Dr. Raphael Marschall
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Dr. Raphael Marschall
@spacemarschall.net
4K followers 330 following 740 posts
#asteroids #comets #protoplanetarydisks #planetaryScience 🧪🔭🚀🛰️☄️
Science Programme Manager @issibern.ch. Co-I of ESA's Comet Interceptor, collaborator on NASA's Lucy and ESA's Rosetta missions.
www.spaceMarschall.net
(he/him)🇨🇭🇺🇸🇫🇷
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Dr. Raphael Marschall @spacemarschall.net · Nov 14
Hello to all new followers! I'm a 🇨🇭 physicist and planetary scientist at the Observatory in Nice 🇫🇷. I study asteroids, comets, and similar bodies and how they formed/evolved. This helps us understand how our Solar System formed. I'm also involved in several space missions.
#planetaryScience 🔭🧪🚀🛰️☄️🪨
Family picture of all asteroids visited by spacecraft except for Ceres. The different asteroids are to scale with Vesta being over 500 km large to Itakawa at only 500 m. High resolution image here: https://spacemarschall.net/outreach/asteroid-family-picture/ Credit to individial asteroids in the legend.
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
jtuttlekeane.bsky.social
Hey planetary scientists! I don’t know about y’all, but ADS makes my life so much easier.
November 5, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
weatherdak.bsky.social
Alrighty, ready to see something really cool? (and maybe a little nauseating)

The evolution of Hurricane Melissa's mesovortices at peak strength.
October 29, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
philplait.bsky.social
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
October 28, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
soto.space
The Chinese found meteoritic dust on the far side of the moon and its composition argues that more water-rich asteroids may have hit the Earth early on than previously expected. Cool!

I'm not an expert, but it seems to warrant more lunar far side sampling.

#planetsci 🧪

phys.org/news/2025-10...
Dust from far side of the moon could reveal more about origin of water in our solar system
Dust brought back to Earth by China's Chang'e-6 mission contains rare meteorite relics that could change our understanding of sources of water and other life-essential ingredients in our solar system.
phys.org
October 23, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
astrobin.com
AstroBin's Image of the Day: "Apparent Angle Evolution of the Comet’s Ion Tail (C/2025 A6 (Lemmon))" by Julien De Winter and Victor
www.astrobin.com/l7210y/
#astrophotography
Apparent Angle Evolution of the Comet’s Ion Tail (C/2025 A6 (Lemmon))
October 27, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
asrivkin.bsky.social
I continue to hold that the entire premise underlying all of these metrics is extremely flawed, and that what it all comes down to is unimaginative managers who are content to offload scientist performance reviews to publishing companies, resulting in a perverse incentive structure. 🧵
October 26, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
vrubinobs.bsky.social
Yesterday we released our cosmic treasure chest...and now it's yours to explore! With ✨~10 million galaxies✨ in the image, there's plenty to find.

Pan, zoom, and hunt for gems in this treasure chest using Skyviewer - and be sure to share your favorites with us! 🔭🧪

➡️ skyviewer.app/explorer
A field of galaxies of many shapes, sizes and colors, as well as the bright multi-colored points of stars. At left is a large elliptical galaxy, smooth like a polished stone. At right lies a large spiral galaxy that is nearly a ring, with bright golden core. To its lower left is a smaller spiral with a barred core. At top and bottom, two bright stars shine brightly with multi-colored diffraction spikes emanating out. In the background, hundreds of galaxies are just smudges of various colors. A field of galaxies of many shapes, sizes and colors, as well as the bright multi-colored points of stars. At top left is a large galaxy that is smooth like a stone, with wisps like cotton candy spiral from left and right. In the background, hundreds of galaxies of many shapes are just smudges of various colors against the black of space. / A field of galaxies of many shapes, sizes and colors, as well as the bright multi-colored points of stars. At bottom left is an elegant two-armed galaxy, with arms extended like a dancer viewed from above. The bright points of three stars form a triangle at top center. In the background, hundreds of galaxies of many shapes are just smudges of various colors against the black of space. A field of galaxies of many shapes, sizes and colors, as well as the bright multi-colored points of stars. At top right is a large galaxy with two whirling spiral arms wrapping around like a hug. At bottom left, two smooth elliptical galaxies appear near each other, like champagne glasses in the midst of a cheers. A bright star above the pair has red, green, and blue diffraction spikes emanating out. In the background, hundreds of galaxies of many shapes are just smudges of various colors. A field of galaxies of many shapes, sizes and colors, as well as the bright multi-colored points of stars. At center is a spiral galaxy peppered with tight, knotted clumps of vivid blue, young stars. In the background, hundreds of galaxies of many shapes are just smudges of various colors against the black of space.
June 24, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
emily.space
For anyone applying to grad school in the US this fall, the @aas.org has made a working group to monitor which programs have faced cuts - this spreadsheet contains all the info: 🔭☄️
US Astronomy Graduate Admissions, AY 2025-2026
docs.google.com
October 23, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
andrealeinfelder.bsky.social
NASA will allow other companies to vie for its Artemis III human landing system as Starship falls behind schedule in Texas.

Artemis III is now set to launch no later than 2028, suggesting a slip from its launch target of 2027.

www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
Could Blue Origin develop Artemis III moon lander? NASA reopens bidding.
Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy announced Monday that he would allow other companies to compete for the Artemis III landing contract that was awarded to the SpaceX Starship spacecraft.
www.houstonchronicle.com
October 20, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
kevinmgill.bsky.social
A reprojected view of Jupiter centered near the border with the Northern Filamentary Region. This uses image data taken by NASA’s JunoCam during the Perijove 26 flyby in April 2020. I created a simulated terrain relief to provide a sense of vertical scale to the cloudtops.

flic.kr/p/2jyhVD8
NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill
October 19, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
issibern.ch
Join us today (October 16) to the live webinar with @benpoulter.bsky.social
We start at 17h CEST | 11h EDT
More Information and access to the webinar www.issibern.ch/earth-observ...
October 16, 2025 at 7:36 AM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
soto.space
Finally, back in April, the Lucy mission flew by and imaged the Donaldjohanson asteroid. Now they have official names for all of the features. Plus, we have a new technical term, "collum", for the "neck" that is seen on a lot of these elongated small bodies.

