Prof. Abel Méndez
@profabelmendez.bsky.social
Planetary Astrobiologist and Director of the
@PlanetaryHabLab. http://astrodon.social/@profabelmendez #exoplanets #astrobiology #habitability
@PlanetaryHabLab. http://astrodon.social/@profabelmendez #exoplanets #astrobiology #habitability
Pinned
This is how our Wow! Signal research is going: new explanation, new properties, new signals. #WowSignal #AreciboWow #RadioAstronomy #SETI phl.upr.edu/wow/faq
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
NEW: Breakthrough Listen, NSF Green Bank Telescope Probe Galactic Heart for Hidden Pulsars
Astronomers have discovered a possible millisecond pulsar, which would be the first found in the Milky Way's Galactic Center.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #GreenBankTelescope #BreakthroughListen #SETI #Pulsars
Astronomers have discovered a possible millisecond pulsar, which would be the first found in the Milky Way's Galactic Center.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #GreenBankTelescope #BreakthroughListen #SETI #Pulsars
Breakthrough Listen, NSF Green Bank Telescope Probe Galactic Heart for Hidden Pulsars - National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Astronomers from Breakthrough Listen have used the U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s Green Bank Telescope (NSF...
public.nrao.edu
February 9, 2026 at 10:28 PM
NEW: Breakthrough Listen, NSF Green Bank Telescope Probe Galactic Heart for Hidden Pulsars
Astronomers have discovered a possible millisecond pulsar, which would be the first found in the Milky Way's Galactic Center.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #GreenBankTelescope #BreakthroughListen #SETI #Pulsars
Astronomers have discovered a possible millisecond pulsar, which would be the first found in the Milky Way's Galactic Center.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #GreenBankTelescope #BreakthroughListen #SETI #Pulsars
This is how our Wow! Signal research is going: new explanation, new properties, new signals. #WowSignal #AreciboWow #RadioAstronomy #SETI phl.upr.edu/wow/faq
February 10, 2026 at 2:53 AM
This is how our Wow! Signal research is going: new explanation, new properties, new signals. #WowSignal #AreciboWow #RadioAstronomy #SETI phl.upr.edu/wow/faq
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
The Death Star was destroyed in 1977 — the same year the Wow! Signal appeared. Coincidence? 🤔✨ #StarWars #WowSignal
February 8, 2026 at 10:47 PM
The Death Star was destroyed in 1977 — the same year the Wow! Signal appeared. Coincidence? 🤔✨ #StarWars #WowSignal
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
The Wow! Signal was not caused by a comet, despite proposals made a decade apart for different reasons. #WowSignal #3IAtlas #AreciboWow phl.upr.edu/wow/comet
February 8, 2026 at 9:28 PM
The Wow! Signal was not caused by a comet, despite proposals made a decade apart for different reasons. #WowSignal #3IAtlas #AreciboWow phl.upr.edu/wow/comet
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
My digital drawing of Hickson Compact Group 44 (HCG 44) and its atomic hydrogen (HI) content. More details on its HI content can be read here: arxiv.org/pdf/1609.03775
#SciArt #procreate #radioastronomy #astronomy #science
#SciArt #procreate #radioastronomy #astronomy #science
February 7, 2026 at 6:14 AM
My digital drawing of Hickson Compact Group 44 (HCG 44) and its atomic hydrogen (HI) content. More details on its HI content can be read here: arxiv.org/pdf/1609.03775
#SciArt #procreate #radioastronomy #astronomy #science
#SciArt #procreate #radioastronomy #astronomy #science
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
Radio Scintillation Observations of the Plasma Tail of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov, by P K Manoharan et al.* www.astro.gla.ac.uk/users/eduard...
#Astronomy #radioastronomy
#Astronomy #radioastronomy
Solar Radio Astronomy - CESRA
Comet 2I/Borisov was only the second interstellar object known to have entered the solar system. The highly eccentric, hyperbolic orbit of 2I/Borisov and its high inclination to the ecliptic plane dem...
www.astro.gla.ac.uk
February 7, 2026 at 7:17 AM
Radio Scintillation Observations of the Plasma Tail of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov, by P K Manoharan et al.* www.astro.gla.ac.uk/users/eduard...
#Astronomy #radioastronomy
#Astronomy #radioastronomy
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
A colleague’s proposal on #exoplanets mass determination was evaluated as excellent, with no identifiable weaknesses… and yet got rejected. I am expecting an overcorrection next semester.
Been checking the science topics of the proposals approved by the ESO OPC for ESPRESSO. 75% of the time went to one type of proposal. Statistics-focused follow up of transiting systems. There isn't a single proposal focused on discoveries, atmospheres, or anything low-mass planets 🔭#exoplanets
February 6, 2026 at 5:11 PM
A colleague’s proposal on #exoplanets mass determination was evaluated as excellent, with no identifiable weaknesses… and yet got rejected. I am expecting an overcorrection next semester.
