Planets @ Oxford
@oxoplanets.bsky.social
The BlueSky account for the Exoplanet and Planetary Physics groups in Oxford. We study all types of planetary bodies inside and outside of the solar system. More info here: https://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/research/theme/exoplanets-and-planetary-physics
Reposted by Planets @ Oxford
The physics-based realities of Santa’s Christmas Eve present-delivering extravaganza by Dr George Dransfield! 🦌🛷
🎅 Dr George Dransfield from the Department of Physics and Magdalen College investigates the magic of Christmas and the physics-defying feat of one man (and a team of reindeer) visiting millions of homes in a single night...
⬇️ Watch online
⬇️ Watch online
The Truth about Santa: Dark Energy, Sonic Booms, and Plasma Bubbles with Dr. George Dransfield
How does a man in red velvet defy the laws of physics to visit every home on Earth in a single night? What if the "magic" of Christmas is actually just cutti...
youtu.be
December 24, 2025 at 9:42 AM
The physics-based realities of Santa’s Christmas Eve present-delivering extravaganza by Dr George Dransfield! 🦌🛷
Oxford hosted the first “Afternoon of Astrophysics” with talks by Prof Aigrain (@airbornegrain.bsky.social) & Prof Birkby (@jaynebirkby.bsky.social), followed by a panel with Dr Taylor (@astrojake.bsky.social) & Prof Lintott (@chrislintott.bsky.social), watch on YouTube: youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Afternoon of Astrophysics - YouTube
In 2025 the sub-department of Astrophysics started a new series of alumni & guests events, known as 'Afternoon of Astrophysics'.On this playlist you will fin...
youtube.com
December 19, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Oxford hosted the first “Afternoon of Astrophysics” with talks by Prof Aigrain (@airbornegrain.bsky.social) & Prof Birkby (@jaynebirkby.bsky.social), followed by a panel with Dr Taylor (@astrojake.bsky.social) & Prof Lintott (@chrislintott.bsky.social), watch on YouTube: youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Congratulations to Prof Patrick Irwin! The mastermind behind the NEMESIS code that many of us use to study the atmospheres of solar system planets and exoplanets! More information about the code can be found here: nemesiscode.github.io
December 18, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Congratulations to Prof Patrick Irwin! The mastermind behind the NEMESIS code that many of us use to study the atmospheres of solar system planets and exoplanets! More information about the code can be found here: nemesiscode.github.io
Reposted by Planets @ Oxford
Lots of fun work out from APEx postdocs in the past week! first up was Sophia Vaughan @sophiavaughan.bsky.social on a deep search for reflected light from a hot Neptune w/ the VLT. This summed up light from ALL FOUR 8m telescopes over 2 nights- a preview of ELT-like data! arxiv.org/abs/2511.08691
November 18, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Lots of fun work out from APEx postdocs in the past week! first up was Sophia Vaughan @sophiavaughan.bsky.social on a deep search for reflected light from a hot Neptune w/ the VLT. This summed up light from ALL FOUR 8m telescopes over 2 nights- a preview of ELT-like data! arxiv.org/abs/2511.08691
Reposted by Planets @ Oxford
Interested in finding transiting planets at long periods, e.g. with the @platomissioncon.bsky.social?
We just published a Research Note led by Geert Jan Talens, showing that such transits can be much longer or shorter than usually assumed iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
We just published a Research Note led by Geert Jan Talens, showing that such transits can be much longer or shorter than usually assumed iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
December 3, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Interested in finding transiting planets at long periods, e.g. with the @platomissioncon.bsky.social?
We just published a Research Note led by Geert Jan Talens, showing that such transits can be much longer or shorter than usually assumed iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
We just published a Research Note led by Geert Jan Talens, showing that such transits can be much longer or shorter than usually assumed iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
Reposted by Planets @ Oxford
Prof Patrick Irwin won the prestigious David Bates Medal from the EGU 2026, recognizing his exceptional contributions to planetary and solar system sciences. Irwin shared, "I am humbled to be joining such a list of laureates...I am absolutely thrilled and very thankful to my colleagues and the EGU."
