Leila Belkora PhD, astrophysics
@leilabelkora.bsky.social
Science writer. Roots in US (NE/CO), Morocco, Switzerland. She/her. Current project: poet Robert Frost as amateur astronomer, to come from Clemson @cupress.bsky.social
Agent Henry Thayer at Brandt & Hochman.
Agent Henry Thayer at Brandt & Hochman.
My Ode to the Merlin app, with thanks to Light magazine, and including a link to a polyphonic reading, from the Sewanee workshop: lightpoetrymagazine.com/a-e-stalling...
A.E. Stallings
BACK | CONTENTS | NEXT Ode to Merlin (To be performed polyphonically, as a round.*) All the poets love the bird app.They all sign up for it ASAP.Hear a twitter, give a quick tap.All the poets love...
lightpoetrymagazine.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:37 PM
As I posted on the other site… a terrific, wide-ranging, stimulating conversation! Close reading, teaching today’s students, timeliness, intellectual community, surrendering to the text, trusting oneself in reaction to the text. I even jotted a note on philosophy of science. A rich discussion.
look, when the legendary City Lights asks to record a conversation about close reading, you respond “yes, I’ll hide upstairs in a room in my parents‘ house, put on a clean shirt, and talk a lot with my hands!!!”
join @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social , Yael Segalovitz, @samantharhill.bsky.social, and me!
join @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social , Yael Segalovitz, @samantharhill.bsky.social, and me!
City Lights has long been a beacon of bookishness for me. It was a thrill to do CITY LIGHTS LIVE!: a conversation about close reading with Yael Segalovitz and my co-editor on Close Reading for the 21C, @johannawinant.bsky.social moderated by @samantharhill.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehZ0...
November 10, 2025 at 6:42 PM
As I posted on the other site… a terrific, wide-ranging, stimulating conversation! Close reading, teaching today’s students, timeliness, intellectual community, surrendering to the text, trusting oneself in reaction to the text. I even jotted a note on philosophy of science. A rich discussion.
Reposted by Leila Belkora PhD, astrophysics
Delightful detail from the Roman “unswept floor” mosaic by Heraclitus, showing a mouse nibbling a walnut.
Superb use of darker tiles for subtle shadow effect!
2nd century AD. Vatican Museums www.museivaticani.va/content/muse...
#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology
Superb use of darker tiles for subtle shadow effect!
2nd century AD. Vatican Museums www.museivaticani.va/content/muse...
#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology
November 10, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Delightful detail from the Roman “unswept floor” mosaic by Heraclitus, showing a mouse nibbling a walnut.
Superb use of darker tiles for subtle shadow effect!
2nd century AD. Vatican Museums www.museivaticani.va/content/muse...
#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology
Superb use of darker tiles for subtle shadow effect!
2nd century AD. Vatican Museums www.museivaticani.va/content/muse...
#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology
Reposted by Leila Belkora PhD, astrophysics
Happy "Lights All Askew" Day to all who celebrate! (Headline in the New York Times from Nov. 10, 1919, brings Einstein's theory of gravity, general relativity -- along with its alleged incomprehensibility -- to the public.) 🪐🔭🧠📰 #physics #science #histsci #lightsallaskew
November 10, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Happy "Lights All Askew" Day to all who celebrate! (Headline in the New York Times from Nov. 10, 1919, brings Einstein's theory of gravity, general relativity -- along with its alleged incomprehensibility -- to the public.) 🪐🔭🧠📰 #physics #science #histsci #lightsallaskew
Reposted by Leila Belkora PhD, astrophysics
look I know being an engaged citizen IS the work of democracy but it is also the work of elected officials not to create situations where everyone has to be mobilized all the time to prevent them from allowing some kind of Dickensian horror on a Sunday night while you're in between loads of laundry
November 9, 2025 at 11:37 PM
look I know being an engaged citizen IS the work of democracy but it is also the work of elected officials not to create situations where everyone has to be mobilized all the time to prevent them from allowing some kind of Dickensian horror on a Sunday night while you're in between loads of laundry
And Rebecca is hugely supportive of contingent and independent scholars. 👏
Today in incredibly generous things, my colleagues at SUNY Press decided to highlight me (!!!) for UP Week. Have I mentioned that I have the BEST coworkers in the whole world?? This past yr has been the most difficult of my life & they supported me every step of the way. ❤️ you guys. #TeamUP
For University Press Week, we're highlighting the important, collaborative work that Senior Acquisitions Editor @rcolesworthy.bsky.social does to build bridges across the scholarly publishing ecosystem: tinyurl.com/3t7mdnef/
#TeamUP #ReadUP
#TeamUP #ReadUP
November 10, 2025 at 2:58 PM
And Rebecca is hugely supportive of contingent and independent scholars. 👏
Reposted by Leila Belkora PhD, astrophysics
SNAP is a political football, but making sure the USA ate used to be a national security issue: "up to a quarter of draftees called up via the Selective Service Act of 1940 were malnourished and unfit to serve"
Today, we can't even see feeding people as being in the national interest.