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
⏰Time to Register for #sagan2026⏰
The hybrid workshop focuses on expected #exoplanet science from the @nasaromantelescope.bsky.social Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey. Travel support requests for early-career participants are due 3/5. nexsci.caltech.edu/workshop/2026
🔭 #astrocode #instrumentation
The hybrid workshop focuses on expected #exoplanet science from the @nasaromantelescope.bsky.social Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey. Travel support requests for early-career participants are due 3/5. nexsci.caltech.edu/workshop/2026
🔭 #astrocode #instrumentation
February 6, 2026 at 11:22 PM
⏰Time to Register for #sagan2026⏰
The hybrid workshop focuses on expected #exoplanet science from the @nasaromantelescope.bsky.social Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey. Travel support requests for early-career participants are due 3/5. nexsci.caltech.edu/workshop/2026
🔭 #astrocode #instrumentation
The hybrid workshop focuses on expected #exoplanet science from the @nasaromantelescope.bsky.social Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey. Travel support requests for early-career participants are due 3/5. nexsci.caltech.edu/workshop/2026
🔭 #astrocode #instrumentation
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
3 new videos are posted on YouTube for our Tour of the NASA #Exoplanet Archive series! 🔭🧪
Watch & subscribe: www.youtube.com/@NASAExoplanetArchive
Watch & subscribe: www.youtube.com/@NASAExoplanetArchive
NASA Exoplanet Archive
Learn how to use the free web services on the NASA Exoplanet Archive site to access datasets and conduct astronomical research.
More information:
https://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu
www.youtube.com
February 7, 2026 at 1:29 AM
3 new videos are posted on YouTube for our Tour of the NASA #Exoplanet Archive series! 🔭🧪
Watch & subscribe: www.youtube.com/@NASAExoplanetArchive
Watch & subscribe: www.youtube.com/@NASAExoplanetArchive
The Death Star was destroyed in 1977 — the same year the Wow! Signal appeared. Coincidence? 🤔✨ #StarWars #WowSignal
February 8, 2026 at 10:47 PM
The Death Star was destroyed in 1977 — the same year the Wow! Signal appeared. Coincidence? 🤔✨ #StarWars #WowSignal
The Wow! Signal was not caused by a comet, despite proposals made a decade apart for different reasons. #WowSignal #3IAtlas #AreciboWow phl.upr.edu/wow/comet
February 8, 2026 at 9:28 PM
The Wow! Signal was not caused by a comet, despite proposals made a decade apart for different reasons. #WowSignal #3IAtlas #AreciboWow phl.upr.edu/wow/comet
New Kreutz Comet C/2026 A1 May Dazzle skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-ne...
New Kreutz Comet C/2026 A1 May Dazzle
A distant Kreutz comet heading our way may grow a glorious tail in April.
skyandtelescope.org
February 8, 2026 at 1:39 PM
New Kreutz Comet C/2026 A1 May Dazzle skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-ne...
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
NSF NRAO Selects New Mexico Firm to Design Next Generation Learning Center at the NSF Very Large Array
The NRAO has selected NM–based MODULUS as the architectural firm for the Next Generation Learning Center (ngLC), a new STEM education facility.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #VeryLargeArray #ngLC
The NRAO has selected NM–based MODULUS as the architectural firm for the Next Generation Learning Center (ngLC), a new STEM education facility.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #VeryLargeArray #ngLC
NSF NRAO Selects New Mexico Firm to Design Next Generation Learning Center at the NSF Very Large Array - National Radio Astronomy Observatory
NSF NRAO selects New Mexico-based Modulus Architects to design a 14,871-square-foot Next Generation Learning Center at the Very Large Array, a state-of-the-art STEM education facility expected to serv...
