Hannah Earnshaw
@hpearnshaw.bsky.social
Astronomer at Caltech | NuSTAR Project Scientist | UVEX science team
British, Queer, Christian, bird-parent.
Aspiring Martian.
Opinions my own.
they/them
British, Queer, Christian, bird-parent.
Aspiring Martian.
Opinions my own.
they/them
Reposted by Hannah Earnshaw
This is extremely bad and worrisome for obvious reasons, but it's worth pointing out that this was obviously the student's goal
She knowingly wrote a garbage essay for her trans prof's class and when she obviously got a terrible grade stirred up a media storm
This was clearly the intended outcome
She knowingly wrote a garbage essay for her trans prof's class and when she obviously got a terrible grade stirred up a media storm
This was clearly the intended outcome
OU has put the professor here on administrative leave:
November 30, 2025 at 8:55 PM
This is extremely bad and worrisome for obvious reasons, but it's worth pointing out that this was obviously the student's goal
She knowingly wrote a garbage essay for her trans prof's class and when she obviously got a terrible grade stirred up a media storm
This was clearly the intended outcome
She knowingly wrote a garbage essay for her trans prof's class and when she obviously got a terrible grade stirred up a media storm
This was clearly the intended outcome
Reposted by Hannah Earnshaw
It's Friday, and apparently bluesky is ready for this fun revelation:
Dinosaurs lived on the other side the Galaxy.
Dinosaurs lived on the other side the Galaxy.
November 21, 2025 at 5:11 PM
It's Friday, and apparently bluesky is ready for this fun revelation:
Dinosaurs lived on the other side the Galaxy.
Dinosaurs lived on the other side the Galaxy.
Reposted by Hannah Earnshaw
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...
Reposted by Hannah Earnshaw
What happens when a supermassive black hole takes a bite of a giant star?
It glows brighter than 10 trillion suns.
Profs. @saavikford.bsky.social and @bmckastro.bsky.social helped uncover this mind-bending feast in Nature Astronomy
It glows brighter than 10 trillion suns.
Profs. @saavikford.bsky.social and @bmckastro.bsky.social helped uncover this mind-bending feast in Nature Astronomy
Graduate Center Astrophysicists Find Black Hole Flare Is Biggest and Most Distant Seen
The flare, co-discovered by scientists at CUNY and Caltech, may be the result of a mega black-hole meal.
www.gc.cuny.edu
November 4, 2025 at 2:58 PM
What happens when a supermassive black hole takes a bite of a giant star?
It glows brighter than 10 trillion suns.
Profs. @saavikford.bsky.social and @bmckastro.bsky.social helped uncover this mind-bending feast in Nature Astronomy
It glows brighter than 10 trillion suns.
Profs. @saavikford.bsky.social and @bmckastro.bsky.social helped uncover this mind-bending feast in Nature Astronomy
Particle Physics in Space: In Search of the Elusive Axion! New article up on the NuSTAR website about how we can use our astrophysics mission to do particle physics too, and hunt for dark matter! 🔭🧪
nustar.caltech.edu/news/nustar2...
nustar.caltech.edu/news/nustar2...
October 31, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Particle Physics in Space: In Search of the Elusive Axion! New article up on the NuSTAR website about how we can use our astrophysics mission to do particle physics too, and hunt for dark matter! 🔭🧪
nustar.caltech.edu/news/nustar2...
nustar.caltech.edu/news/nustar2...
Reposted by Hannah Earnshaw
I want to explain a few things and then it might be clearer why UK trans people are upset.
In 2001 I married my wife, Sylvia.
In 2005 I started medical transition. (1/13)
In 2001 I married my wife, Sylvia.
In 2005 I started medical transition. (1/13)
August 29, 2025 at 11:56 AM
I want to explain a few things and then it might be clearer why UK trans people are upset.
In 2001 I married my wife, Sylvia.
In 2005 I started medical transition. (1/13)
In 2001 I married my wife, Sylvia.
In 2005 I started medical transition. (1/13)
Reposted by Hannah Earnshaw
Actual good news about a NASA science mission! 🔭
So this is the news I've been hinting at. Right now, it's just a feasibility study. But if it works, we could be in space for some time yet. www.nasa.gov/missions/swi...
NASA Explores Industry Possibilities to Raise Swift Mission’s Orbit - NASA
To drive the development of key space-based capabilities for the United States, NASA is exploring an opportunity to demonstrate technology to raise a
www.nasa.gov
August 12, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Actual good news about a NASA science mission! 🔭
Off on vacation for a birthday road trip to New Mexico! Visited the VLA yesterday. Nice to pretend to be Jodie Foster in Contact for a minute.
August 4, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Off on vacation for a birthday road trip to New Mexico! Visited the VLA yesterday. Nice to pretend to be Jodie Foster in Contact for a minute.
