AstroMonnier
@astromonnier.bsky.social
John Monnier, Professor of Astronomy, U. of Michigan
Favorite Things: Imaging Stars & Exoplanets with Interferometry
Developer: MIRC-X, MYSTIC, STARI
2014 Michelson Investigator Prize; 2019 AAS Joseph Weber Award
http://monnier.us
Opinions my own.
Favorite Things: Imaging Stars & Exoplanets with Interferometry
Developer: MIRC-X, MYSTIC, STARI
2014 Michelson Investigator Prize; 2019 AAS Joseph Weber Award
http://monnier.us
Opinions my own.
But he didnt know about interferometry. The #chara Array is just down the road from these amazing solar towers continuing this legacy. We can now study quite a diverse range of stars in quite some detail with milliarcsecond resolution.
“It cannot too often be repeated that the Sun is the only star whose phenomena can be studied in detail.” With these words, George Ellery Hale set the vision for the Mount Wilson Solar Observatory - where solar research was central from the very beginning.
January 13, 2026 at 11:59 PM
But he didnt know about interferometry. The #chara Array is just down the road from these amazing solar towers continuing this legacy. We can now study quite a diverse range of stars in quite some detail with milliarcsecond resolution.
Happy New Years!
I will be attending AAS Meeting in Phoenix to present a poster on our STARI Mission. Look me up to learn more or to catch up.
starimission.space
I will be attending AAS Meeting in Phoenix to present a poster on our STARI Mission. Look me up to learn more or to catch up.
starimission.space
STARI: STarlight Acquisition and Reflection toward Interferometry
Space website with enhanced multi‑layer parallax.
starimission.space
January 1, 2026 at 7:25 PM
Happy New Years!
I will be attending AAS Meeting in Phoenix to present a poster on our STARI Mission. Look me up to learn more or to catch up.
starimission.space
I will be attending AAS Meeting in Phoenix to present a poster on our STARI Mission. Look me up to learn more or to catch up.
starimission.space
Working on my first AAS "iPoster"... I hadn't realized the presenting screens are much smaller than a typical physical poster and so not sure this is really an upgrade for most people. What am I missing?
December 19, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Working on my first AAS "iPoster"... I hadn't realized the presenting screens are much smaller than a typical physical poster and so not sure this is really an upgrade for most people. What am I missing?
My STARI (starimission.space) Collaborators Simone D'Amico and Sam Low (Stanford) took time to make this image as we prepare for our System Requirements Review on Friday!
tinyurl.com/4ett99wv
#stari #nasa
@jwcutler.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/4ett99wv
#stari #nasa
@jwcutler.bsky.social
December 10, 2025 at 4:14 PM
My STARI (starimission.space) Collaborators Simone D'Amico and Sam Low (Stanford) took time to make this image as we prepare for our System Requirements Review on Friday!
tinyurl.com/4ett99wv
#stari #nasa
@jwcutler.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/4ett99wv
#stari #nasa
@jwcutler.bsky.social
Happy to announce a paper 20+ years in the making:
arxiv.org/abs/2512.06066
In a huge group effort with new data from VLA, ATCA, Swift, Chandra, Keck aperture masking, and Keck adaptive optics, we report a "shocking" result about colliding wind WR112.
Enjoy! Let me know if you have any questions!
arxiv.org/abs/2512.06066
In a huge group effort with new data from VLA, ATCA, Swift, Chandra, Keck aperture masking, and Keck adaptive optics, we report a "shocking" result about colliding wind WR112.
Enjoy! Let me know if you have any questions!
Revealing the accelerating wind in the inner region of the colliding-wind binary WR 112
Colliding winds in massive binaries generate X-ray-bright shocks, synchrotron radio emission, and sometimes even dusty "pinwheel" spirals. We report the first X-ray detections of the dusty WC+O binary...
arxiv.org
December 9, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Happy to announce a paper 20+ years in the making:
arxiv.org/abs/2512.06066
In a huge group effort with new data from VLA, ATCA, Swift, Chandra, Keck aperture masking, and Keck adaptive optics, we report a "shocking" result about colliding wind WR112.
