Dr. Amber Straughn (she/her)
@astraughnomer.bsky.social
Black Lives Matter. NASA Astrophysicist for #JWST. From Arkansas. Hiking, yoga, Great Dane mom, pilot, Pearl Jam superfan. #FirstGen Personal account - my views
WE ARE BACK!! And the Roman telescope is looking *GREAT* as we continue to prep it for launch here at @nasagoddard 🚀✨ Roman is designed to unravel the mysteries of the dark universe - dark matter & dark energy - as well as finding tens of thousands of new planets outside our solar system.
November 14, 2025 at 7:24 PM
WE ARE BACK!! And the Roman telescope is looking *GREAT* as we continue to prep it for launch here at @nasagoddard 🚀✨ Roman is designed to unravel the mysteries of the dark universe - dark matter & dark energy - as well as finding tens of thousands of new planets outside our solar system.
Another 10+ mile day (w/ my 25lb pack - training for a backpacking trip in a few months)! Did one yesterday too. Gorgeous weather, beautiful trees. Although didn’t find the cat and no idea who Bob is 😝 #getoutside #hiking #furloughlife
October 28, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Another 10+ mile day (w/ my 25lb pack - training for a backpacking trip in a few months)! Did one yesterday too. Gorgeous weather, beautiful trees. Although didn’t find the cat and no idea who Bob is 😝 #getoutside #hiking #furloughlife
Friday furlough flying…maybe it’ll become a thing since there’s no end in sight to this shutdown 🙄 Trying to make the best of it despite not getting a paycheck and missing my #nasa peeps #avgeek #giventofly #cessnaflyer
October 17, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Friday furlough flying…maybe it’ll become a thing since there’s no end in sight to this shutdown 🙄 Trying to make the best of it despite not getting a paycheck and missing my #nasa peeps #avgeek #giventofly #cessnaflyer
Vaccines save lives. Trust scientific consensus.
October 15, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Vaccines save lives. Trust scientific consensus.
Been outside a lot the last few days!! Two back-to-back hefty hikes w/ our packs in prep for a big backpacking trip coming up in a few months 😀
October 11, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Been outside a lot the last few days!! Two back-to-back hefty hikes w/ our packs in prep for a big backpacking trip coming up in a few months 😀
First few days of furlough last week were spent visiting my 6 month old niece in Providence 🥰 Don’t worry - teaching her astrophysics wasn’t part of my official nasa duties
October 9, 2025 at 8:20 PM
First few days of furlough last week were spent visiting my 6 month old niece in Providence 🥰 Don’t worry - teaching her astrophysics wasn’t part of my official nasa duties
people leaving nasa today like
September 30, 2025 at 10:38 PM
people leaving nasa today like
This #jwst story is full of weirdness: 1) auroras were found on a rogue planet (a planet w/o a star) 2) BILLIONS - TRILLIONS of rogue planets could exist in our Milky Way 🤯 3) this planet is 20 light-years away & ~12.7x the mass of Jupiter (pic is illustration) www.universetoday.com/articles/jam...
September 29, 2025 at 6:40 PM
This #jwst story is full of weirdness: 1) auroras were found on a rogue planet (a planet w/o a star) 2) BILLIONS - TRILLIONS of rogue planets could exist in our Milky Way 🤯 3) this planet is 20 light-years away & ~12.7x the mass of Jupiter (pic is illustration) www.universetoday.com/articles/jam...
Stunning new #jwst images reveal new insights into what's going on in the most massive and active star-forming region in our Milky Way galaxy. Read the article for more, and a fun slider that shows 2 different versions of this image ➡️ science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
September 24, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Stunning new #jwst images reveal new insights into what's going on in the most massive and active star-forming region in our Milky Way galaxy. Read the article for more, and a fun slider that shows 2 different versions of this image ➡️ science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
Trying a new thing! 😀 Just got back from my first backpacking trip! An easy/short 1-nighter. It was fun to test my gear and be sung to sleep by crickets and cicadas #getoutside
September 21, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Trying a new thing! 😀 Just got back from my first backpacking trip! An easy/short 1-nighter. It was fun to test my gear and be sung to sleep by crickets and cicadas #getoutside
The universe is wild, y'all! "NASA’s Hubble Sees White Dwarf Eating Piece of Pluto-Like Object" In several billion years, when our Sun collapses into a white dwarf, it might munch on actual Pluto, too! More here: science.nasa.gov/missions/hub...