Today, we can't even see feeding people as being in the national interest.
November 9, 2025 at 11:50 PM
SNAP is a political football, but making sure the USA ate used to be a national security issue: "up to a quarter of draftees called up via the Selective Service Act of 1940 were malnourished and unfit to serve"
Today, we can't even see feeding people as being in the national interest.
Today, we can't even see feeding people as being in the national interest.
If you feel, as I do, that you’re falling apart at the seams, here’s a little laugh.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/o...
Opinion | Exercising Is the Worst
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:32 PM
If you feel, as I do, that you’re falling apart at the seams, here’s a little laugh.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/o...
A nice environmental restoration story. It must have seemed like an almost impossible project at the start.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/c...
A Miles-Long Cave in Kentucky Was a Smelly Disaster. Now It’s Spectacular. (Gift Article)
Hidden River Cave was once filled with heavy metals and sewage that made the surrounding town smell awful. After a cleanup, it became a tourist draw.
www.nytimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 10:10 PM
A nice environmental restoration story. It must have seemed like an almost impossible project at the start.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/c...
Reposted by Leila Belkora PhD, astrophysics
I wonder. Is Mike Johnson’s plan with Rep-elect Grijalva to keep her out until Sherill resigns to become NJ gov?
November 8, 2025 at 12:00 PM
I wonder. Is Mike Johnson’s plan with Rep-elect Grijalva to keep her out until Sherill resigns to become NJ gov?
Reposted by Leila Belkora PhD, astrophysics
Free webinar today! How to give better feedback on scholarly writing (with less stress & more impact).
All faculty, acquiring editors, series editors, journal editors, volume editors, special issue editors, peer reviewers, and freelance editors welcome!
courses.manuscriptworks.com/courses/feed...
All faculty, acquiring editors, series editors, journal editors, volume editors, special issue editors, peer reviewers, and freelance editors welcome!
courses.manuscriptworks.com/courses/feed...
Workshop: How to Give Better Feedback on Scholarly Writing
Join Laura Portwood-Stacer of Manuscript Works to learn time-tested techniques for getting the best out of scholarly writers, whether you're a graduate advisor, peer reviewer, acquiring editor, series...
courses.manuscriptworks.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Free webinar today! How to give better feedback on scholarly writing (with less stress & more impact).
All faculty, acquiring editors, series editors, journal editors, volume editors, special issue editors, peer reviewers, and freelance editors welcome!
courses.manuscriptworks.com/courses/feed...
All faculty, acquiring editors, series editors, journal editors, volume editors, special issue editors, peer reviewers, and freelance editors welcome!
courses.manuscriptworks.com/courses/feed...
I’ll be on the lookout for “stabilimenta” now. Definitely noticed them before, but vaguely thought they were random bits of damage to the webs. The fact that they may help connectivity across the web is intriguing—physics of spider webs!
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/s...
Why Spiders Are the Ultimate Interior Decorators
www.nytimes.com
November 4, 2025 at 10:21 PM
I’ll be on the lookout for “stabilimenta” now. Definitely noticed them before, but vaguely thought they were random bits of damage to the webs. The fact that they may help connectivity across the web is intriguing—physics of spider webs!
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/s...
Cool! 🔭
Astounding stream of stars caught escaping from nearby galaxy
The Vera Rubin Observatory's "First Look" observations weren't meant for science.