Reposted by Hannah Earnshaw
‘There is nothing to buy’: Gaza’s descent into mass starvation www.ft.com/content/e5d7...
‘There is nothing to buy’: Gaza’s descent into mass starvation
Israel’s offensive and aid curbs tip enclave of 2.1mn Palestinians into famine
www.ft.com
July 26, 2025 at 9:28 AM
‘There is nothing to buy’: Gaza’s descent into mass starvation www.ft.com/content/e5d7...
Reposted by Hannah Earnshaw
We are excited to announce the discovery of #GW231123, a gravitational-wave signal from the merger of two high-mass black holes to form one about 190–265 times the mass of our Sun
ligo.org/ligo-virgo-k...
#O4IsHere 🔭🧪☄️
ligo.org/ligo-virgo-k...
#O4IsHere 🔭🧪☄️
July 14, 2025 at 3:22 PM
We are excited to announce the discovery of #GW231123, a gravitational-wave signal from the merger of two high-mass black holes to form one about 190–265 times the mass of our Sun
ligo.org/ligo-virgo-k...
#O4IsHere 🔭🧪☄️
ligo.org/ligo-virgo-k...
#O4IsHere 🔭🧪☄️
"Take the perspective ‘Mars is a failed Earth’. What if, instead, we took the view that Mars didn’t fail at becoming Earth, but, succeeded at becoming Mars? This latter view means that we would recognize the planet’s morally relevant attributes and respect it on its own terms." - I love this.
For the past two years, I've been working with a truly fantastic group of philosophers and scientists on pondering ethical issues in astrobiology and space exploration.
Our first publication is now out in @nature.com! I'd be so honored if you gave it a read!
Our first publication is now out in @nature.com! I'd be so honored if you gave it a read!
How to chart a moral future for space exploration
Expanding human influence in outer space will require an ethical compass that is more expansive than the one conventionally used.
www.nature.com
July 8, 2025 at 7:40 PM
"Take the perspective ‘Mars is a failed Earth’. What if, instead, we took the view that Mars didn’t fail at becoming Earth, but, succeeded at becoming Mars? This latter view means that we would recognize the planet’s morally relevant attributes and respect it on its own terms." - I love this.
Reposted by Hannah Earnshaw
BREAKING: Scientists are staging a “science fair” in the lobby of a Congressional building to tell elected officials about the critical knowledge the US will lose because their research grants have been canceled.
July 8, 2025 at 3:31 PM
BREAKING: Scientists are staging a “science fair” in the lobby of a Congressional building to tell elected officials about the critical knowledge the US will lose because their research grants have been canceled.
Made some friends today
July 6, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Made some friends today
Reposted by Hannah Earnshaw
Just for everyone who sees this? This is exactly the level of rigor and dedication NYT has practiced in regards to its entire body of work on trans kids, affirmative action, and progressive policies. this is what they've always been. They just fluked up where everyone could see it this time.
The saga of the NYT's anti-Mamdani story taken from notorious white supremacist Jordan Lasker (they call him an "academic") gets even more amazing: Lasker's only impactful paper, which claimed white people are smarter, is infamous: it misused data so badly it got his tenured co-author fired. 2/
July 4, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Just for everyone who sees this? This is exactly the level of rigor and dedication NYT has practiced in regards to its entire body of work on trans kids, affirmative action, and progressive policies. this is what they've always been. They just fluked up where everyone could see it this time.
Reposted by Hannah Earnshaw
I don’t think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
July 3, 2025 at 6:58 PM
I don’t think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
Reposted by Hannah Earnshaw
Ok I know everything is terrible, but… there is still a very large & beautiful universe out there, & today we have access to a new gorgeous dataset from the Rubin Observatory.
The images are so large and detailed, you’d need a basketball court covered in ultra HD TVs to see the actual detail in the
The images are so large and detailed, you’d need a basketball court covered in ultra HD TVs to see the actual detail in the
Want to instead explore the Virgo Cluster as captured by Rubin at full resolution? Head to our Skyviewer and enjoy some cosmic joyscrolling! There's so much to explore and discover ✨ #RubinFirstLook #CaptureTheCosmos 🔭🧪
➡️ skyviewer.app
➡️ skyviewer.app
June 23, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Ok I know everything is terrible, but… there is still a very large & beautiful universe out there, & today we have access to a new gorgeous dataset from the Rubin Observatory.
The images are so large and detailed, you’d need a basketball court covered in ultra HD TVs to see the actual detail in the
The images are so large and detailed, you’d need a basketball court covered in ultra HD TVs to see the actual detail in the
Sometimes, astronomers have coherent and intelligent things to say about images of space and what they have to teach us. And sometimes we just have to go SPACE IS SO BIG AND AMAZING AAAAAAA
Introducing...your sneak peek at the cosmos captured by NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory!
Can you guess these regions of sky?
