Conaire Deagan
@conairedeagan.bsky.social
Astronomy PhD candidate at UNSW. Interested in exoplanets (Earth-like), stellar activity (Sun-like), high-precision astrometry, ML, a semi-secret interest in SETI, and a house plant enthusiast.
conaired.github.io
conaired.github.io
Reposted by Conaire Deagan
Astronomers: highly recommend this thoughtful opinion piece by @hogg.bsky.social on how to think about our field in light of the development of large language models. whether you agree with him or not it’s vital to discuss the principles behind our science. 🔭 arxiv.org/abs/2602.10181
Why do we do astrophysics?
At time of writing, large language models (LLMs) are beginning to obtain the ability to design, execute, write up, and referee scientific projects on the data-science side of astrophysics. What implic...
arxiv.org
February 12, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Astronomers: highly recommend this thoughtful opinion piece by @hogg.bsky.social on how to think about our field in light of the development of large language models. whether you agree with him or not it’s vital to discuss the principles behind our science. 🔭 arxiv.org/abs/2602.10181
Reposted by Conaire Deagan
Hey, my name is in the Epstein files! I've told the story before, but should probably re-up.
TLDR: never met the guy, never took (or asked for) any money from him, never visited the island. I was invited to the island, and said no.
It's not that hard to just say no.
TLDR: never met the guy, never took (or asked for) any money from him, never visited the island. I was invited to the island, and said no.
It's not that hard to just say no.
February 9, 2026 at 3:38 PM
Hey, my name is in the Epstein files! I've told the story before, but should probably re-up.
TLDR: never met the guy, never took (or asked for) any money from him, never visited the island. I was invited to the island, and said no.
It's not that hard to just say no.
TLDR: never met the guy, never took (or asked for) any money from him, never visited the island. I was invited to the island, and said no.
It's not that hard to just say no.
Reposted by Conaire Deagan
the Premier should resign after the disgraceful actions of the NSW police today
February 9, 2026 at 10:24 AM
the Premier should resign after the disgraceful actions of the NSW police today
The only time I’ve ever had a package stolen was when it was a book. I wonder what they did with that book.
February 3, 2026 at 10:56 PM
The only time I’ve ever had a package stolen was when it was a book. I wonder what they did with that book.
Happy to say that my paper “Inferring hemispheric asymmetries of stellar active regions through the information content of astrometric signals” is on the archive: arxiv.org/abs/2601.11707
It’s about what degeneracies are present (and importantly, what aren’t) in stellar surface mapping
It’s about what degeneracies are present (and importantly, what aren’t) in stellar surface mapping
Inferring hemispheric asymmetries of stellar active regions through the information content of astrometric signals
Photometric light curves suffer from fundamental degeneracies that limit surface information recovery. We demonstrate that astrometry enables access to complementary information through photocentre va...
arxiv.org
January 21, 2026 at 5:46 AM
Happy to say that my paper “Inferring hemispheric asymmetries of stellar active regions through the information content of astrometric signals” is on the archive: arxiv.org/abs/2601.11707
It’s about what degeneracies are present (and importantly, what aren’t) in stellar surface mapping
It’s about what degeneracies are present (and importantly, what aren’t) in stellar surface mapping
I am creating some Bayesian statistics documents for phds students at UNSW and I thought it would be fun to look at the history of Jeffrey’s and Fisher. Goddamn Fisher was an awful person - Professor of Eugenics, and wrote in favour of nazi eugenicists AFTER Nuremberg 😕
January 16, 2026 at 12:16 PM
I am creating some Bayesian statistics documents for phds students at UNSW and I thought it would be fun to look at the history of Jeffrey’s and Fisher. Goddamn Fisher was an awful person - Professor of Eugenics, and wrote in favour of nazi eugenicists AFTER Nuremberg 😕
Mulder is a Bayesian and Scully is a Frequentist.
January 15, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Mulder is a Bayesian and Scully is a Frequentist.