Enjoy! Let me know if you have any questions!
arxiv.org/abs/2512.06066
In a huge group effort with new data from VLA, ATCA, Swift, Chandra, Keck aperture masking, and Keck adaptive optics, we report a "shocking" result about colliding wind WR112.
Enjoy! Let me know if you have any questions!
Reposted by AstroMonnier
BREAKING: No. 2 Indiana beats No. 1 Ohio State 13-10 for its first Big Ten championship since 1967 and likely lock up the top seed in the playoff.
No. 2 Indiana beats No. 1 Ohio St. 13-10 to end Big Ten title drought, lock up top playoff seed
Fernando Mendoza’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Sarratt gave No. 2 Indiana the lead midway through the third quarter and the Hoosiers' stingy defense pitched a shutout the rest of the way to beat No. 1 Ohio State 13-10 for their first Big Ten championship since 1967 while likely locking up the t
bit.ly
December 7, 2025 at 4:50 AM
BREAKING: No. 2 Indiana beats No. 1 Ohio State 13-10 for its first Big Ten championship since 1967 and likely lock up the top seed in the playoff.
When I was a grad student, we dreamed of imaging nova (and supernova) explosions with our then-new infrared interferometers.
And while we are still waiting for a Milky Way SUPERnova, we CAN now see novae go boom using CHARA with instruments built at U. Michigan!
news.umich.edu/seeing-stell...
And while we are still waiting for a Milky Way SUPERnova, we CAN now see novae go boom using CHARA with instruments built at U. Michigan!
news.umich.edu/seeing-stell...
Seeing stellar explosions in high definition
An international team of astronomers, including researchers from the University of Michigan, has captured unprecedented images of two stellar explosions—known as novae—within days of their eruption.
news.umich.edu
December 7, 2025 at 2:51 AM
When I was a grad student, we dreamed of imaging nova (and supernova) explosions with our then-new infrared interferometers.
And while we are still waiting for a Milky Way SUPERnova, we CAN now see novae go boom using CHARA with instruments built at U. Michigan!
news.umich.edu/seeing-stell...
And while we are still waiting for a Milky Way SUPERnova, we CAN now see novae go boom using CHARA with instruments built at U. Michigan!
news.umich.edu/seeing-stell...
Ha. The “Urban Experience Fee” unexpectedly cost us an extra $25 extra per night during our recent stay in Chicago. But look at what amenities were included:
October 22, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Ha. The “Urban Experience Fee” unexpectedly cost us an extra $25 extra per night during our recent stay in Chicago. But look at what amenities were included:
Amazing work solving a tricky calibration problem with JWST aperture masking data! Any hope to improve ground-based systematics with this general approach?
@benjaminpope.bsky.social
arxiv.org/abs/2510.09806
@benjaminpope.bsky.social
arxiv.org/abs/2510.09806
AMIGO: a Data-Driven Calibration of the JWST Interferometer
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) hosts a non-redundant Aperture Masking Interferometer (AMI) in its Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) instrument, providing the only dedicate...
arxiv.org
October 14, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Amazing work solving a tricky calibration problem with JWST aperture masking data! Any hope to improve ground-based systematics with this general approach?
@benjaminpope.bsky.social
arxiv.org/abs/2510.09806
@benjaminpope.bsky.social
arxiv.org/abs/2510.09806
Its much harder to help my kids with homework post-covid with no textbooks. Can’t help but wonder if the move to online resources is hurting learning across the board, but especially middle and high school.
October 7, 2025 at 12:38 AM
Its much harder to help my kids with homework post-covid with no textbooks. Can’t help but wonder if the move to online resources is hurting learning across the board, but especially middle and high school.
Thanks @planet4589.bsky.social
One ride to terminator every few years.... Check it out, @jwcutler.bsky.social !
