Duncan Christie
@astroduncan.bsky.social
Astrophysicist. Postdoctoral researcher at the MPIA. Exoplanet atmospheres. (he/him/his)
www.duncanchristie.net
www.duncanchristie.net
Pinned
Duncan Christie
@astroduncan.bsky.social
· Sep 28
Normalize submitting to arXiv after acceptance instead of on submission.
Reposted by Duncan Christie
Last year, based on the previous funding cuts, professors in our field told us to start planning for a backup career. Now we are facing more funding cuts, they should probably just train us explicitly for the backup career.
The mood music is very bleak for UK astronomy funding at the moment.
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
UK ‘could lose generation of scientists’ with cuts to projects and research facilities
UK’s research funding body says best scientists are taking posts overseas due to lack of job stability at home
www.theguardian.com
February 6, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Last year, based on the previous funding cuts, professors in our field told us to start planning for a backup career. Now we are facing more funding cuts, they should probably just train us explicitly for the backup career.
Reposted by Duncan Christie
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology
She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:09 AM
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Duncan Christie
Early-career researchers are rightly worried about the road ahead, and have drafted an open letter to UKRI & #STFC, calling for a "strategic correction" to avoid irreversible loss of curiosity-driven UK research - an essential part of future discoveries, tech, & growth. bsky.app/profile/si-w...
We’ve drafted an open letter from early-career researchers in response to UKRI reprioritisation and the funding crisis in Particle Physics, Astronomy and Nuclear Physics (PPAN).
This risks losing an entire generation of young researchers from UK science. We cannot let that happen.
#STFC #UKRI
This risks losing an entire generation of young researchers from UK science. We cannot let that happen.
#STFC #UKRI
Early Career Researchers Response to UKRI Investment Approach
ecr-openletter-stfc.github.io
February 5, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Early-career researchers are rightly worried about the road ahead, and have drafted an open letter to UKRI & #STFC, calling for a "strategic correction" to avoid irreversible loss of curiosity-driven UK research - an essential part of future discoveries, tech, & growth. bsky.app/profile/si-w...
I've posted this before, but what is the point of "Letters" anymore? I don't remember the last time I saw a paper where a quick turnaround was warranted. Our journals usually only use a single referee, so adding the additional time pressure is only further hurting quality. #exoplanets
February 5, 2026 at 10:57 AM
I've posted this before, but what is the point of "Letters" anymore? I don't remember the last time I saw a paper where a quick turnaround was warranted. Our journals usually only use a single referee, so adding the additional time pressure is only further hurting quality. #exoplanets
Reposted by Duncan Christie
tomorrow, StandWithMinnesota.com will hit a million site visits and over 650,000 unique visitors.
i made it 10 days ago with $600 from you guys for hosting and cloudflare.
thank you. thank you.
i made it 10 days ago with $600 from you guys for hosting and cloudflare.
thank you. thank you.
Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory
Stand With Minnesota is a hub for supporting, learning, and taking action to support Minnesotans impacted by ICE and federal enforcement.
StandWithMinnesota.com
January 25, 2026 at 8:12 PM
tomorrow, StandWithMinnesota.com will hit a million site visits and over 650,000 unique visitors.
i made it 10 days ago with $600 from you guys for hosting and cloudflare.
thank you. thank you.
i made it 10 days ago with $600 from you guys for hosting and cloudflare.
thank you. thank you.
Reposted by Duncan Christie
Sulphur? In my exoplanet atmosphere? It's more likely than you think, explains Ian Crossfield in the latest BOWIE+ Seminar.
#exoplanets #astronomy
youtu.be/v6tvTUIeshY
#exoplanets #astronomy
youtu.be/v6tvTUIeshY
Sulfur: A New Tracer in Exoplanet Atmospheres
YouTube video by BOWIE+ Seminars
youtu.be
January 22, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Sulphur? In my exoplanet atmosphere? It's more likely than you think, explains Ian Crossfield in the latest BOWIE+ Seminar.
