Daniel Schmidt
@dfschmidt.bsky.social
Math professor. Climate researcher when time allows. ✞
PhD Mathematics-Virginia Tech.
PhD Environmental Sciences-UVA.
MSc Astrophysics-LJMU.
PhD Mathematics-Virginia Tech.
PhD Environmental Sciences-UVA.
MSc Astrophysics-LJMU.
Pinned
Daniel Schmidt
@dfschmidt.bsky.social
· Dec 12
Hello! I'm a math professor and love teaching. I also have a background in climate science and astrophysics, and I am fascinated by planetary atmospheres, stellar interiors, and the parallels between them. I'll be posting here on astronomy and climate science.
My resolution for 2026 is to travel 940 million kilometers.
January 1, 2026 at 4:38 PM
My resolution for 2026 is to travel 940 million kilometers.
The Euclid Space Telescope just found a particularly beautiful example of an Einstein ring (a gravitational lensing effect) around the galaxy NGC 6505.
Source: doi.org/10.1051/0004...
Source: doi.org/10.1051/0004...
February 22, 2025 at 2:44 PM
The Euclid Space Telescope just found a particularly beautiful example of an Einstein ring (a gravitational lensing effect) around the galaxy NGC 6505.
Source: doi.org/10.1051/0004...
Source: doi.org/10.1051/0004...
The moon and Mars last night.
January 14, 2025 at 8:43 PM
The moon and Mars last night.
2024 was the warmest year on record. As usual, Carbon Breif has an excellent summary.
www.carbonbrief.org/state-of-the...
www.carbonbrief.org/state-of-the...
State of the climate: 2024 sets a new record as the first year above 1.5C - Carbon Brief
Last year was the hottest the Earth has experienced since the start of global temperature...
www.carbonbrief.org
January 10, 2025 at 11:33 PM
2024 was the warmest year on record. As usual, Carbon Breif has an excellent summary.
www.carbonbrief.org/state-of-the...
www.carbonbrief.org/state-of-the...
Two stages of the same sunset.
January 9, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Two stages of the same sunset.
Freezing rain followed by clear blue skies made a beautiful scene yesterday.
January 8, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Freezing rain followed by clear blue skies made a beautiful scene yesterday.
Reposted by Daniel Schmidt
Ever seen iceberg pictures like this? This configuration would be inherently unstable and the berg would probably rotate. You can try it yourself and draw a similar berg (or any other shape) here:
joshdata.me/iceberger.html
joshdata.me/iceberger.html
January 1, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Ever seen iceberg pictures like this? This configuration would be inherently unstable and the berg would probably rotate. You can try it yourself and draw a similar berg (or any other shape) here:
joshdata.me/iceberger.html
joshdata.me/iceberger.html
Happy New Year everyone!
January 1, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Happy New Year everyone!
I write squiggles on a whiteboard to help students understand the deep secrets of the universe.
I talk about big stones in space
December 31, 2024 at 12:44 AM
I write squiggles on a whiteboard to help students understand the deep secrets of the universe.
I recently started reading this book on the philosophy of astrophysics (as far as I know, the only one ever published on the subject) and I have to say, it's been fascinating.
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
December 29, 2024 at 9:50 PM
I recently started reading this book on the philosophy of astrophysics (as far as I know, the only one ever published on the subject) and I have to say, it's been fascinating.
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
Altocumulus at sunset
December 27, 2024 at 2:56 PM
Altocumulus at sunset
Persistent contrails contribute to global warming, but they can be avoided with only small adjustments to flights.
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Feasibility test of per-flight contrail avoidance in commercial aviation - Communications Engineering
Vapour trails (contrails) from aircraft make a substantial contribution to aviation’s climate impact. Here we execute a per-flight contrail avoidance feasibility test through altitude adjustments base...
www.nature.com
December 21, 2024 at 8:19 PM
Persistent contrails contribute to global warming, but they can be avoided with only small adjustments to flights.
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Two years ago I enrolled in an online MSc program in astrophysics at Liverpool-John Moores University to pursue a longtime interest. I finished the program this semester and just got the diploma today.
December 14, 2024 at 1:31 AM
Two years ago I enrolled in an online MSc program in astrophysics at Liverpool-John Moores University to pursue a longtime interest. I finished the program this semester and just got the diploma today.
