Luis Welbanks
@luiswel.bsky.social
51 Pegasi b & Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow studying the atmospheres of planets outside our Solar System at @SESEASU -> Assistant Professor @SESEASU 2025
Previously @NASA Sagan Fellow. @Gates_Cambridge
scholar at @Cambridge_Uni.
Previously @NASA Sagan Fellow. @Gates_Cambridge
scholar at @Cambridge_Uni.
The deadline for the 51 Pegasi b Fellowship is right around the corner. www.hsfoundation.org/programs/sci...
Interested in theory, modeling, and discovery? Join @nixonmatthew.bsky.social, Sagnick, and me at the Exoteric Lab at ASU @seseasu.bsky.social
Interested in theory, modeling, and discovery? Join @nixonmatthew.bsky.social, Sagnick, and me at the Exoteric Lab at ASU @seseasu.bsky.social
September 30, 2025 at 6:31 PM
The deadline for the 51 Pegasi b Fellowship is right around the corner. www.hsfoundation.org/programs/sci...
Interested in theory, modeling, and discovery? Join @nixonmatthew.bsky.social, Sagnick, and me at the Exoteric Lab at ASU @seseasu.bsky.social
Interested in theory, modeling, and discovery? Join @nixonmatthew.bsky.social, Sagnick, and me at the Exoteric Lab at ASU @seseasu.bsky.social
What does it mean to detect a gas in an exoplanet atmosphere? Listen to what @nixonmatthew.bsky.social and I had to say.
It was a pleasure chatting with @startswithabang.bsky.social !!
It was a pleasure chatting with @startswithabang.bsky.social !!
Starts With A Bang podcast #120 – Exoplanet biosignatures
Remember exoplanet K2-18b?
Dr. Luis Welbanks and Dr. Matt Nixon did, and have a lot to say about what a positive detection of an inhabited world beyond Earth will actually look like.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astrobiology #astro
Remember exoplanet K2-18b?
Dr. Luis Welbanks and Dr. Matt Nixon did, and have a lot to say about what a positive detection of an inhabited world beyond Earth will actually look like.
bigthink.com/starts-with-...
#space #astrobiology #astro
Starts With A Bang podcast #120 - Exoplanet biosignatures
In the search for life in the Universe, the ultimate goal is to find an inhabited planet beyond Earth. How will we know when we've made it?
bigthink.com
August 12, 2025 at 9:09 PM
What does it mean to detect a gas in an exoplanet atmosphere? Listen to what @nixonmatthew.bsky.social and I had to say.
It was a pleasure chatting with @startswithabang.bsky.social !!
It was a pleasure chatting with @startswithabang.bsky.social !!
We need to understand the limits of our models and our data for reliable interpretations of exoplanetary spectra.
First paper by my first PhD student! Happy advisor moment. Congrats @yoavrotman.bsky.social
Check out his paper on the Arxiv and his thread below #exoplanets 🔭
First paper by my first PhD student! Happy advisor moment. Congrats @yoavrotman.bsky.social
Check out his paper on the Arxiv and his thread below #exoplanets 🔭
Paper day! A 🧵
JWST transmission spectra are showing more and more signs of new exciting physics, which is awesome! But if our models don't take that into account, it can propagate as correlated noise and bias our inferences. What do we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2503.21702
(1/n)
JWST transmission spectra are showing more and more signs of new exciting physics, which is awesome! But if our models don't take that into account, it can propagate as correlated noise and bias our inferences. What do we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2503.21702
(1/n)
July 9, 2025 at 2:33 AM
We need to understand the limits of our models and our data for reliable interpretations of exoplanetary spectra.
First paper by my first PhD student! Happy advisor moment. Congrats @yoavrotman.bsky.social
Check out his paper on the Arxiv and his thread below #exoplanets 🔭
First paper by my first PhD student! Happy advisor moment. Congrats @yoavrotman.bsky.social
Check out his paper on the Arxiv and his thread below #exoplanets 🔭
Reposted by Luis Welbanks
I agree with you that saying K2-18 b “can’t” have an ocean or “isn’t” an ocean world is a stretch - we can’t totally rule it out with the present data, but it does appear that Neptune-like or gas dwarf models are consistent with what we know about the planet and require much less fine-tuning
May 25, 2025 at 5:29 PM
I agree with you that saying K2-18 b “can’t” have an ocean or “isn’t” an ocean world is a stretch - we can’t totally rule it out with the present data, but it does appear that Neptune-like or gas dwarf models are consistent with what we know about the planet and require much less fine-tuning
Reposted by Luis Welbanks
Here's my follow-up story on K2-18b, the distant planet where scientists claimed to see a possible sign of life last month. In three preprints, other researcher argue that the signal is noise. nyti.ms/4jaqQRv
There’s Probably No Life on K2-18b After All, Three Studies Conclude
In April, astronomers said they had detected a possible signature of life on the exoplanet K2-18b. Now, three independent analyses discount the evidence.
nyti.ms
May 23, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Here's my follow-up story on K2-18b, the distant planet where scientists claimed to see a possible sign of life last month. In three preprints, other researcher argue that the signal is noise. nyti.ms/4jaqQRv
Good to see Pica-Ciamarra, Madhu+ engage with our work and correct claims from last month. Following our recommendation to expand the model space, they now find: ‘No molecule reaches 2σ significance when allowing for an offset…’ 𝐍𝐨 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥! Sec. 4.4 arxiv.org/abs/2505.10539 🔭 #exoplanets
A Systematic Search for Trace Molecules in Exoplanet K2-18 b
The first transmission spectrum of the habitable-zone sub-Neptune K2-18 b with JWST has opened a new avenue for atmospheric characterisation of temperate low-mass exoplanets. The observations led to i...
arxiv.org
May 16, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Good to see Pica-Ciamarra, Madhu+ engage with our work and correct claims from last month. Following our recommendation to expand the model space, they now find: ‘No molecule reaches 2σ significance when allowing for an offset…’ 𝐍𝐨 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥! Sec. 4.4 arxiv.org/abs/2505.10539 🔭 #exoplanets
Still trying to process that HST and JWST are looking at the same target **simultaneously**.
