs/2511.17705
He used the best data on the Milky Way rotation curve from Gaia to infer not the current, but the *primordial* dark-matter halo of the Galaxy.
And it is quite odd. 🧪🔭☄️
1/6
We have an exciting new paper led by @pengfeili.bsky.social: arxiv.org/abs/2511.17705
He used the best data on the Milky Way rotation curve from Gaia to infer not the current, but the *primordial* dark-matter halo of the Galaxy.
And it is quite odd. 🧪🔭☄️
1/6
The odd primordial halo of the Milky Way implied by Gaia. A shallow core, but a steep decline
Primordial dark matter halos are well understood from cold dark matter-only simulations. Since they can contract significantly as baryons settle into their centers, direct comparisons with observed ga...
arxiv.org
November 27, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Please check the great summary of our new paper, inferring the primordial dark matter halos from observations.
Reposted by Marcel S. Pawlowski
Nanjing Univ. press release: Our Galaxy’s Primordial Dark Matter Halo is a Major Oddity
astronomy.nju.edu.cn/EN/NewsEvent...
Article by Li et al.: www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004...
astronomy.nju.edu.cn/EN/NewsEvent...
Article by Li et al.: www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004...
天文与空间科学学院 News & Events
Scientists reverse-engineer our Galaxy’s primordial dark matter halo for the first time, and it is nothing like cold dark matter halos.
astronomy.nju.edu.cn
November 25, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Nanjing Univ. press release: Our Galaxy’s Primordial Dark Matter Halo is a Major Oddity
astronomy.nju.edu.cn/EN/NewsEvent...
Article by Li et al.: www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004...
astronomy.nju.edu.cn/EN/NewsEvent...
Article by Li et al.: www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004...
A (dark matter) Space Oddity:
We have an exciting new paper led by @pengfeili.bsky.social: arxiv.org/abs/2511.17705
He used the best data on the Milky Way rotation curve from Gaia to infer not the current, but the *primordial* dark-matter halo of the Galaxy.
And it is quite odd. 🧪🔭☄️
1/6
We have an exciting new paper led by @pengfeili.bsky.social: arxiv.org/abs/2511.17705
He used the best data on the Milky Way rotation curve from Gaia to infer not the current, but the *primordial* dark-matter halo of the Galaxy.
And it is quite odd. 🧪🔭☄️
1/6
The odd primordial halo of the Milky Way implied by Gaia. A shallow core, but a steep decline
Primordial dark matter halos are well understood from cold dark matter-only simulations. Since they can contract significantly as baryons settle into their centers, direct comparisons with observed ga...
arxiv.org
November 26, 2025 at 1:59 PM
A (dark matter) Space Oddity:
We have an exciting new paper led by @pengfeili.bsky.social: arxiv.org/abs/2511.17705
He used the best data on the Milky Way rotation curve from Gaia to infer not the current, but the *primordial* dark-matter halo of the Galaxy.
And it is quite odd. 🧪🔭☄️
1/6
We have an exciting new paper led by @pengfeili.bsky.social: arxiv.org/abs/2511.17705
He used the best data on the Milky Way rotation curve from Gaia to infer not the current, but the *primordial* dark-matter halo of the Galaxy.
And it is quite odd. 🧪🔭☄️
1/6
One flaw with my analogy (below) regarding the 20 GeV gamma-ray excess as a potential dark matter signal (arxiv.org/abs/2507.072...): For a well regulated lottery, I can at least be sure that the jackpot indeed exists. 🔭
November 26, 2025 at 12:52 PM
One flaw with my analogy (below) regarding the 20 GeV gamma-ray excess as a potential dark matter signal (arxiv.org/abs/2507.072...): For a well regulated lottery, I can at least be sure that the jackpot indeed exists. 🔭
Reposted by Marcel S. Pawlowski
Calling on my #science network! TeamNDF is #hiring a postdoc to start in 2026!
Are you fascinated by metabolism and the brain? Do you want to dig into life long impacts and the molecular cause?
Learn more about the team and our research here: www.dife.de/en/research/...
Please share! 🧠 🍔 💉
Are you fascinated by metabolism and the brain? Do you want to dig into life long impacts and the molecular cause?
Learn more about the team and our research here: www.dife.de/en/research/...
Please share! 🧠 🍔 💉
November 22, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Calling on my #science network! TeamNDF is #hiring a postdoc to start in 2026!
Are you fascinated by metabolism and the brain? Do you want to dig into life long impacts and the molecular cause?
Learn more about the team and our research here: www.dife.de/en/research/...
Please share! 🧠 🍔 💉
Are you fascinated by metabolism and the brain? Do you want to dig into life long impacts and the molecular cause?
Learn more about the team and our research here: www.dife.de/en/research/...
Please share! 🧠 🍔 💉
Reposted by Marcel S. Pawlowski
Today’s the day! There are still some tickets if you’re interested to join.
Wie weit sind alternative Methoden zu Tierversuchen?
Darüber diskutieren wir bei #WissenUnplugged am 4.11. in der Hörsaalruine.
👉Jetzt anmelden: wissen-unplugged.de
Gemeinsam veranstaltet mit ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS in Kooperation mit #Dlf Nova und ZEIT Campus.
@holtzbrinckberlin.bsky.social
Darüber diskutieren wir bei #WissenUnplugged am 4.11. in der Hörsaalruine.
👉Jetzt anmelden: wissen-unplugged.de
Gemeinsam veranstaltet mit ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS in Kooperation mit #Dlf Nova und ZEIT Campus.