One ride to terminator every few years.... Check it out, @jwcutler.bsky.social !
August 29, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Thanks @planet4589.bsky.social
One ride to terminator every few years.... Check it out, @jwcutler.bsky.social !
One ride to terminator every few years.... Check it out, @jwcutler.bsky.social !
🚀 Rideshare reality check: @planet4589.bsky.social — is there a good source for CubeSat drop-off orbits from the past 5 years? I’m modeling #STARI (a LEO formation-flying mission) and need to know the most common insertion orbits. Dream case is SSO terminator—but I’m told those are unicorns 🦄.
August 27, 2025 at 1:00 AM
🚀 Rideshare reality check: @planet4589.bsky.social — is there a good source for CubeSat drop-off orbits from the past 5 years? I’m modeling #STARI (a LEO formation-flying mission) and need to know the most common insertion orbits. Dream case is SSO terminator—but I’m told those are unicorns 🦄.
Really hate to see Stanford going back on its pledge to halt legacy admissions.
stanforddaily.com/2025/08/06/s...
stanforddaily.com/2025/08/06/s...
Stanford to continue legacy admissions, reinstate standardized test requirements
New admissions criteria announced a continuation of legacy consideration and a reinstatement of the standardized testing requirement for class of 2030 applicants
stanforddaily.com
August 10, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Really hate to see Stanford going back on its pledge to halt legacy admissions.
stanforddaily.com/2025/08/06/s...
stanforddaily.com/2025/08/06/s...
Bravo..
“ — making “Harvard astronomer” the scientific equivalent of “Florida man” didn’t just happen; it took long-term dedication.”
“ — making “Harvard astronomer” the scientific equivalent of “Florida man” didn’t just happen; it took long-term dedication.”
I have a complaint about Avi Loeb's latest work and I want to speak to management.
medium.com/@steve.desch...
medium.com/@steve.desch...
This is not the quality of pseudoscience infotainment to which I have grown accustomed
Teasing the public with fraudulent or self-deluded promises of aliens used to mean something. It took work. It meant slapping together…
medium.com
August 8, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Bravo..
“ — making “Harvard astronomer” the scientific equivalent of “Florida man” didn’t just happen; it took long-term dedication.”
“ — making “Harvard astronomer” the scientific equivalent of “Florida man” didn’t just happen; it took long-term dedication.”
It is cool to see a movie about local Ann Arbor History funded by kickstarter!
Congratulations to the filmakers!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/196...
Congratulations to the filmakers!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/196...
August 8, 2025 at 10:43 PM
It is cool to see a movie about local Ann Arbor History funded by kickstarter!
Congratulations to the filmakers!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/196...
Congratulations to the filmakers!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/196...
For those also waiting, I just got a late NSF-ATI rejection today. The letter says only 10% success rate, notably lower than historical practice.
With MRI shutdown for next year, I suspect ATI (the only other NSF instrumentation programs) will be overwhelmed!
With MRI shutdown for next year, I suspect ATI (the only other NSF instrumentation programs) will be overwhelmed!
July 15, 2025 at 12:43 PM
For those also waiting, I just got a late NSF-ATI rejection today. The letter says only 10% success rate, notably lower than historical practice.
With MRI shutdown for next year, I suspect ATI (the only other NSF instrumentation programs) will be overwhelmed!
With MRI shutdown for next year, I suspect ATI (the only other NSF instrumentation programs) will be overwhelmed!
Ok. So NSF has officially cut funding for one of its largest instrumentation programs for next year. Hope this is temporary.
www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
Changes to NSF Major Research Instrumentation Program for FY 2026
www.nsf.gov
July 15, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Ok. So NSF has officially cut funding for one of its largest instrumentation programs for next year. Hope this is temporary.
www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
Spent time to visit Copernicus in old Krakow.
He worked at The Jagiellonian University in Krakow, the 4th oldest University in Europe, where they started out only teaching 3 disciplines: Law, Medicine, and Astronomy.
