Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
@astroalysa.bsky.social
Queer & disabled astronomer formerly at UofT & CITA. Dynamics, planets, & ballet. Posts reflect opinions of Sailor Galaxia, not my employer. She/her 👩🔬💃
Pinned
I made a big pot of food last night AND did all the dishes & cleaned up afterwards. Every time I've gone into my kitchen today and seen how tidy it looks, it's felt like magic
December 9, 2025 at 8:09 PM
I made a big pot of food last night AND did all the dishes & cleaned up afterwards. Every time I've gone into my kitchen today and seen how tidy it looks, it's felt like magic
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
"The thing is, even if you're just thinking in terms of fiscal value, having gone through a degree program and being able to put it on your resumé/CV isn't the most significant return on your investment: the way you have further developed your mind is."
December 9, 2025 at 8:05 PM
"The thing is, even if you're just thinking in terms of fiscal value, having gone through a degree program and being able to put it on your resumé/CV isn't the most significant return on your investment: the way you have further developed your mind is."
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
Some have argued to me strongly that even if Loeb is wrong, he’s getting people interested in 3I/ATLAS and that’s a good thing for science.
But Loeb isn't just wrong, he's recklessly following an old playbook that got 39 people killed in 1997.
sites.psu.edu/astrowright/...
But Loeb isn't just wrong, he's recklessly following an old playbook that got 39 people killed in 1997.
sites.psu.edu/astrowright/...
Loeb’s Behavior is Reckless
I’ve largely ignored Loeb for the past few weeks. When he started in on his 3I/ATLAS thing, there were plenty of mainstream media outlets willing to give his claims a wide and credulous platform, and ...
sites.psu.edu
December 7, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Some have argued to me strongly that even if Loeb is wrong, he’s getting people interested in 3I/ATLAS and that’s a good thing for science.
But Loeb isn't just wrong, he's recklessly following an old playbook that got 39 people killed in 1997.
sites.psu.edu/astrowright/...
But Loeb isn't just wrong, he's recklessly following an old playbook that got 39 people killed in 1997.
sites.psu.edu/astrowright/...
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
There's now a release date and news about pre-ordering for Cloudy With a Chance of Starships!
bsky.app/profile/seve...
bsky.app/profile/seve...
hi folks! CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF STARSHIPS has a release date: August 4, 2026!
it also has a link! you can sign up here to receive a notification when the pre-order goes live ✨
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
it also has a link! you can sign up here to receive a notification when the pre-order goes live ✨
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Cloudy with a Chance of Starships
An entertaining tour of the seemingly simple formula guiding the search for extraterrestrial intelligence
press.princeton.edu
December 8, 2025 at 3:21 PM
There's now a release date and news about pre-ordering for Cloudy With a Chance of Starships!
bsky.app/profile/seve...
bsky.app/profile/seve...
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
hi folks! CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF STARSHIPS has a release date: August 4, 2026!
it also has a link! you can sign up here to receive a notification when the pre-order goes live ✨
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
it also has a link! you can sign up here to receive a notification when the pre-order goes live ✨
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Cloudy with a Chance of Starships
An entertaining tour of the seemingly simple formula guiding the search for extraterrestrial intelligence
press.princeton.edu
December 7, 2025 at 2:36 PM
hi folks! CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF STARSHIPS has a release date: August 4, 2026!
it also has a link! you can sign up here to receive a notification when the pre-order goes live ✨
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
it also has a link! you can sign up here to receive a notification when the pre-order goes live ✨
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
Paper day! A new paper on existence of subNeptune magma oceans, arising from a collaboration between Cambridge and my group. Lead author Robb Calder is Oli Shorttle's doctoral student. subNeptune Magma Oceans are getting to be a hot topic! arxiv.org/abs/2512.05816
Most Rocky Sub-Neptunes are Molten: Mapping the Solidification Shoreline for Gas Dwarf Exoplanets
Sub-Neptunes are the most common type of detected exoplanet, yet their observed masses and radii are degenerate with several interior structures. One possibility is that sub-Neptunes have silicate/iro...
arxiv.org
December 8, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Paper day! A new paper on existence of subNeptune magma oceans, arising from a collaboration between Cambridge and my group. Lead author Robb Calder is Oli Shorttle's doctoral student. subNeptune Magma Oceans are getting to be a hot topic! arxiv.org/abs/2512.05816
A story in my save files (read from bottom up)
December 8, 2025 at 12:19 AM
A story in my save files (read from bottom up)
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
We remember them always.
Geneviève Bergeron
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz Maryse Laganière
Maryse Leclair
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Michèle Richard
Annie St-Arneault
Annie Turcotte
Geneviève Bergeron
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz Maryse Laganière
Maryse Leclair
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Michèle Richard
Annie St-Arneault
Annie Turcotte
December 6, 2025 at 10:59 AM
We remember them always.