@holtzbrinckberlin.bsky.social
November 4, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Today’s the day! There are still some tickets if you’re interested to join.
Happy Halloween!
October 31, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Happy Halloween!
Reposted by Marcel S. Pawlowski
This excellent press release about a paper favouring dark matter over MOND came out a few days ago. A great primer to get you excited for dark matter day and the power of tiny galaxies 🔭🧪 bsky.app/profile/8min...
New press release about our new paper led by my PhD student Mariana Pouseiro Júlio! 🔭🧪☄️
English version here: www.aip.de/en/news/dark...
English version here: www.aip.de/en/news/dark...
October 30, 2025 at 7:38 AM
This excellent press release about a paper favouring dark matter over MOND came out a few days ago. A great primer to get you excited for dark matter day and the power of tiny galaxies 🔭🧪 bsky.app/profile/8min...
Who wouldn’t vacuously stare at the back of a computer screen showing a globular cluster when doing research on dwarf galaxy dynamics?
AI slop at its finest. 🙄
(from www.cadena3.com/amp/noticia/...)
AI slop at its finest. 🙄
(from www.cadena3.com/amp/noticia/...)
Los datos de galaxias enanas favorecen la existencia de materia oscura
Un estudio internacional liderado por el Instituto Leibniz de Astrofísica de Potsdam logró resolver el debate sobre la velocidad de giro de las galaxias y su relación con la materia oscura.
www.cadena3.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Who wouldn’t vacuously stare at the back of a computer screen showing a globular cluster when doing research on dwarf galaxy dynamics?
AI slop at its finest. 🙄
(from www.cadena3.com/amp/noticia/...)
AI slop at its finest. 🙄
(from www.cadena3.com/amp/noticia/...)
Reposted by Marcel S. Pawlowski
Analysis of stellar velocities in faint dwarf galaxies indicates their internal dynamics are better explained by dark matter models than by modified gravity theories such as MOND. doi.org/g977ff
Dwarf galaxies tip the scales in favor of dark matter over modified gravity
An international team of researchers led by the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) has shed light on a decades-long debate about why galaxies spin faster than expected—and whether this behavior is caused by invisible dark matter or by a collapse of gravity on cosmic scales.
phys.org
October 27, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Analysis of stellar velocities in faint dwarf galaxies indicates their internal dynamics are better explained by dark matter models than by modified gravity theories such as MOND. doi.org/g977ff
Reposted by Marcel S. Pawlowski
New press release about our new paper led by my PhD student Mariana Pouseiro Júlio! 🔭🧪☄️
English version here: www.aip.de/en/news/dark...
English version here: www.aip.de/en/news/dark...
October 27, 2025 at 10:45 AM
New press release about our new paper led by my PhD student Mariana Pouseiro Júlio! 🔭🧪☄️
English version here: www.aip.de/en/news/dark...
English version here: www.aip.de/en/news/dark...
New press release about our new paper led by my PhD student Mariana Pouseiro Júlio! 🔭🧪☄️
English version here: www.aip.de/en/news/dark...
English version here: www.aip.de/en/news/dark...
October 27, 2025 at 10:45 AM
New press release about our new paper led by my PhD student Mariana Pouseiro Júlio! 🔭🧪☄️
English version here: www.aip.de/en/news/dark...
English version here: www.aip.de/en/news/dark...
Charon: There just isn't enough money to go around to fund free public transport for everyone.
Describe a character in Greek mythology the way someone trying to defend a politician would. I’ll start.
Oedipus: Like you’ve never had sex with someone and regretted it later
Oedipus: Like you’ve never had sex with someone and regretted it later
October 26, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Charon: There just isn't enough money to go around to fund free public transport for everyone.
Reposted by Marcel S. Pawlowski
Researchers face uncertainty like never before. Join the To Be Honest Conference 2025 to discuss careers, funding & resilience in academia.
🗓 Dec 4–5 | Online
🎓 For PhDs & academics
🔗 Register: events.zoom.us/ev/AqL7Vnz0Q...
🗓 Dec 4–5 | Online
🎓 For PhDs & academics
🔗 Register: events.zoom.us/ev/AqL7Vnz0Q...
October 22, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Researchers face uncertainty like never before. Join the To Be Honest Conference 2025 to discuss careers, funding & resilience in academia.
🗓 Dec 4–5 | Online
🎓 For PhDs & academics
🔗 Register: events.zoom.us/ev/AqL7Vnz0Q...
🗓 Dec 4–5 | Online
🎓 For PhDs & academics
🔗 Register: events.zoom.us/ev/AqL7Vnz0Q...
After my lecture we had a fun excursion to the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand yesterday afternoon. Got to see their planetarium and some workshops where they coat telescope mirrors.
October 16, 2025 at 12:40 PM
After my lecture we had a fun excursion to the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand yesterday afternoon. Got to see their planetarium and some workshops where they coat telescope mirrors.
Made it to Thailand. Already learned that you can buy vegetables at the airport, where the bathroom also had an interesting name. Now making some final edits on my lecture slides while fighting the jet lag with coffee.
October 13, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Made it to Thailand. Already learned that you can buy vegetables at the airport, where the bathroom also had an interesting name. Now making some final edits on my lecture slides while fighting the jet lag with coffee.
Neat, I have free WiFi in the plane on this leg of the trip. Though to properly work on my laptop in these tiny economy seats some T-Rex arms would come in handy. 💻🦖
October 11, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Neat, I have free WiFi in the plane on this leg of the trip. Though to properly work on my laptop in these tiny economy seats some T-Rex arms would come in handy. 💻🦖