December 9, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Prof Patrick Irwin won the prestigious David Bates Medal from the EGU 2026, recognizing his exceptional contributions to planetary and solar system sciences. Irwin shared, "I am humbled to be joining such a list of laureates...I am absolutely thrilled and very thankful to my colleagues and the EGU."
Congratulations to Dr Chloe Fisher (@astrochloe.bsky.social) on the publication of her study "JWST NIRSpec finds no clear signs of an atmosphere on TOI-1685 b", read about it here: arxiv.org/abs/2512.15338
JWST NIRSpec finds no clear signs of an atmosphere on TOI-1685 b
Determining the prevalence of atmospheres on terrestrial planets is a core objective in exoplanetary science. While M dwarf systems offer a promising opportunity, conclusive observations of terrestria...
arxiv.org
December 18, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Congratulations to Dr Chloe Fisher (@astrochloe.bsky.social) on the publication of her study "JWST NIRSpec finds no clear signs of an atmosphere on TOI-1685 b", read about it here: arxiv.org/abs/2512.15338
Congratulations to Dr Claire Guimond on her review concerning water versus land on temperate rocky planets. It will appear in Space Science Reviews, topical collection 'The Geoscience of Exoplanets: Going Beyond Habitability' arxiv.org/abs/2512.09785
Water versus land on temperate rocky planets
Water and land surfaces on a planet interact with gases in the atmosphere and with radiation from the star. These interactions define the environments that prevail on the planet, some of which may be ...
arxiv.org
December 18, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Congratulations to Dr Claire Guimond on her review concerning water versus land on temperate rocky planets. It will appear in Space Science Reviews, topical collection 'The Geoscience of Exoplanets: Going Beyond Habitability' arxiv.org/abs/2512.09785
Reposted by Planets @ Oxford
We are hiring a new Assistant Professor in Astrophysics at Trinity College Dublin!! ☘
Job ad here: aas.org/jobregister/...
Deadline: Jan 02 2026
Please share widely! 🪐🔭
Job ad here: aas.org/jobregister/...
Deadline: Jan 02 2026
Please share widely! 🪐🔭
Assistant Professor in Astrophysics | American Astronomical Society
The School of Physics at Trinity College Dublin invites applications for a position at the level of Assistant Professor in the field of observational or theoretical astrophysics. We seek motivated ind...
aas.org
November 24, 2025 at 12:27 PM
We are hiring a new Assistant Professor in Astrophysics at Trinity College Dublin!! ☘
Job ad here: aas.org/jobregister/...
Deadline: Jan 02 2026
Please share widely! 🪐🔭
Job ad here: aas.org/jobregister/...
Deadline: Jan 02 2026
Please share widely! 🪐🔭
Great Astrophysics colloquium today given by Prof Chris Lintott @chrislintott.bsky.social about interstellar objects and what we know so far about 3I/ATLAS
November 24, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Great Astrophysics colloquium today given by Prof Chris Lintott @chrislintott.bsky.social about interstellar objects and what we know so far about 3I/ATLAS
Reposted by Planets @ Oxford
On Saturday we held the inaugural Afternoon of Astrophysics in @oxfordphysics.bsky.social. Myself, Prof Suzanne Aigrain @airbornegrain.bsky.social and Prof Jayne Birkby @jaynebirkby.bsky.social discussed the cutting edge of exoplanet research with the public, moderated by @chrislintott.bsky.social
November 14, 2025 at 12:06 AM
On Saturday we held the inaugural Afternoon of Astrophysics in @oxfordphysics.bsky.social. Myself, Prof Suzanne Aigrain @airbornegrain.bsky.social and Prof Jayne Birkby @jaynebirkby.bsky.social discussed the cutting edge of exoplanet research with the public, moderated by @chrislintott.bsky.social
Interesting seminar today by Jonathan Grone, a PhD student at the University of Bern. He discusses how we can use polarisation to detect biosignatures. He also shows how space science is helping with medical science, the same polarisation techniques can detect cancerous tumours!
November 5, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Interesting seminar today by Jonathan Grone, a PhD student at the University of Bern. He discusses how we can use polarisation to detect biosignatures. He also shows how space science is helping with medical science, the same polarisation techniques can detect cancerous tumours!