public.nrao.edu
February 4, 2026 at 5:49 PM
NSF NRAO Selects New Mexico Firm to Design Next Generation Learning Center at the NSF Very Large Array
The NRAO has selected NM–based MODULUS as the architectural firm for the Next Generation Learning Center (ngLC), a new STEM education facility.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #VeryLargeArray #ngLC
The NRAO has selected NM–based MODULUS as the architectural firm for the Next Generation Learning Center (ngLC), a new STEM education facility.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #VeryLargeArray #ngLC
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
Been checking the science topics of the proposals approved by the ESO OPC for ESPRESSO. 75% of the time went to one type of proposal. Statistics-focused follow up of transiting systems. There isn't a single proposal focused on discoveries, atmospheres, or anything low-mass planets 🔭#exoplanets
February 5, 2026 at 2:53 PM
Been checking the science topics of the proposals approved by the ESO OPC for ESPRESSO. 75% of the time went to one type of proposal. Statistics-focused follow up of transiting systems. There isn't a single proposal focused on discoveries, atmospheres, or anything low-mass planets 🔭#exoplanets
Registration — IAUS 404: Advancing the Search for Technosignatures iaus404.bmsis.org/registration
Registration — IAUS 404: Advancing the Search for Technosignatures
iaus404.bmsis.org
February 4, 2026 at 4:39 PM
Registration — IAUS 404: Advancing the Search for Technosignatures iaus404.bmsis.org/registration
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
✍️ NEW BLOG: The NSF VLA in Apple TV’s PLURIBUS: The Antennas Behind the Scenes
Read more about the teamwork and logistics behind the Very Large Array's appearance in #Pluribus.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #VeryLargeArray #VinceGilligan #RheaSeehorn #AppleTV
Read more about the teamwork and logistics behind the Very Large Array's appearance in #Pluribus.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #VeryLargeArray #VinceGilligan #RheaSeehorn #AppleTV
The NSF VLA in Apple TV’s PLURIBUS: The Antennas Behind the Scenes - National Radio Astronomy Observatory
The U.S. National Science Foundation Very Large Array in New Mexico served as a filming location for Apple TV’s new series PLURIBUS, highlighting the intersection of science, storytelling, and the dra...
public.nrao.edu
February 3, 2026 at 6:05 PM
✍️ NEW BLOG: The NSF VLA in Apple TV’s PLURIBUS: The Antennas Behind the Scenes
Read more about the teamwork and logistics behind the Very Large Array's appearance in #Pluribus.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #VeryLargeArray #VinceGilligan #RheaSeehorn #AppleTV
Read more about the teamwork and logistics behind the Very Large Array's appearance in #Pluribus.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #VeryLargeArray #VinceGilligan #RheaSeehorn #AppleTV
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
Today in the #CosmicStories blog, we take a look at the #ScienceandSF of #Exoplanets through the lens of a case study: #StarTrek and its spin offs. Featuring #astronomy, #ScienceFiction, desert worlds, water planets, giants, and lots of Star Trek. Comments welcome!
www.warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstorie...
www.warwick.ac.uk/cosmicstorie...
February 2, 2026 at 8:37 PM
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
New ApJ paper: Can inner planets survive when a giant becomes a hot/warm Jupiter via high-eccentricity tidal migration? Usually no. Survival requires the giant’s periastron to stay >14 mutual Hill radii away. Observed systems with hot Jupiters + inner planets are inconsistent...
Warm Jupiter Tidal Migration Can Spare Inner Planets; Hot Jupiter Tidal Migration May Not
Warm Jupiter Tidal Migration Can Spare Inner Planets; Hot Jupiter Tidal Migration May Not, Becker, Juliette
iopscience.iop.org
February 3, 2026 at 11:37 AM
New ApJ paper: Can inner planets survive when a giant becomes a hot/warm Jupiter via high-eccentricity tidal migration? Usually no. Survival requires the giant’s periastron to stay >14 mutual Hill radii away. Observed systems with hot Jupiters + inner planets are inconsistent...
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
🚨 Deadline: 1 February 2026 🚨
Calling all undergrad + graduate students looking for summer research opportunities! Application deadline is quickly approaching for the 2026 summer student program at the NSF NRAO/GBO.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #REU #ResearchAssistantship #NRAO #GBO
Calling all undergrad + graduate students looking for summer research opportunities! Application deadline is quickly approaching for the 2026 summer student program at the NSF NRAO/GBO.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #REU #ResearchAssistantship #NRAO #GBO
2026 Summer Student Research Assistantships
science.nrao.edu
January 29, 2026 at 9:08 PM
🚨 Deadline: 1 February 2026 🚨
Calling all undergrad + graduate students looking for summer research opportunities! Application deadline is quickly approaching for the 2026 summer student program at the NSF NRAO/GBO.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #REU #ResearchAssistantship #NRAO #GBO
Calling all undergrad + graduate students looking for summer research opportunities! Application deadline is quickly approaching for the 2026 summer student program at the NSF NRAO/GBO.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #REU #ResearchAssistantship #NRAO #GBO
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
There's some great #RadioAstronomy happening in Africa.
The Ghana Radio Astronomy Observatory hosts the largest (32m) steerable single dish antenna in Africa, and its right near the equator. It's been converted for science purposes from commerical purposes.
arxiv.org/abs/2601.10784
🔭📡
The Ghana Radio Astronomy Observatory hosts the largest (32m) steerable single dish antenna in Africa, and its right near the equator. It's been converted for science purposes from commerical purposes.
arxiv.org/abs/2601.10784
🔭📡
January 29, 2026 at 9:50 PM
There's some great #RadioAstronomy happening in Africa.