And yet, it revealed a surprising new stellar stream, 160,000 light-years long, escaping from a nearby galaxy.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro
The Vera Rubin Observatory's "First Look" observations weren't meant for science.
And yet, it revealed a surprising new stellar stream, 160,000 light-years long, escaping from a nearby galaxy.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astro
Astounding stream of stars caught escaping from nearby galaxy
Stellar streams are faint trails of stars that appear to "stream" out of galaxies. A new one, escaping galaxy M61, may point to many others.
bigthink.com
November 4, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Cool! 🔭
An overview for busy people.
Mentions climate.us, an independent nonprofit keeping trusted information up to date.
#climate 🧪
physicstoday.aip.org/news/five-ways…
Mentions climate.us, an independent nonprofit keeping trusted information up to date.
#climate 🧪
physicstoday.aip.org/news/five-ways…
Climate.us
independent, nonprofit, and immune to politics
climate.us
November 4, 2025 at 3:51 PM
An overview for busy people.
Mentions climate.us, an independent nonprofit keeping trusted information up to date.
#climate 🧪
physicstoday.aip.org/news/five-ways…
Mentions climate.us, an independent nonprofit keeping trusted information up to date.
#climate 🧪
physicstoday.aip.org/news/five-ways…
Sharing easy cheap meal recipes.
Fry up some sliced onion and spices (details in photo), add a can of diced tomatoes. Cook a bit, add 2 cans drained chickpeas. Cook a bit more, mash down some but not all chickpeas, and add a little lemon juice. Serve with rice.
Fry up some sliced onion and spices (details in photo), add a can of diced tomatoes. Cook a bit, add 2 cans drained chickpeas. Cook a bit more, mash down some but not all chickpeas, and add a little lemon juice. Serve with rice.
November 4, 2025 at 3:43 AM
Sharing easy cheap meal recipes.
Fry up some sliced onion and spices (details in photo), add a can of diced tomatoes. Cook a bit, add 2 cans drained chickpeas. Cook a bit more, mash down some but not all chickpeas, and add a little lemon juice. Serve with rice.
Fry up some sliced onion and spices (details in photo), add a can of diced tomatoes. Cook a bit, add 2 cans drained chickpeas. Cook a bit more, mash down some but not all chickpeas, and add a little lemon juice. Serve with rice.
A case to watch. I heard about it yesterday from an eyewitness I know in Durango, who was particularly upset about the children being handcuffed and put in chains, as they put it.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
An Altercation With ICE Prompts a Police Chief to Push Back
www.nytimes.com
November 3, 2025 at 11:43 PM
A case to watch. I heard about it yesterday from an eyewitness I know in Durango, who was particularly upset about the children being handcuffed and put in chains, as they put it.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
I turned in the manuscript of “Out for Stars: Robert Frost’s Astronomical Imagination.” Time to celebrate!! *
* get a long-overdue haircut, return library books, revive the houseplants, etc.
I even have permission for a great cover image!
Some of you are in the acknowledgments! 🙏
* get a long-overdue haircut, return library books, revive the houseplants, etc.
I even have permission for a great cover image!
Some of you are in the acknowledgments! 🙏
November 3, 2025 at 7:27 PM
I turned in the manuscript of “Out for Stars: Robert Frost’s Astronomical Imagination.” Time to celebrate!! *
* get a long-overdue haircut, return library books, revive the houseplants, etc.
I even have permission for a great cover image!
Some of you are in the acknowledgments! 🙏
* get a long-overdue haircut, return library books, revive the houseplants, etc.
I even have permission for a great cover image!