Geneviève Bergeron
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz Maryse Laganière
Maryse Leclair
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Michèle Richard
Annie St-Arneault
Annie Turcotte
Geneviève Bergeron
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz Maryse Laganière
Maryse Leclair
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Michèle Richard
Annie St-Arneault
Annie Turcotte
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
Ok activists and nerds... I promised that I was SO MAD ABOUT HOW CONFLICT-AVOIDANT "CENTRISTS" UNDERMINE RESISTANCE TO FASCISM that I would resort to math to make this point and that I would write it up in a paper. So, here ya go. Share, enjoy, and get up on that soapbox. osf.io/preprints/so...
December 6, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Ok activists and nerds... I promised that I was SO MAD ABOUT HOW CONFLICT-AVOIDANT "CENTRISTS" UNDERMINE RESISTANCE TO FASCISM that I would resort to math to make this point and that I would write it up in a paper. So, here ya go. Share, enjoy, and get up on that soapbox. osf.io/preprints/so...
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
Academic freedom is applicable to anyone with a teaching role. You can’t ask graduate students to teach, advise students, and evaluate student work with granting them academic freedom. The recent debacle at OU and a previous one in the School of Social Work at UT Austin illustrate this.
Pitt’s graduate student union sees bargaining for academic freedom as a “no-brainer.” The university sees it differently: “Graduate students are not faculty members and therefore academic freedom is not applicable.”
Why academic freedom is a heated topic in Pitt grad union negotiations
As the University of Pittsburgh embarks on union negotiations with graduate students, bargaining over the concept of academic freedom has been contentious.
buff.ly
December 6, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Academic freedom is applicable to anyone with a teaching role. You can’t ask graduate students to teach, advise students, and evaluate student work with granting them academic freedom. The recent debacle at OU and a previous one in the School of Social Work at UT Austin illustrate this.
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
Honestly, in this economy? I *would* download a car
December 6, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Honestly, in this economy? I *would* download a car
Finished my first Crusader Kings 3 game by reaching the end date.
Played the suggested Ireland game. Made an empire spanning most of Europe.
I think my favourite achievement was founding my own religion and arresting the Pope.
Played the suggested Ireland game. Made an empire spanning most of Europe.
I think my favourite achievement was founding my own religion and arresting the Pope.
a close up of a man 's face with the words `` it 's done '' written on the bottom .
Alt: Close up of Frodo's face from Return of the King (the lava of Mt. Doom can be seen in the background). He looks utterly broken and is saying, "It's done."
media.tenor.com
December 6, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Finished my first Crusader Kings 3 game by reaching the end date.
Played the suggested Ireland game. Made an empire spanning most of Europe.
I think my favourite achievement was founding my own religion and arresting the Pope.
Played the suggested Ireland game. Made an empire spanning most of Europe.
I think my favourite achievement was founding my own religion and arresting the Pope.
Astro and physics folks, do you know of any good (& free) online resources for learning general relativity? I tend to do well with structured courses, even if I'm just learning on my own. But recorded lecture series, supplemental notes, suggestions for textbooks & notes, etc. would be helpful!
December 5, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Astro and physics folks, do you know of any good (& free) online resources for learning general relativity? I tend to do well with structured courses, even if I'm just learning on my own. But recorded lecture series, supplemental notes, suggestions for textbooks & notes, etc. would be helpful!
A great thread that I recommend reading through!
I'll add that I've never regretted learning more physics. Granted, I was in an astro programme and I didn't do grad-level physics courses.
But astrophysics has a bit of everything & it'll give you such a strong foundation. It's worth the work!
I'll add that I've never regretted learning more physics. Granted, I was in an astro programme and I didn't do grad-level physics courses.
But astrophysics has a bit of everything & it'll give you such a strong foundation. It's worth the work!
A note on learning physics ⚛️ for starting PhD students:
At the risk of saying something completely useless because everyone has it worked out
There is no magic trick, your classmates *may* be faster than you, but they are still studying as long as they need to and you are quite capable of the same
At the risk of saying something completely useless because everyone has it worked out
There is no magic trick, your classmates *may* be faster than you, but they are still studying as long as they need to and you are quite capable of the same
December 5, 2025 at 1:34 PM
A great thread that I recommend reading through!
I'll add that I've never regretted learning more physics. Granted, I was in an astro programme and I didn't do grad-level physics courses.
But astrophysics has a bit of everything & it'll give you such a strong foundation. It's worth the work!
I'll add that I've never regretted learning more physics. Granted, I was in an astro programme and I didn't do grad-level physics courses.
But astrophysics has a bit of everything & it'll give you such a strong foundation. It's worth the work!
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
A note on learning physics ⚛️ for starting PhD students:
At the risk of saying something completely useless because everyone has it worked out
There is no magic trick, your classmates *may* be faster than you, but they are still studying as long as they need to and you are quite capable of the same
At the risk of saying something completely useless because everyone has it worked out
There is no magic trick, your classmates *may* be faster than you, but they are still studying as long as they need to and you are quite capable of the same
December 4, 2025 at 9:18 PM
A note on learning physics ⚛️ for starting PhD students:
At the risk of saying something completely useless because everyone has it worked out
There is no magic trick, your classmates *may* be faster than you, but they are still studying as long as they need to and you are quite capable of the same
At the risk of saying something completely useless because everyone has it worked out
There is no magic trick, your classmates *may* be faster than you, but they are still studying as long as they need to and you are quite capable of the same
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
An excellent thread on structural bullshit in academia, how to avoid mental traps, and encouragement to people from marginalized backgrounds. The system isn’t fair, but it can be gamed and it’s designed to intimidate people into failing. Don’t let them fool you.