I was reading a paper that got a bit of buzz a little bit ago about the adult literacy crisis. Ironically, the paper itself seems to lack numerical literacy, reporting basic percentages incorrectly…. 😕
January 11, 2026 at 4:23 AM
I was reading a paper that got a bit of buzz a little bit ago about the adult literacy crisis. Ironically, the paper itself seems to lack numerical literacy, reporting basic percentages incorrectly…. 😕
I find it funny that when reading books on SETI, many authors describe the inherent chauvinism in assuming intelligence as an “evolutionary goal”, but to describe the pinnacle of technology they all invariably put the peak at radio telescopes. Perhaps radio astronomers are also chauvinists lol
December 19, 2025 at 4:17 AM
I find it funny that when reading books on SETI, many authors describe the inherent chauvinism in assuming intelligence as an “evolutionary goal”, but to describe the pinnacle of technology they all invariably put the peak at radio telescopes. Perhaps radio astronomers are also chauvinists lol
Reposted by Conaire Deagan
War doesn’t just destroy buildings—it erases places where children learn, play, and grow. Bellingcat and journalists from @afp.com bureaus in Paris and Kyiv take a look at the lost spaces of youth in Ukraine. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/12...
How Russia’s Invasion is Impacting Ukraine’s Youth - bellingcat
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukrainian educational facilities and spaces used by children have been damaged in air strikes or closed because of them.
www.bellingcat.com
December 17, 2025 at 8:14 AM
War doesn’t just destroy buildings—it erases places where children learn, play, and grow. Bellingcat and journalists from @afp.com bureaus in Paris and Kyiv take a look at the lost spaces of youth in Ukraine. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/12...
Reposted by Conaire Deagan
Very concerning that these guys were armed and not under surveillance.
Very few politicians are willing to state the obvious - a failure of Australia's intelligence apparatus.
Father/son terrorist attack, with long links to Islamic State characters and IS flags in the car?
Nothing to see here apparantly.
Father/son terrorist attack, with long links to Islamic State characters and IS flags in the car?
Nothing to see here apparantly.
December 16, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Very concerning that these guys were armed and not under surveillance.
I am concerned about the literacy rates in the adult population.
December 14, 2025 at 11:09 PM
I am concerned about the literacy rates in the adult population.
Reposted by Conaire Deagan
Sick and twisted massacre today. Had never imagined that this could happen here, like this. Solidarity to the Jewish community, solidarity to Bondi.
December 14, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Sick and twisted massacre today. Had never imagined that this could happen here, like this. Solidarity to the Jewish community, solidarity to Bondi.
Reposted by Conaire Deagan
Confirmed: the attack at #Bondi was targeting the Jewish community. It’s a terrorism event.
Awful for all involved.
Thoughts are with Australia’s Jewish community and everyone who was on Bondi who had to witness such horrific events. This is so sad and not what our country is about. Devastating.
Awful for all involved.
Thoughts are with Australia’s Jewish community and everyone who was on Bondi who had to witness such horrific events. This is so sad and not what our country is about. Devastating.
December 14, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Confirmed: the attack at #Bondi was targeting the Jewish community. It’s a terrorism event.
Awful for all involved.
Thoughts are with Australia’s Jewish community and everyone who was on Bondi who had to witness such horrific events. This is so sad and not what our country is about. Devastating.
Awful for all involved.
Thoughts are with Australia’s Jewish community and everyone who was on Bondi who had to witness such horrific events. This is so sad and not what our country is about. Devastating.
Reposted by Conaire Deagan
I don’t know how these people have gotten guns, but there needs to be a crackdown. We cannot be like the US and allows this shit to happen. It’s unclear how many victims there are, but I hope for a speedy recovery for them. Fuck those shooter cunts.
December 14, 2025 at 9:00 AM
I don’t know how these people have gotten guns, but there needs to be a crackdown. We cannot be like the US and allows this shit to happen. It’s unclear how many victims there are, but I hope for a speedy recovery for them. Fuck those shooter cunts.
Reposted by Conaire Deagan
❗️Shocking footage. A passerby disarmed the shooter "with bare hands" at Bondi Beach in Sydney.
December 14, 2025 at 9:31 AM
❗️Shocking footage. A passerby disarmed the shooter "with bare hands" at Bondi Beach in Sydney.
I don’t know how these people have gotten guns, but there needs to be a crackdown. We cannot be like the US and allows this shit to happen. It’s unclear how many victims there are, but I hope for a speedy recovery for them. Fuck those shooter cunts.