Awesome seminar given by Vincent Yariv, a PhD student from the University of Grenoble. He discussed his research about mapping exoplanets at high resolution!
November 5, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Awesome seminar given by Vincent Yariv, a PhD student from the University of Grenoble. He discussed his research about mapping exoplanets at high resolution!
Reposted by Planets @ Oxford
Congratulations to Dr. Richard Chatterjee, my DPhil student who passed his viva on atmospheric escape today and is off to a position at Leeds. (Me on the left, his examiners Garcia-Muñoz and Tad Komacek on the right -- Tad and Richard are in the traditional subfusc, except should be white tie)
October 28, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Congratulations to Dr. Richard Chatterjee, my DPhil student who passed his viva on atmospheric escape today and is off to a position at Leeds. (Me on the left, his examiners Garcia-Muñoz and Tad Komacek on the right -- Tad and Richard are in the traditional subfusc, except should be white tie)
Reposted by Planets @ Oxford
New paper on the climate and habitability of Tergarden’s star b, led by Ryan Boukrouche and ft. Me!
This planet is a promising target for characterisation by next generation observatories such as LIFE.
Take a peak to see what we found out…. (or just read the title 🙃)
arxiv.org/abs/2510.11940
This planet is a promising target for characterisation by next generation observatories such as LIFE.
Take a peak to see what we found out…. (or just read the title 🙃)
arxiv.org/abs/2510.11940
Near the Runaway: The Climate and Habitability of Teegarden's Star b
Teegarden's Star b, a nearby terrestrial world receiving an Earth-like instellation, is a prime candidate for next-generation observatories targeting temperate exoplanets in their habitable zones. We ...
arxiv.org
October 15, 2025 at 4:45 PM
New paper on the climate and habitability of Tergarden’s star b, led by Ryan Boukrouche and ft. Me!
This planet is a promising target for characterisation by next generation observatories such as LIFE.
Take a peak to see what we found out…. (or just read the title 🙃)
arxiv.org/abs/2510.11940
This planet is a promising target for characterisation by next generation observatories such as LIFE.
Take a peak to see what we found out…. (or just read the title 🙃)
arxiv.org/abs/2510.11940
Great talk by @niamhk12.bsky.social on her talk at the Oxford Astrophysics Early Career Showcase! Teaching us all about supergranulation and the need to understand it in order to detect Earth twins!
October 6, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Great talk by @niamhk12.bsky.social on her talk at the Oxford Astrophysics Early Career Showcase! Teaching us all about supergranulation and the need to understand it in order to detect Earth twins!
Great talk by @exodransfield.bsky.social at the Oxford Astrophysics Early Career Showcase! Telling us all about observing exoplanets from Antarctica and her MANGOS survey, it’s still important to discover new planets!
October 6, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Great talk by @exodransfield.bsky.social at the Oxford Astrophysics Early Career Showcase! Telling us all about observing exoplanets from Antarctica and her MANGOS survey, it’s still important to discover new planets!
Reposted by Planets @ Oxford
Really enjoying Dr. Shreyas Vissapragada's @carnegiescience.bsky.social seminar on three population-level surveys of atmospheric escape @oxoplanets.bsky.social!
September 23, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Really enjoying Dr. Shreyas Vissapragada's @carnegiescience.bsky.social seminar on three population-level surveys of atmospheric escape @oxoplanets.bsky.social!
Reposted by Planets @ Oxford
Talk today by Oxford PCDgroup alumnus Hamish Innes "
Hycean worlds can only form under extremely cold and water-rich conditions " at 11:48 in Room Jupiter. Many other great talks in this session, which starts at 9:30 AM and continues after coffee, at 11AM (all in Jupiter).
Hycean worlds can only form under extremely cold and water-rich conditions " at 11:48 in Room Jupiter. Many other great talks in this session, which starts at 9:30 AM and continues after coffee, at 11AM (all in Jupiter).
September 10, 2025 at 6:05 AM
Talk today by Oxford PCDgroup alumnus Hamish Innes "
Hycean worlds can only form under extremely cold and water-rich conditions " at 11:48 in Room Jupiter. Many other great talks in this session, which starts at 9:30 AM and continues after coffee, at 11AM (all in Jupiter).