Hello! I'm a math professor and love teaching. I also have a background in climate science and astrophysics, and I am fascinated by planetary atmospheres, stellar interiors, and the parallels between them. I'll be posting here on astronomy and climate science.
December 12, 2024 at 2:34 AM
Hello! I'm a math professor and love teaching. I also have a background in climate science and astrophysics, and I am fascinated by planetary atmospheres, stellar interiors, and the parallels between them. I'll be posting here on astronomy and climate science.
I found an interesting recent study of current drought and precipitation changes in the context of natural variability. It compares paleoclimate records (distant past) instrumental records (recent past) and model projections (future).
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Centennial‐Scale Intensification of Wet and Dry Extremes in North America
This study models seasonal drought and pluvial trends, merging reconstructions, observations, and projections from 850 to 2100 CE Results show widespread exacerbation of both extremes with overal...
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 8, 2024 at 5:36 PM
I found an interesting recent study of current drought and precipitation changes in the context of natural variability. It compares paleoclimate records (distant past) instrumental records (recent past) and model projections (future).
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Sunset last night
December 5, 2024 at 6:33 PM
Sunset last night
The Northern Hemisphere winter solstice is on December 21, but meteorological winter begins today and ends on the last day of February. This definition corresponds more closely to the coldest time of the year. Happy first day of winter everyone!
December 2, 2024 at 12:52 AM
The Northern Hemisphere winter solstice is on December 21, but meteorological winter begins today and ends on the last day of February. This definition corresponds more closely to the coldest time of the year. Happy first day of winter everyone!
With Northern Hemisphere winter approaching, sunrise times are getting later, which means it is now easier to watch a sunrise. I recommend it.
November 29, 2024 at 12:58 PM
With Northern Hemisphere winter approaching, sunrise times are getting later, which means it is now easier to watch a sunrise. I recommend it.
If climate change can exacerbate wildfires, why has burn area decreased? According to this modelling study, climate change has contributed a 16% increase in burned area, but this was more than canceled by the 19% decrease due to land-use changes.
www.carbonbrief.org/climate-chan...
www.carbonbrief.org/climate-chan...
Climate change almost wipes out decline in global area burned by wildfires - Carbon Brief
Decline in area burned globally by wildfires over the 20th century due to land-use change has almost entirely been offset by climate change.
www.carbonbrief.org
November 28, 2024 at 3:12 PM
If climate change can exacerbate wildfires, why has burn area decreased? According to this modelling study, climate change has contributed a 16% increase in burned area, but this was more than canceled by the 19% decrease due to land-use changes.
www.carbonbrief.org/climate-chan...
www.carbonbrief.org/climate-chan...
In honor of Blue Sky, I bring you...a blue sky, with subtle wave clouds--probably atmospheric gravity waves.
November 25, 2024 at 8:44 PM
In honor of Blue Sky, I bring you...a blue sky, with subtle wave clouds--probably atmospheric gravity waves.
Every galaxy in this image could host millions of inhabited planets teeming with countless life forms of every imaginable variety... or they may all be completely sterile. The universe looks very different depending on which of those options is correct, and we really don’t know which it is.
November 23, 2024 at 3:26 PM
Every galaxy in this image could host millions of inhabited planets teeming with countless life forms of every imaginable variety... or they may all be completely sterile. The universe looks very different depending on which of those options is correct, and we really don’t know which it is.
Venus just after sunset yesterday.
November 23, 2024 at 12:40 AM
Venus just after sunset yesterday.
The greenhouse effect of CO2 has been known from experiments since the 1850s, but now it can also be calculated from first principles using quantum mechanics:
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
Fermi Resonance and the Quantum Mechanical Basis of Global Warming - IOPscienceSearchopens in new tab
Fermi Resonance and the Quantum Mechanical Basis of Global Warming, R. Wordsworth, J. T. Seeley, K. P. Shine
iopscience.iop.org
November 18, 2024 at 4:18 PM
The greenhouse effect of CO2 has been known from experiments since the 1850s, but now it can also be calculated from first principles using quantum mechanics:
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
Sundogs and cirrostratus over central Virginia earlier this week. I suspect that many of us in the atmospheric sciences got started because we looked up at something like this and wondered what was going on up there.
November 16, 2024 at 11:00 PM
Sundogs and cirrostratus over central Virginia earlier this week. I suspect that many of us in the atmospheric sciences got started because we looked up at something like this and wondered what was going on up there.