7/7

www.swri.org/newsroom/pre...
Features on asteroid visited by SwRI-led Lucy spacecraft given official names | Southwest Research Institute
The NASA spacecraft visited the asteroid Donaldjohanson on April 20, 2025
www.swri.org
October 11, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
sculptedreef.com
Happy World Octopus Day 🥳🎉🐙

🎉 We're celebrating with a little sale: discounts applied in cart, no code needed 😌 www.SculptedReef.com

📸 🐙 Caribbean Reef Octopus, Hand sculpted from clay

#ArtYear #Art #ArtGallery #Sculpture #Octopus #MarineLife #CoralReef #ArtSale #BSNM #Invertebrates 🦑🐡
A sculpture depicting the species Caribbean Reef Octopus. A bluish teal octopus with webbed maroon pattern and bright green patches around its eyes and mantle.
October 9, 2025 at 9:33 AM
spacemarschall.net
I am delighted to finally announce that I have accepted an offer to become a Professor of Experimental Physics and Planetology at the @unibe.ch in Bern, Switzerland.
A huge thank you to everyone who believed in me and supported me over all these years! So excited for all that is to come 🚀🛰️🪨🪐
Historic university building with ornate architecture and arched windows at the University of Bern in Switzerland, photographed on a clear sunny day with green lawn in the foreground.
October 8, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
comet-toolbox.com
One year ago, our wonderful Hera mission lauched from Cape Canaveral and it has been performing amazingly since then.
A few days after launch, we acquired these beautiful views of our Earth and Moon, which have been used to calibrate the remote sensing instruments.
era’s Asteroid Framing Camera (AFC) captured this farewell image of Earth (bottom left) and the Moon (centre) on 11 October from a distance of approximately 1.6 million km. Earth is oriented with north pointing upwards, with the Pacific Ocean illuminated by the Sun. Credit: ESA
October 7, 2025 at 2:40 PM
spacemarschall.net
Interstellar comet #3I/ATLAS imaged by the CaSSIS camera in orbit around Mars lead out of @unibe.ch 🤩
Simply amazing that we can take such observations from the orbit of other planets 😱
#planetSci
science.esa.int ESA Space Science @science.esa.int · Oct 7
First images of comet #3I/ATLAS from Europe's Mars orbiters 😍

Observing the comet from 30 million km away, #ExoMars reveals the halo of gas and dust surrounding the comet's nucleus.

Read more 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
🔭🧪
October 7, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
emily.space
ATProto devs - what do we need to do to ship independent PDS hosting to the Astronomy community ASAP?

Main Qs:
1. What software should we use (reference PDS implementation? The rsky one? Or another)
2. Legal aspects: what do we need to be careful of? Does GDPR apply? + are there PDS mod tools?
October 7, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
stim3on.bsky.social
Last night, NASA's Perseverance rover looked up at the night sky once more, to capture interstellar #comet 3I/Atlas flying by the red planet.

The distance was "only" 0.2 AU or 30 Mio km, far closer than the comet ever got to Earth. 🔭 #3IAtlas

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Simeon Schmauß
October 4, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
barackobama.bsky.social
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. Except it doesn’t bend on its own—it bends because we pull it in the direction of justice. What keeps me hopeful during times like these is being surrounded by people who are doing just that.
September 29, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
issibern.ch
🚨 Last chance!

Apply this week for the Johannes Geiss Fellowship — don’t miss the opportunity! 🔭
October 6, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
astroroyalscot.bsky.social
Conventional wisdom says motherhood should wait for tenure as before you land a permanent post, #academia is just not that family friendly🙁

@carersinstemm.bsky.social are calling for change and to celebrate their new report, a Saturday🧵on parenting & academia! 1/9 👩‍🔬🧪🔭⚛️

ℹ️: carersinstemm.co.uk
From 2006. A younger and shell-shocked looking Catherine on a balcony holding a very tiny baby with the mountains of Vancouver in the background. The baby is so new, Catherine still has the pregnant bump.
October 4, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
luckytran.com
"If we lose hope, we're doomed."

We must continue Dr. Jane Goodall's mission and all fight for the future of the planet.
October 1, 2025 at 7:31 PM
spacemarschall.net
If you missed the @issibern.ch Game Changer Seminar by Mike Wong you can now watch it here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8B2...

He discussed the fantastic OPAL program that uses the Hubble Space Telescope to obtain long-time baseline observations of the outer planets to understand their atmospheres.
OPAL 10-year anniversary with Mike Wong
YouTube video by International Space Science Institute
www.youtube.com
September 29, 2025 at 1:17 PM
spacemarschall.net
A great colleague and friend, JB Vincent (@comet-toolbox.com), has joined these blue skies. Give him a follow if you like comets and asteroids!
September 29, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Reposted by Dr. Raphael Marschall
deschscoveries.bsky.social
Sorry it took me so long to grade your August 20 assignment, Avi Loeb. Are you sure you're ready for a class on comets? You might need to learn about things like bow shocks and chemistry.
Avi Loeb posted these notes on comet 3I/ATLAS on August 20, but they are full of mistakes. I correct them and provide notes on how comets actually work.
September 9, 2025 at 7:20 PM