December 14, 2025 at 9:00 AM
I don’t know how these people have gotten guns, but there needs to be a crackdown. We cannot be like the US and allows this shit to happen. It’s unclear how many victims there are, but I hope for a speedy recovery for them. Fuck those shooter cunts.
How is it that every bus I ride on there is always someone who has apparently never been in a bus before
December 8, 2025 at 3:22 AM
How is it that every bus I ride on there is always someone who has apparently never been in a bus before
Reposted by Conaire Deagan
For comparison, every robotic mission NASA has ever sent in its history, from the dawn of the Space Age 65 years ago to today, from Mercury to Pluto and beyond, has cost less than $40B.
I know which one has done more for humankind and which one should be dismantled.
I know which one has done more for humankind and which one should be dismantled.
Mark Zuckerberg’s gamble on the ‘Metaverse’ has cost Meta more than $77B
The company now plans to cut spending on it and shift focus to AI wearables instead
(via WSJ)
The company now plans to cut spending on it and shift focus to AI wearables instead
(via WSJ)
December 7, 2025 at 2:03 AM
For comparison, every robotic mission NASA has ever sent in its history, from the dawn of the Space Age 65 years ago to today, from Mercury to Pluto and beyond, has cost less than $40B.
I know which one has done more for humankind and which one should be dismantled.
I know which one has done more for humankind and which one should be dismantled.
Reposted by Conaire Deagan
live long and prosper (if you have a billion dollars)
live long and prosper (if you have a billion dollars)
YouTube video by Angela Collier
youtu.be
December 5, 2025 at 11:17 PM
live long and prosper (if you have a billion dollars)
Reposted by Conaire Deagan
Archaeologists find evidence that a wave of mass brutality accompanied the collapse of the first pan-European culture ⛏️☠️ www.science.org/content/arti...
Headless bodies hint at why Europe’s first farmers vanished
Wave of mass brutality accompanied the collapse of the first pan-European culture
www.science.org
November 20, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Archaeologists find evidence that a wave of mass brutality accompanied the collapse of the first pan-European culture ⛏️☠️ www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Conaire Deagan
Very excited to share the NASA/ESA/STScI press release of our team's work on Apep! It's a terrific writeup, complete with a brand new beautiful visualisation of the nebula geometry.
1/? ⚛️🔭🧪
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
1/? ⚛️🔭🧪
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
Webb First to Show 4 Dust Shells 'Spiraling' Apep, Limits Long Orbit - NASA Science
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has delivered a first of its kind: a crisp mid-infrared image of a system of four serpentine spirals of dust, one expanding
science.nasa.gov
November 19, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Very excited to share the NASA/ESA/STScI press release of our team's work on Apep! It's a terrific writeup, complete with a brand new beautiful visualisation of the nebula geometry.
1/? ⚛️🔭🧪
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
1/? ⚛️🔭🧪
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
Today is the first time I have seen explicit Nazi/antisemitic graffiti on the #usyd campus.
I’ve reported it to campus maintenance, but I feel it is important to call out that this crap is never acceptable.
I’ve tagged @sydney.edu.au so that they can hopefully resolve this quickly, as…
I’ve reported it to campus maintenance, but I feel it is important to call out that this crap is never acceptable.
I’ve tagged @sydney.edu.au so that they can hopefully resolve this quickly, as…
November 2, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Today is the first time I have seen explicit Nazi/antisemitic graffiti on the #usyd campus.
I’ve reported it to campus maintenance, but I feel it is important to call out that this crap is never acceptable.
I’ve tagged @sydney.edu.au so that they can hopefully resolve this quickly, as…
I’ve reported it to campus maintenance, but I feel it is important to call out that this crap is never acceptable.
I’ve tagged @sydney.edu.au so that they can hopefully resolve this quickly, as…
The decline in vegan options in the supermarkets correlates with the rise in fascism. In this essay I will argue that this is a causal relationship
October 30, 2025 at 9:19 AM
The decline in vegan options in the supermarkets correlates with the rise in fascism. In this essay I will argue that this is a causal relationship
Reposted by Conaire Deagan
What it took to get tenure in the Batman Studies Department in the 1960s, and what it takes to get tenure in Batman Studies today...
July 12, 2025 at 2:24 AM
What it took to get tenure in the Batman Studies Department in the 1960s, and what it takes to get tenure in Batman Studies today...