Hycean worlds can only form under extremely cold and water-rich conditions " at 11:48 in Room Jupiter. Many other great talks in this session, which starts at 9:30 AM and continues after coffee, at 11AM (all in Jupiter).
Reposted by Planets @ Oxford
Today at #EPSCDPS2025 there is a talk by Oxford PCDgroup alumnus Maxence Lefevre on sulfur allotropes in the Venus atmosphere. 11AM in Room Sun. This is one of many talks and posters on Venus and even Titan Maxence is involved in. Maxence was a postdoc on my ERC EXOCONDENSE project.
September 9, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Today at #EPSCDPS2025 there is a talk by Oxford PCDgroup alumnus Maxence Lefevre on sulfur allotropes in the Venus atmosphere. 11AM in Room Sun. This is one of many talks and posters on Venus and even Titan Maxence is involved in. Maxence was a postdoc on my ERC EXOCONDENSE project.
Reposted by Planets @ Oxford
Very excited to share that my new paper has been accepted for publication in MNRAS!
We are applying Doppler Imaging to model the activity signals from the HARPS-N Sun-as-a-star spectra! We show that injected planets can be retrieved with great accuracy!
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025MNRA... 🔭🪐🧪
We are applying Doppler Imaging to model the activity signals from the HARPS-N Sun-as-a-star spectra! We show that injected planets can be retrieved with great accuracy!
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025MNRA... 🔭🪐🧪
August 28, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Very excited to share that my new paper has been accepted for publication in MNRAS!
We are applying Doppler Imaging to model the activity signals from the HARPS-N Sun-as-a-star spectra! We show that injected planets can be retrieved with great accuracy!
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025MNRA... 🔭🪐🧪
We are applying Doppler Imaging to model the activity signals from the HARPS-N Sun-as-a-star spectra! We show that injected planets can be retrieved with great accuracy!
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025MNRA... 🔭🪐🧪
Today we had a great seminar given by Dr Jake Turner (@astrojaket.bsky.social) about how to use radio astronomy to study magnetic fields around exoplanets! Lots of interesting science, including potential observatories on the moon!
August 27, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Today we had a great seminar given by Dr Jake Turner (@astrojaket.bsky.social) about how to use radio astronomy to study magnetic fields around exoplanets! Lots of interesting science, including potential observatories on the moon!
Despite some technical hitches, we had a very entertaining and informative Oxoplanets journal club by @exoscar.bsky.social and @astroklein.bsky.social, all about the mysteries surrounding AU Mic and its planets
July 28, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Despite some technical hitches, we had a very entertaining and informative Oxoplanets journal club by @exoscar.bsky.social and @astroklein.bsky.social, all about the mysteries surrounding AU Mic and its planets
Reposted by Planets @ Oxford
In our now-published paper we model the early history of three exoplanets to specifically study the role of tidal heating on their capacity to solidify. A physically robust feedback mechanism can keep them molten, even with relatively thin atmospheres, which may extend to lots of rocky exoplanets.
Published in #MNRAS: "Self-limited tidal heating and prolonged magma oceans in the L 98-59 system", Nicholls et al. This is Fig. 1: for the caption & to read the paper please visit academic.oup.com/mnras/articl... @oxfordacademic.bsky.social @royalastrosoc.bsky.social
July 25, 2025 at 9:04 AM
In our now-published paper we model the early history of three exoplanets to specifically study the role of tidal heating on their capacity to solidify. A physically robust feedback mechanism can keep them molten, even with relatively thin atmospheres, which may extend to lots of rocky exoplanets.
Congratulations to former Oxoplanet member Dr Annabella Meech (@annabellameech.bsky.social) on her poster presentation at #ExoclimesVII, she presented her research studying the atmosphere of the exoplanet TrES-4b! You can read more about her work here: academic.oup.com/mnras/articl...
July 14, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Congratulations to former Oxoplanet member Dr Annabella Meech (@annabellameech.bsky.social) on her poster presentation at #ExoclimesVII, she presented her research studying the atmosphere of the exoplanet TrES-4b! You can read more about her work here: academic.oup.com/mnras/articl...