Moments like this fuel the part of me that grew up in awe of space and somehow ended up in a job where this is real. 🔭
Moments like this fuel the part of me that grew up in awe of space and somehow ended up in a job where this is real. 🔭
feeling very surreal to be using hst and jwst at the same time 👀 all made possible by our STScI program officers who worked effortlessly to make this scheduling happen and #NASA 🔭🌟
May 14, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Still trying to process that HST and JWST are looking at the same target **simultaneously**.
Moments like this fuel the part of me that grew up in awe of space and somehow ended up in a job where this is real. 🔭
Moments like this fuel the part of me that grew up in awe of space and somehow ended up in a job where this is real. 🔭
Working on this project was both fun and rewarding. I’ve kept Magritte’s The Treachery of Images in my office since my master’s—a reminder that definitions, like models, are not the thing itself. Context matters. So do the assumptions we often forget we’re making. Check out Matt's thread about it!
May 3, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Working on this project was both fun and rewarding. I’ve kept Magritte’s The Treachery of Images in my office since my master’s—a reminder that definitions, like models, are not the thing itself. Context matters. So do the assumptions we often forget we’re making. Check out Matt's thread about it!
Reposted by Luis Welbanks
Luis Welbanks on the importance of international collaboration when it comes to space research in the latest episode of our So, now what podcast - www.gatescambridge.org/about/news/w...
@luiswel.bsky.social @uniofcam.bsky.social @churchillcol.bsky.social #GatesCambridge25 #astronomy
@luiswel.bsky.social @uniofcam.bsky.social @churchillcol.bsky.social #GatesCambridge25 #astronomy
May 2, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Luis Welbanks on the importance of international collaboration when it comes to space research in the latest episode of our So, now what podcast - www.gatescambridge.org/about/news/w...
@luiswel.bsky.social @uniofcam.bsky.social @churchillcol.bsky.social #GatesCambridge25 #astronomy
@luiswel.bsky.social @uniofcam.bsky.social @churchillcol.bsky.social #GatesCambridge25 #astronomy
Ceci n'est pas une détection
May 1, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Ceci n'est pas une détection
Reposted by Luis Welbanks
3 Gates Cambridge Scholars - @luiswel.bsky.social, @rebeccacharbon.bsky.social & Yinuo Han - debate planets, space and the meaning of life in the latest episode of our So, now what? podcast - www.gatescambridge.org/about/news/w... @uniofcam.bsky.social @cambridgeastro.bsky.social #GatesCambridge25
What can astronomy tell us about our place in the universe? - Gates Cambridge
Three Gates Cambridge Scholars debate planets, space and the meaning of life in the latest episode of our So, now what? podcast.
www.gatescambridge.org
April 29, 2025 at 9:25 AM
3 Gates Cambridge Scholars - @luiswel.bsky.social, @rebeccacharbon.bsky.social & Yinuo Han - debate planets, space and the meaning of life in the latest episode of our So, now what? podcast - www.gatescambridge.org/about/news/w... @uniofcam.bsky.social @cambridgeastro.bsky.social #GatesCambridge25
Thrilled to welcome Matt Nixon and @sagnickastro.bsky.social to ASU!
A core part of the 51 Peg Fellowship is community—and I’m excited to build one alongside them. We’re ready to push boundaries, think creatively, and make the most of this moment. 🪐🚀
🔗 bit.ly/41WLH48
A core part of the 51 Peg Fellowship is community—and I’m excited to build one alongside them. We’re ready to push boundaries, think creatively, and make the most of this moment. 🪐🚀
🔗 bit.ly/41WLH48
March 28, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Thrilled to welcome Matt Nixon and @sagnickastro.bsky.social to ASU!
A core part of the 51 Peg Fellowship is community—and I’m excited to build one alongside them. We’re ready to push boundaries, think creatively, and make the most of this moment. 🪐🚀
🔗 bit.ly/41WLH48
A core part of the 51 Peg Fellowship is community—and I’m excited to build one alongside them. We’re ready to push boundaries, think creatively, and make the most of this moment. 🪐🚀
🔗 bit.ly/41WLH48
I'm excited to be in DC this week to present at the #GiantMagellan2023 Community Science Meeting on #Exoplanets. I'll give a review talk on the rapid development of the field. What are your favourite model/observation results from the last 5 years? I'll make sure to give you a shout out!
September 6, 2023 at 1:33 PM
I'm excited to be in DC this week to present at the #GiantMagellan2023 Community Science Meeting on #Exoplanets. I'll give a review talk on the rapid development of the field. What are your favourite model/observation results from the last 5 years? I'll make sure to give you a shout out!
Well, I've made the jump thanks to @afeinstein20.bsky.social. Hopefully I will be more active here than in the other place. The less happy place.
September 3, 2023 at 4:00 AM
Well, I've made the jump thanks to @afeinstein20.bsky.social. Hopefully I will be more active here than in the other place. The less happy place.