#exoplanets #astronomy
youtu.be/v6tvTUIeshY
#exoplanets #astronomy
youtu.be/v6tvTUIeshY
A great paper examining the hot Jupiter HAT-P-30b, lead by final-year PhD student Alastair Claringbold (@exoarcturus.bsky.social), as a part of the BOWIE ALIGN program. The program aims to understand how migration history impacts atmosphere composition. #exoplanets
www.arxiv.org/abs/2601.13104
www.arxiv.org/abs/2601.13104
BOWIE-ALIGN: Sub-solar C/O ratio and metallicity atmosphere of the misaligned hot Jupiter HAT-P-30b
We present the JWST NIRSpec/G395H transmission spectrum of the misaligned hot Jupiter HAT-P-30b from 2.8--5.2 $μ$m as part of the BOWIE-ALIGN survey, a comparative survey designed to probe the link be...
www.arxiv.org
January 21, 2026 at 1:42 PM
A great paper examining the hot Jupiter HAT-P-30b, lead by final-year PhD student Alastair Claringbold (@exoarcturus.bsky.social), as a part of the BOWIE ALIGN program. The program aims to understand how migration history impacts atmosphere composition. #exoplanets
www.arxiv.org/abs/2601.13104
www.arxiv.org/abs/2601.13104
Reposted by Duncan Christie
My textbook on SETI is published!
I hope you like it!
Please see if your libraries offer a free download—mine does!
iopscience.iop.org/book/mono/97...
🧪🔭
I hope you like it!
Please see if your libraries offer a free download—mine does!
iopscience.iop.org/book/mono/97...
🧪🔭
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence: Theory and practice
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence: Theory and practice, Wright, Jason T
iopscience.iop.org
January 19, 2026 at 5:55 PM
My textbook on SETI is published!
I hope you like it!
Please see if your libraries offer a free download—mine does!
iopscience.iop.org/book/mono/97...
🧪🔭
I hope you like it!
Please see if your libraries offer a free download—mine does!
iopscience.iop.org/book/mono/97...
🧪🔭
Reposted by Duncan Christie
You and 24 of your friends (and/or enemies, as you like) can have AAS journal editors come run a workshop on how to be a good referee!
🔭We normally hold these Sunday mornings before the start of AAS meetings, but we are willing to hold them in cooperation with local organizers if we have 25 to 30 people signed up to participate. We did this at IU this Fall and brought in four editors to run the meeting and lead discussion.
January 16, 2026 at 5:19 PM
You and 24 of your friends (and/or enemies, as you like) can have AAS journal editors come run a workshop on how to be a good referee!
Reposted by Duncan Christie
ICYMI: Over the winter holidays, my student's paper on KELT-9b was accepted: arxiv.org/abs/2512.19662!
With the Hubble Space Telescope's STIS instrument, we find enormous escape of metal ions from the hottest hot Jupiter, KELT-9b! 🪐🔭💫
With the Hubble Space Telescope's STIS instrument, we find enormous escape of metal ions from the hottest hot Jupiter, KELT-9b! 🪐🔭💫
A High-Resolution NUV Transmission Spectrum of KELT-9b: Mg II and Fe II Escaping from the Hottest Known Giant Planet
We present high-resolution NUV observations from Hubble Space Telescope's (HST) Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) data for the hottest known gas planet, KELT-9b. Observations were collected ...
arxiv.org
January 12, 2026 at 4:02 PM
ICYMI: Over the winter holidays, my student's paper on KELT-9b was accepted: arxiv.org/abs/2512.19662!
With the Hubble Space Telescope's STIS instrument, we find enormous escape of metal ions from the hottest hot Jupiter, KELT-9b! 🪐🔭💫
With the Hubble Space Telescope's STIS instrument, we find enormous escape of metal ions from the hottest hot Jupiter, KELT-9b! 🪐🔭💫
Reposted by Duncan Christie
The BOWIE+ Seminar restarts on January 22nd at 4PM UK time with a talk by Ian Crossfield on sulphur in exoplanetary atmospheres. Sign up to the seminar mailing list (link in bio) to receive the Zoom link.
January 9, 2026 at 6:09 PM
The BOWIE+ Seminar restarts on January 22nd at 4PM UK time with a talk by Ian Crossfield on sulphur in exoplanetary atmospheres. Sign up to the seminar mailing list (link in bio) to receive the Zoom link.