This is just a small peek...join us at 11am US EDT for your full First Look at how Rubin will #CaptureTheCosmos! 🔭🧪
#RubinFirstLook
ls.st/rubin-first-look-livestream
Can you guess these regions of sky?
This is just a small peek...join us at 11am US EDT for your full First Look at how Rubin will #CaptureTheCosmos! 🔭🧪
#RubinFirstLook
ls.st/rubin-first-look-livestream
June 23, 2025 at 6:53 AM
Sometimes, astronomers have coherent and intelligent things to say about images of space and what they have to teach us. And sometimes we just have to go SPACE IS SO BIG AND AMAZING AAAAAAA
Reposted by Hannah Earnshaw
I suspect that fact that the vast majority of LLM users don’t seem to have received this (really very simple!) message is because the AI companies have a vested interest in us not understanding it. “ChatGPT is smart, it just makes mistakes sometimes” is much more marketable than the truth.
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
June 19, 2025 at 11:36 AM
I suspect that fact that the vast majority of LLM users don’t seem to have received this (really very simple!) message is because the AI companies have a vested interest in us not understanding it. “ChatGPT is smart, it just makes mistakes sometimes” is much more marketable than the truth.
I love Mars, but we do not get there on the back of destroying everything else. We cannot and must not.
"To associate Mars exploration with the devastation of American space science...to tie it to the alienation of our allies and partners, is to doom the effort to failure. Mars deserves better." - @caseydreier.bsky.social
Humans deserve better too.
spacenews.com/the-administ...
Humans deserve better too.
spacenews.com/the-administ...
The administration’s anti-consensus Mars plan will fail
The administration’s anti-consensus Mars plan will fail
spacenews.com
June 20, 2025 at 12:44 AM
I love Mars, but we do not get there on the back of destroying everything else. We cannot and must not.
Reposted by Hannah Earnshaw
Wrote this piece for Harpers Bazaar about the life, legacy, and hate-induced murder of Jonathan Joss through the eyes of being a Two-Spirit Native person this Pride.
I hope you take a read. For Him. For all of us. 🪶
I hope you take a read. For Him. For all of us. 🪶
We All Need to Be Talking About the Murder of Jonathan Joss This Pride and Beyond
The actor, who was Comanche and White Mountain Apache, was shot in a targeted hate crime while protecting his husband.
www.harpersbazaar.com
June 18, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Wrote this piece for Harpers Bazaar about the life, legacy, and hate-induced murder of Jonathan Joss through the eyes of being a Two-Spirit Native person this Pride.
I hope you take a read. For Him. For all of us. 🪶
I hope you take a read. For Him. For all of us. 🪶
Thirteen years ago today, the NuSTAR X-ray space telescope was launched, and has been pushing the boundaries of discovery in high-energy astrophysics ever since! See some cool artwork and learn about some of the key science areas that NuSTAR helps us study here: nustar.caltech.edu/page/nustar-... 🔭🧪
June 13, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Thirteen years ago today, the NuSTAR X-ray space telescope was launched, and has been pushing the boundaries of discovery in high-energy astrophysics ever since! See some cool artwork and learn about some of the key science areas that NuSTAR helps us study here: nustar.caltech.edu/page/nustar-... 🔭🧪
Reposted by Hannah Earnshaw
If that’s what they do to a US Senator with a question, imagine what they do to farm workers, day laborers, cooks, and the other nonviolent immigrants they are targeting in California and across the country. Or any American that dares to speak up.
I will not stop fighting to demand accountability.
I will not stop fighting to demand accountability.
June 12, 2025 at 9:27 PM
If that’s what they do to a US Senator with a question, imagine what they do to farm workers, day laborers, cooks, and the other nonviolent immigrants they are targeting in California and across the country. Or any American that dares to speak up.
I will not stop fighting to demand accountability.
I will not stop fighting to demand accountability.
Reposted by Hannah Earnshaw
This is how.
Greta Thunberg spits fire and gives you the only media training you may ever need.
Greta Thunberg spits fire and gives you the only media training you may ever need.
June 11, 2025 at 5:32 AM
This is how.
Greta Thunberg spits fire and gives you the only media training you may ever need.
Greta Thunberg spits fire and gives you the only media training you may ever need.
Very near to where I live. I'm out of town today, but very proud of my neighbours for kicking ICE out of the neighbourhood.
Looks like protesters successfully pressured a Pasadena hotel to force ICE agents out.
June 9, 2025 at 5:28 AM
Very near to where I live. I'm out of town today, but very proud of my neighbours for kicking ICE out of the neighbourhood.
Reposted by Hannah Earnshaw
Well this couldn’t have come at a better time www.bbc.com/news/article...
Scientists at Loughborough University create 'world's smallest violin'
The violin is smaller than a human hair and has "laid the groundwork" for future research.
www.bbc.com
June 5, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Well this couldn’t have come at a better time www.bbc.com/news/article...