A note on learning physics ⚛️ for starting PhD students:
At the risk of saying something completely useless because everyone has it worked out
There is no magic trick, your classmates *may* be faster than you, but they are still studying as long as they need to and you are quite capable of the same
At the risk of saying something completely useless because everyone has it worked out
There is no magic trick, your classmates *may* be faster than you, but they are still studying as long as they need to and you are quite capable of the same
December 4, 2025 at 10:57 PM
An excellent thread on structural bullshit in academia, how to avoid mental traps, and encouragement to people from marginalized backgrounds. The system isn’t fair, but it can be gamed and it’s designed to intimidate people into failing. Don’t let them fool you.
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
Published in #MNRAS: "Redefining interiors and envelopes: hydrogen–silicate miscibility and its consequences for the structure and evolution of sub-Neptunes", Rogers et al. This is Fig. 2: for the caption & to read the paper please visit academic.oup.com/mnras/articl...
December 5, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Published in #MNRAS: "Redefining interiors and envelopes: hydrogen–silicate miscibility and its consequences for the structure and evolution of sub-Neptunes", Rogers et al. This is Fig. 2: for the caption & to read the paper please visit academic.oup.com/mnras/articl...
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
Hi all! If you are looking for a conference in exoplanet interiors in 2026, check out "Layers of Understanding: Model Intercomparisons of Exoplanet Interiors": layersofunderstanding2026.github.io
It will take place in MPIA's campus in April 13-17th. The registration deadline is 15 January 2026
It will take place in MPIA's campus in April 13-17th. The registration deadline is 15 January 2026
December 5, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Hi all! If you are looking for a conference in exoplanet interiors in 2026, check out "Layers of Understanding: Model Intercomparisons of Exoplanet Interiors": layersofunderstanding2026.github.io
It will take place in MPIA's campus in April 13-17th. The registration deadline is 15 January 2026
It will take place in MPIA's campus in April 13-17th. The registration deadline is 15 January 2026
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
Interested in finding transiting planets at long periods, e.g. with the @platomissioncon.bsky.social?
We just published a Research Note led by Geert Jan Talens, showing that such transits can be much longer or shorter than usually assumed iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
We just published a Research Note led by Geert Jan Talens, showing that such transits can be much longer or shorter than usually assumed iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
December 3, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Interested in finding transiting planets at long periods, e.g. with the @platomissioncon.bsky.social?
We just published a Research Note led by Geert Jan Talens, showing that such transits can be much longer or shorter than usually assumed iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
We just published a Research Note led by Geert Jan Talens, showing that such transits can be much longer or shorter than usually assumed iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
This is actually quite brilliant, up to and including the final sentence 🔥
December 1, 2025 at 11:09 AM
This is actually quite brilliant, up to and including the final sentence 🔥
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
🎉 Planetary Resarch, our diamond open access journal for #PlanetaryScience, will open for submissions on January 1, 2026 (or earlier for beta testers)! 🎉
planetary-research.org
planetary-research.org
December 1, 2025 at 10:40 AM
🎉 Planetary Resarch, our diamond open access journal for #PlanetaryScience, will open for submissions on January 1, 2026 (or earlier for beta testers)! 🎉
planetary-research.org
planetary-research.org
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
Once again I have been compelled to draw an Absolute Unit.
December 1, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Once again I have been compelled to draw an Absolute Unit.
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
Eleven years ago, I wrote to Tom Stoppard to ask about this coup de théâtre from 1949. It took me down an unexpected rabbit hole - in memory of Stoppard, here's what I found.
November 30, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Eleven years ago, I wrote to Tom Stoppard to ask about this coup de théâtre from 1949. It took me down an unexpected rabbit hole - in memory of Stoppard, here's what I found.
Reposted by Dr. Alysa Orbits (Obertas)
For over a decade, #ESAGaia mapped our galaxy with stunning precision, rewriting the story of the Milky Way 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
While Gaia no longer collects new data, its scientific mission is far from over! Upcoming are the Gaia Data Release 4 and the final legacy catalogue. 🔭
While Gaia no longer collects new data, its scientific mission is far from over! Upcoming are the Gaia Data Release 4 and the final legacy catalogue. 🔭
Gaia: Rewriting the story of the Milky Way
www.esa.int
November 28, 2025 at 1:00 PM
For over a decade, #ESAGaia mapped our galaxy with stunning precision, rewriting the story of the Milky Way 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
While Gaia no longer collects new data, its scientific mission is far from over! Upcoming are the Gaia Data Release 4 and the final legacy catalogue. 🔭
While Gaia no longer collects new data, its scientific mission is far from over! Upcoming are the Gaia Data Release 4 and the final legacy catalogue. 🔭