Reposted by Duncan Christie
NASA Discovers Distant Planet With Conditions That Could Sustain Rocks https://theonion.com/nasa-discovers-distant-planet-with-conditions-that-could-sustain-rocks/
January 6, 2026 at 9:15 PM
NASA Discovers Distant Planet With Conditions That Could Sustain Rocks https://theonion.com/nasa-discovers-distant-planet-with-conditions-that-could-sustain-rocks/
Reposted by Duncan Christie
i trust zeta’s words on the situation in venezuela more than most of the voices on this website so i suggest you also read what they said
January 3, 2026 at 9:08 PM
i trust zeta’s words on the situation in venezuela more than most of the voices on this website so i suggest you also read what they said
Reposted by Duncan Christie
If your position is that regime change should be forced on countries where the president does not respect democratic norms and regularly kidnaps opponents using an officially sanctioned paramiliatary, have I got news for you about your position on the United States
January 3, 2026 at 1:45 PM
If your position is that regime change should be forced on countries where the president does not respect democratic norms and regularly kidnaps opponents using an officially sanctioned paramiliatary, have I got news for you about your position on the United States
Reposted by Duncan Christie
just so it's clear: this is the exact core function of genAI
Fascist government and climate deniers love it because it can produce the aesthetics of knowledge without any actual tendency towards truth. It is automated denialism.
Shame on every climate scientist promoting its use (there are lots)
Fascist government and climate deniers love it because it can produce the aesthetics of knowledge without any actual tendency towards truth. It is automated denialism.
Shame on every climate scientist promoting its use (there are lots)
Bob and I were among the hundreds of researchers that were supposed to conduct the 6th U.S. National Climate Assessment. Now it looks like they're gonna produce it with a few people and Grok? Communities need rigorous and accurate information about climate change. This will put communities at risk.
January 1, 2026 at 7:11 AM
just so it's clear: this is the exact core function of genAI
Fascist government and climate deniers love it because it can produce the aesthetics of knowledge without any actual tendency towards truth. It is automated denialism.
Shame on every climate scientist promoting its use (there are lots)
Fascist government and climate deniers love it because it can produce the aesthetics of knowledge without any actual tendency towards truth. It is automated denialism.
Shame on every climate scientist promoting its use (there are lots)
Reposted by Duncan Christie
The final Calvin and Hobbes, which appeared in papers 30 years ago today.
December 31, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The final Calvin and Hobbes, which appeared in papers 30 years ago today.
Reposted by Duncan Christie
🚨 Postdoctoral Opportunity for Female Scientists🚨
The University of Vienna is awarding at least 20 fully funded 4 year postdoctoral positions to outstanding female scientists
Interested? Get in touch via direct message
careers.univie.ac.at/en/postdoc/e...
#MicroSky 🧪
#PostDoc @univie.ac.at
The University of Vienna is awarding at least 20 fully funded 4 year postdoctoral positions to outstanding female scientists
Interested? Get in touch via direct message
careers.univie.ac.at/en/postdoc/e...
#MicroSky 🧪
#PostDoc @univie.ac.at
December 19, 2025 at 12:24 AM
🚨 Postdoctoral Opportunity for Female Scientists🚨
The University of Vienna is awarding at least 20 fully funded 4 year postdoctoral positions to outstanding female scientists
Interested? Get in touch via direct message
careers.univie.ac.at/en/postdoc/e...
#MicroSky 🧪
#PostDoc @univie.ac.at
The University of Vienna is awarding at least 20 fully funded 4 year postdoctoral positions to outstanding female scientists
Interested? Get in touch via direct message
careers.univie.ac.at/en/postdoc/e...
#MicroSky 🧪
#PostDoc @univie.ac.at
Reposted by Duncan Christie
AGU petition to save NCAR. Please share widely! agu.quorum.us/campaign/151...
Save NCAR from being dismantled today!
The Trump Administration has vowed to dissolve the center that provides critical extreme weather and climate data for our nation.
agu.quorum.us
December 18, 2025 at 12:23 AM
AGU petition to save NCAR. Please share widely! agu.quorum.us/campaign/151...
Reposted by Duncan Christie
Time to repurpose #AGU25 as a mass mobilization in support of NCAR, NSF, NOAA, NASA, USGS, DOE BER, and the Congressional power of the purse.