Some of you are in the acknowledgments! 🙏
😀
“But gentle, stupid, free from woe,
I dwelt among my nation,
I didn’t care, I didn’t know,
that I was a crustacean;
I didn’t grumble, didn’t steal, I never took to rhyme;
Salt water was my frugal meal,
With carbonate of lime”
“But gentle, stupid, free from woe,
I dwelt among my nation,
I didn’t care, I didn’t know,
that I was a crustacean;
I didn’t grumble, didn’t steal, I never took to rhyme;
Salt water was my frugal meal,
With carbonate of lime”
Some trilobite poetry for a lazy Sunday (of a rotten year, of a depressing decade). Courtesy of May Kendall, a satirist and radical sociological thinker, originally writing for Punch magazine
November 3, 2025 at 2:43 PM
😀
“But gentle, stupid, free from woe,
I dwelt among my nation,
I didn’t care, I didn’t know,
that I was a crustacean;
I didn’t grumble, didn’t steal, I never took to rhyme;
Salt water was my frugal meal,
With carbonate of lime”
“But gentle, stupid, free from woe,
I dwelt among my nation,
I didn’t care, I didn’t know,
that I was a crustacean;
I didn’t grumble, didn’t steal, I never took to rhyme;
Salt water was my frugal meal,
With carbonate of lime”
Reposted by Leila Belkora PhD, astrophysics
mRNA vaccine developed in Japan could be an absolute game changer for age-related vision loss 🩺
GOOD NEWS! Researchers have developed a new mRNA vaccine that has been shown to suppress abnormal blood vessel growth in the retina, offering hope to MILLIONS of patients with age-related vision loss. The vaccine triggered strong antibody responses that REDUCED retinal damage by UP TO 85%.
November 3, 2025 at 2:21 PM
mRNA vaccine developed in Japan could be an absolute game changer for age-related vision loss 🩺
Reposted by Leila Belkora PhD, astrophysics
Prob the most creative “set” from last night on Harbord St. ( #toronto #halloween )
November 2, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Prob the most creative “set” from last night on Harbord St. ( #toronto #halloween )
“Two iconic features of southwestern USA geology are linked by our hypothesis that the … Meteor Crater impact in northern Arizona triggered cliff collapse in Grand Canyon 56,000 years ago…” 🧪🔭☄️
eos.org/articles/an-...
eos.org/articles/an-...
An Asteroid Impact May Have Led to Flooding near the Grand Canyon - Eos
There’s remarkable synchronicity between the timing of a paleolake in what is today Grand Canyon National Park and the formation of nearby Barringer Meteorite Crater.
eos.org
November 2, 2025 at 2:34 AM
“Two iconic features of southwestern USA geology are linked by our hypothesis that the … Meteor Crater impact in northern Arizona triggered cliff collapse in Grand Canyon 56,000 years ago…” 🧪🔭☄️
eos.org/articles/an-...
eos.org/articles/an-...
This is just so cool!!!
Just the possibility that Europa Clipper could fly through the ion tail of an interstellar comet—a first—has made my day. 🧪🔭
Just the possibility that Europa Clipper could fly through the ion tail of an interstellar comet—a first—has made my day. 🧪🔭
You can't talk me out of thinking there's something just very cool about an image of an interstellar comet taken by a spacecraft orbiting Mars: 🧪 🔭 www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
The Race to Study an Interstellar Comet from Deep Space
Astronomers are hustling to use interplanetary spacecraft to study the interstellar comet dubbed 3I/ATLAS while the sun is hiding it from Earth
www.scientificamerican.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:45 PM
This is just so cool!!!
Just the possibility that Europa Clipper could fly through the ion tail of an interstellar comet—a first—has made my day. 🧪🔭
Just the possibility that Europa Clipper could fly through the ion tail of an interstellar comet—a first—has made my day. 🧪🔭
I’m formatting citations in my book ms and some 19th C sources are one-off publications from an astronomy club or something, or have no author, and it’s driving me batty. It’s great that they are available online, but if I didn’t give a link in addition to the citation they’d be hard to find.
October 31, 2025 at 4:58 AM
I’m formatting citations in my book ms and some 19th C sources are one-off publications from an astronomy club or something, or have no author, and it’s driving me batty. It’s great that they are available online, but if I didn’t give a link in addition to the citation they’d be hard to find.
Reposted by Leila Belkora PhD, astrophysics
Amazon is helping fund a $300 million build of a ballroom for the White House.
Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.
They are not the same.
Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.
They are not the same.
October 30, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Amazon is helping fund a $300 million build of a ballroom for the White House.
Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.
They are not the same.
Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.
They are not the same.
Biolith is a word, Spelling Bee.
October 28, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Biolith is a word, Spelling Bee.