He worked at The Jagiellonian University in Krakow, the 4th oldest University in Europe, where they started out only teaching 3 disciplines: Law, Medicine, and Astronomy.
July 12, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Spent time to visit Copernicus in old Krakow.
He worked at The Jagiellonian University in Krakow, the 4th oldest University in Europe, where they started out only teaching 3 disciplines: Law, Medicine, and Astronomy.
He worked at The Jagiellonian University in Krakow, the 4th oldest University in Europe, where they started out only teaching 3 disciplines: Law, Medicine, and Astronomy.
I’d like to advertise the Michigan Society of Fellows, a unique opportunity for recent PhDs to carry out cutting edge research while also developing their teaching skills.
Any Interferometrists or ELT-METISians interested?
Note early deadline Sep 15.
societyoffellows.umich.edu/the-fellowsh...
Any Interferometrists or ELT-METISians interested?
Note early deadline Sep 15.
societyoffellows.umich.edu/the-fellowsh...
The Fellowship – University of Michigan Society of Fellows, Established 1970
societyoffellows.umich.edu
June 10, 2025 at 12:59 PM
I’d like to advertise the Michigan Society of Fellows, a unique opportunity for recent PhDs to carry out cutting edge research while also developing their teaching skills.
Any Interferometrists or ELT-METISians interested?
Note early deadline Sep 15.
societyoffellows.umich.edu/the-fellowsh...
Any Interferometrists or ELT-METISians interested?
Note early deadline Sep 15.
societyoffellows.umich.edu/the-fellowsh...
Fellow Astronomers:
With ApJ page charges running $3K these days, what are some alternate journals to submit to?
With ApJ page charges running $3K these days, what are some alternate journals to submit to?
June 9, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Fellow Astronomers:
With ApJ page charges running $3K these days, what are some alternate journals to submit to?
With ApJ page charges running $3K these days, what are some alternate journals to submit to?
Ive also been disappointed by the silence of our National Academy of Sciences. Perhaps if the membership of the NAS itself was being cut by 50% we would hear more complaint.
arstechnica.com/science/2025...
arstechnica.com/science/2025...
US science is being wrecked, and its leadership is fighting the last war
Facing an extreme budget, the National Academies hosted an event that ignored it.
arstechnica.com
June 5, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Ive also been disappointed by the silence of our National Academy of Sciences. Perhaps if the membership of the NAS itself was being cut by 50% we would hear more complaint.
arstechnica.com/science/2025...
arstechnica.com/science/2025...
Reasonable NSF budget cut:
* Choose to support only one Extremely Large Telescope Project
Unreasonable NSF budget cut:
* Choose to support only one of the two essential LIGO Gravitational Wave Interferometer detector sites.
* Choose to support only one Extremely Large Telescope Project
Unreasonable NSF budget cut:
* Choose to support only one of the two essential LIGO Gravitational Wave Interferometer detector sites.
May 31, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Reasonable NSF budget cut:
* Choose to support only one Extremely Large Telescope Project
Unreasonable NSF budget cut:
* Choose to support only one of the two essential LIGO Gravitational Wave Interferometer detector sites.
* Choose to support only one Extremely Large Telescope Project
Unreasonable NSF budget cut:
* Choose to support only one of the two essential LIGO Gravitational Wave Interferometer detector sites.
Space science is probably the only area in technology that the USA is the undisputed world leader. Squandered.
Under Trump’s budget, NASA would face its lowest funding in over a decade, and its most ambitious science missions would be canceled. Davinci+, Veritas, Mars Sample Return? Gone.
If Trump gets his way, the future of U.S. space science will die on the launchpad.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
If Trump gets his way, the future of U.S. space science will die on the launchpad.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Universe’s mysteries may never be solved because of Trump’s Nasa cuts, experts say
‘Extinction-level cuts’ to space agency’s spending means labs will close and deep-space missions will be abandoned
www.theguardian.com
May 31, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Space science is probably the only area in technology that the USA is the undisputed world leader. Squandered.