December 17, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Time to repurpose #AGU25 as a mass mobilization in support of NCAR, NSF, NOAA, NASA, USGS, DOE BER, and the Congressional power of the purse.
Reposted by Duncan Christie
NCAR is quite literally our global mothership.
Everyone who works in climate and weather has passed through its doors and benefited from its incredible resources.
Dismantling NCAR is like taking a sledgehammer to the keystone holding up our scientific understanding of the planet.
Unbelievable.
Everyone who works in climate and weather has passed through its doors and benefited from its incredible resources.
Dismantling NCAR is like taking a sledgehammer to the keystone holding up our scientific understanding of the planet.
Unbelievable.
Trump moves to dismantle major US climate research center in Colorado
The Trump administration is breaking up the National Center for Atmospheric Research, taking aim at one of the world's leading climate research labs.
www.usatoday.com
December 17, 2025 at 2:59 AM
NCAR is quite literally our global mothership.
Everyone who works in climate and weather has passed through its doors and benefited from its incredible resources.
Dismantling NCAR is like taking a sledgehammer to the keystone holding up our scientific understanding of the planet.
Unbelievable.
Everyone who works in climate and weather has passed through its doors and benefited from its incredible resources.
Dismantling NCAR is like taking a sledgehammer to the keystone holding up our scientific understanding of the planet.
Unbelievable.
Exoplanet folks: we now have a separate Bluesky account for the BOWIE+ Seminar Series ( @bowieseminar.bsky.social ). If you are interested in links to videos of the talks and other updates going forward, give it a follow. #exoplanets #astronomy
December 15, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Exoplanet folks: we now have a separate Bluesky account for the BOWIE+ Seminar Series ( @bowieseminar.bsky.social ). If you are interested in links to videos of the talks and other updates going forward, give it a follow. #exoplanets #astronomy
A great talk by final-year PhD candidate Morgan Saidel about atmospheric escape from hot Jupiters around F stars, and what we can learn from a large survey of these planets. #astronomy #exoplanets
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jh6...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jh6...
The First Dedicated Survey of Atmospheric Escape from Planets Orbiting Hot Stars
YouTube video by BOWIE+ Seminars
www.youtube.com
December 13, 2025 at 8:44 AM
A great talk by final-year PhD candidate Morgan Saidel about atmospheric escape from hot Jupiters around F stars, and what we can learn from a large survey of these planets. #astronomy #exoplanets
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jh6...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jh6...
Cows aren't often spherical and neither are aerosols. Final-year PhD student Matt Lodge has investigated how non-spherical aerosols in exoplanet atmospheres impact their transmission spectra. Listen to him explain the implications here. #astronomy #exoplanets
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHIV...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHIV...
VIRGA v2.0: Fractal Aggregate Clouds in Warm Neptunes, Hot Jupiters and Brown Dwarfs
YouTube video by BOWIE+ Seminars
www.youtube.com
December 12, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Cows aren't often spherical and neither are aerosols. Final-year PhD student Matt Lodge has investigated how non-spherical aerosols in exoplanet atmospheres impact their transmission spectra. Listen to him explain the implications here. #astronomy #exoplanets
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHIV...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHIV...
Reposted by Duncan Christie
The MPIA call for summer interns is now live! This is a great opportunity for bachelors & masters students from anywhere in the world to come an complete a three month, fully funded research project in beautiful Heidelberg. Check it out here: www.mpia.de/en/careers/i...
Summer internships
www.mpia.de
December 11, 2025 at 9:46 AM
The MPIA call for summer interns is now live! This is a great opportunity for bachelors & masters students from anywhere in the world to come an complete a three month, fully funded research project in beautiful Heidelberg. Check it out here: www.mpia.de/en/careers/i...
Reposted by Duncan Christie
I see this a fair bit and I think it's representative of entire generations that just fundamentally do not understand building a network through your own actions (subscribing to feeds, following ppl) rather than having it handed to you by a corporation's secret algorithm
Where is the genocide in Gaza on Blue Sky? It incredible to me it’s hardly talked about here.
December 9, 2025 at 9:23 AM
I see this a fair bit and I think it's representative of entire generations that just fundamentally do not understand building a network through your own actions (subscribing to feeds, following ppl) rather than having it handed to you by a corporation's secret algorithm