The Ghana Radio Astronomy Observatory hosts the largest (32m) steerable single dish antenna in Africa, and its right near the equator. It's been converted for science purposes from commerical purposes.
arxiv.org/abs/2601.10784
🔭📡
The Ghana Radio Astronomy Observatory hosts the largest (32m) steerable single dish antenna in Africa, and its right near the equator. It's been converted for science purposes from commerical purposes.
arxiv.org/abs/2601.10784
🔭📡
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
🚨 Deadline: Feb 4 🚨
The NSF NRAO invites scientists to participate in the Semester 2026B Call for Proposals:
Very Large Array (VLA)
Green Bank Telescope (GBT)
Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA)
High Sensitivity Array (HSA)
Global mm VLBI Array (GMVA)
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #NRAO #GBO
The NSF NRAO invites scientists to participate in the Semester 2026B Call for Proposals:
Very Large Array (VLA)
Green Bank Telescope (GBT)
Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA)
High Sensitivity Array (HSA)
Global mm VLBI Array (GMVA)
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #NRAO #GBO
2026B Call for Proposals
science.nrao.edu
January 30, 2026 at 9:08 PM
🚨 Deadline: Feb 4 🚨
The NSF NRAO invites scientists to participate in the Semester 2026B Call for Proposals:
Very Large Array (VLA)
Green Bank Telescope (GBT)
Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA)
High Sensitivity Array (HSA)
Global mm VLBI Array (GMVA)
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #NRAO #GBO
The NSF NRAO invites scientists to participate in the Semester 2026B Call for Proposals:
Very Large Array (VLA)
Green Bank Telescope (GBT)
Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA)
High Sensitivity Array (HSA)
Global mm VLBI Array (GMVA)
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #NRAO #GBO
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
A tidally-locked rocky #exoplanet orbiting close to its host star could have tidal waves of lava sweeping around the planet. Simulations show this effect would complicate the search for an atmosphere. 🔭☄️
News report by @elisecutts.bsky.social from the @rockyworlds.bsky.social meeting #RockyWorlds4
News report by @elisecutts.bsky.social from the @rockyworlds.bsky.social meeting #RockyWorlds4
*taps mic* ahem
May I interrupt the nonstop tidal wave of doom with a tidal wave of LAVA?
They're as high as a skyscraper, ooze at the speed of a human sprinter, and are really, really hot.
By me for @science.org, reported from the #RockyWorlds4 conference: 🔭🧪
May I interrupt the nonstop tidal wave of doom with a tidal wave of LAVA?
They're as high as a skyscraper, ooze at the speed of a human sprinter, and are really, really hot.
By me for @science.org, reported from the #RockyWorlds4 conference: 🔭🧪
Tidal waves of lava may slosh around alien worlds
Waves of molten rock could be confounding observations of atmospheres on distant planets
www.science.org
February 2, 2026 at 2:29 PM
A tidally-locked rocky #exoplanet orbiting close to its host star could have tidal waves of lava sweeping around the planet. Simulations show this effect would complicate the search for an atmosphere. 🔭☄️
News report by @elisecutts.bsky.social from the @rockyworlds.bsky.social meeting #RockyWorlds4
News report by @elisecutts.bsky.social from the @rockyworlds.bsky.social meeting #RockyWorlds4
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
Reading (and thoroughly enjoying) “The Possibility of Life” by Jaime Green, and who should appear as a source? @aussiastronomer.bsky.social talking about the #exoplanet archive at JPL and working with creatives to entice readers to read about the new discoveries.
January 31, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Reading (and thoroughly enjoying) “The Possibility of Life” by Jaime Green, and who should appear as a source? @aussiastronomer.bsky.social talking about the #exoplanet archive at JPL and working with creatives to entice readers to read about the new discoveries.
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
In 2017, it was suggested that the Wow! Signal might have been produced by hydrogen emissions from comets. Ironically, the Big Ear telescope had already observed Comet Halley three decades earlier, in August 1986, and it produced no Wow!-like signal, nor was any such signal expected. #AreciboWow
January 28, 2026 at 8:42 PM
In 2017, it was suggested that the Wow! Signal might have been produced by hydrogen emissions from comets. Ironically, the Big Ear telescope had already observed Comet Halley three decades earlier, in August 1986, and it produced no Wow!-like signal, nor was any such signal expected. #AreciboWow
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
We uncovered decades of previously unknown all-sky radio data from the Big Ear telescope, collected during a much quieter radio-era with active interference cancellation. Here are the projects, receivers, and the methods used to record the data. #AreciboWow #RadioAstronomy
January 28, 2026 at 8:20 PM
We uncovered decades of previously unknown all-sky radio data from the Big Ear telescope, collected during a much quieter radio-era with active interference cancellation. Here are the projects, receivers, and the methods used to record the data. #AreciboWow #RadioAstronomy