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
Oh now this is VERY cool! Denis+ on “Cold and eccentric: a high-spectral resolution view of 51 Eri b with
VLT/HiRISE” where radial velocity measurements of the exoplanet enable a determination of the 3D orbit, and therefore you can calculate the PHASE as seen by Earth! #astrodon #exoplanet ☄
VLT/HiRISE” where radial velocity measurements of the exoplanet enable a determination of the 3D orbit, and therefore you can calculate the PHASE as seen by Earth! #astrodon #exoplanet ☄
February 12, 2026 at 3:44 AM
Oh now this is VERY cool! Denis+ on “Cold and eccentric: a high-spectral resolution view of 51 Eri b with
VLT/HiRISE” where radial velocity measurements of the exoplanet enable a determination of the 3D orbit, and therefore you can calculate the PHASE as seen by Earth! #astrodon #exoplanet ☄
VLT/HiRISE” where radial velocity measurements of the exoplanet enable a determination of the 3D orbit, and therefore you can calculate the PHASE as seen by Earth! #astrodon #exoplanet ☄
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
‘Save the best for last 😋’, a little rocky planet discovered by our #ESACheops might think – born later than its gaseous sibling-planets, it might flip our understanding of how planets form upside down.
Our full story 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
🔭🧪
#exoplanets
#milkyway
#planetsci
Our full story 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
🔭🧪
#exoplanets
#milkyway
#planetsci
February 12, 2026 at 7:10 PM
‘Save the best for last 😋’, a little rocky planet discovered by our #ESACheops might think – born later than its gaseous sibling-planets, it might flip our understanding of how planets form upside down.
Our full story 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
🔭🧪
#exoplanets
#milkyway
#planetsci
Our full story 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
🔭🧪
#exoplanets
#milkyway
#planetsci
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
🔭🧪 Mark your calendars & pre-order this incredibly exciting new book all about astrobiology (!!) and #exoplanets and much much more by the amazingly talented @toomanyspectra.bsky.social! I CANNOT wait to enjoy this first for myself and then gift it to everyone I know 🤩
can’t believe it’s finally my turn to do this but:
COVER REVEAL!!
here is the long-awaited cover for CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF STARSHIPS by the incredibly talented Kamille Rodriguez
pre-order here: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cloudy-wit...
COVER REVEAL!!
here is the long-awaited cover for CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF STARSHIPS by the incredibly talented Kamille Rodriguez
pre-order here: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cloudy-wit...
February 11, 2026 at 9:03 PM
🔭🧪 Mark your calendars & pre-order this incredibly exciting new book all about astrobiology (!!) and #exoplanets and much much more by the amazingly talented @toomanyspectra.bsky.social! I CANNOT wait to enjoy this first for myself and then gift it to everyone I know 🤩
A Newly Discovered Nearby Planetary System around GJ 887 #RedDots arxiv.org/abs/2602.089...
RedDots: Multiplanet system around M dwarf GJ 887 in the solar neighborhood
GJ 887 is a bright M dwarf in the solar neighborhood with two currently reported nontransiting exoplanets with periods of $9~\mathrm{d}$ and $21~\mathrm{d,}$ along with an additional unconfirmed…
arxiv.org
February 11, 2026 at 3:31 PM
A Newly Discovered Nearby Planetary System around GJ 887 #RedDots arxiv.org/abs/2602.089...
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
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
🔭☄️ #exoplanets
Very happy to advertise a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Exoplanet Science position with me and Christian Schwab at Macquarie University in Sydney.
We'll be working on applying machine learning & differentiable physics models to extremely precise radial velocity surveys.
We'll be working on applying machine learning & differentiable physics models to extremely precise radial velocity surveys.
Postdoctoral Research Associate in Exoplanet Science
PRIMARY DETAIL - Salary Package: $109,272 - $117,108 (HEW Level A.6-A.8) - plus 17% employer's superannuation contribution and annual leave loading. - Full time, 3 year fixed-term role - Macquarie Uni...
mq.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com
February 10, 2026 at 5:45 AM
🔭☄️ #exoplanets
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
Paper day: I am extremely happy to announce our major discovery concerning the mysterious emergence of the first massive galaxies when the Universe was only 10% its current age:
www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/pressrelease...
#radioastronomy #extragalactic #astrosci 📡☄️🔭🧪
www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/pressrelease...
#radioastronomy #extragalactic #astrosci 📡☄️🔭🧪
How giant galaxies could form just 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang
Observations of the protocluster SPT2349-56 reveal how massive galaxies could form early in the Universe.
www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
February 10, 2026 at 10:44 AM
Paper day: I am extremely happy to announce our major discovery concerning the mysterious emergence of the first massive galaxies when the Universe was only 10% its current age:
www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/pressrelease...
#radioastronomy #extragalactic #astrosci 📡☄️🔭🧪
www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/pressrelease...
#radioastronomy #extragalactic #astrosci 📡☄️🔭🧪
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...