September 19, 2025 at 3:17 PM
The universe is wild, y'all! "NASA’s Hubble Sees White Dwarf Eating Piece of Pluto-Like Object" In several billion years, when our Sun collapses into a white dwarf, it might munch on actual Pluto, too! More here: science.nasa.gov/missions/hub...
The beauty of the universe still takes my breath away ✨ Star birth, star death - it's all here in today's stunning #apod Read more: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap25091... 📸: J. De Winter, C. Humbert, C. Robert & V. Sabet
September 17, 2025 at 5:23 PM
The beauty of the universe still takes my breath away ✨ Star birth, star death - it's all here in today's stunning #apod Read more: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap25091... 📸: J. De Winter, C. Humbert, C. Robert & V. Sabet
In spite of it all, life is beautiful.
Happy Friday, friends. Here's a stunning image of Jupiter, taken from the #nasa Juno spacecraft, one of the missions slated for cancellation in the 2026 budget request. Quote/lyric from @idlesband.bsky.social (🔥 last night in Bmore) Info from: nasa.gov/juno)
Happy Friday, friends. Here's a stunning image of Jupiter, taken from the #nasa Juno spacecraft, one of the missions slated for cancellation in the 2026 budget request. Quote/lyric from @idlesband.bsky.social (🔥 last night in Bmore) Info from: nasa.gov/juno)
September 12, 2025 at 3:30 PM
In spite of it all, life is beautiful.
Happy Friday, friends. Here's a stunning image of Jupiter, taken from the #nasa Juno spacecraft, one of the missions slated for cancellation in the 2026 budget request. Quote/lyric from @idlesband.bsky.social (🔥 last night in Bmore) Info from: nasa.gov/juno)
Happy Friday, friends. Here's a stunning image of Jupiter, taken from the #nasa Juno spacecraft, one of the missions slated for cancellation in the 2026 budget request. Quote/lyric from @idlesband.bsky.social (🔥 last night in Bmore) Info from: nasa.gov/juno)
Stunning! A gigantic jet of gas from a newly forming huge star. The size of this jet is about *8 light-years* - that's TWICE the distance b/n the Sun and the next closest star 🤯 #jwst Read more: science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
September 11, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Stunning! A gigantic jet of gas from a newly forming huge star. The size of this jet is about *8 light-years* - that's TWICE the distance b/n the Sun and the next closest star 🤯 #jwst Read more: science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
5500 light years from us, new stars are being born ✨ This stunning new #jwst image showcases 2 of the brightest & most massive stars known - weighing in at over 60x the mass of our Sun! Data like this are helping us understand how stars are born. Read more: science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
September 5, 2025 at 2:50 PM
5500 light years from us, new stars are being born ✨ This stunning new #jwst image showcases 2 of the brightest & most massive stars known - weighing in at over 60x the mass of our Sun! Data like this are helping us understand how stars are born. Read more: science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
August 28, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Happy birthday to two of the very best 💜🖤 @pearljam.com #pearljam
August 28, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Happy birthday to two of the very best 💜🖤 @pearljam.com #pearljam
Got some MUCH NEEDED trail time today
August 23, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Got some MUCH NEEDED trail time today
Seven years ago today - Matt's first @pearljam.com show with me 😀 Wrigley shows are always 🔥 #pearljam
August 19, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Seven years ago today - Matt's first @pearljam.com show with me 😀 Wrigley shows are always 🔥 #pearljam
This is a Hubble image of a "grand design spiral" (formally NGC 1309) ~100 million light years away & about 30,000 light years across (~1/3 the size of our Milky Way). It's also had 2 recent supernovae ✨ Read more via apod: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap25081... #nasa #space
August 18, 2025 at 7:49 PM
This is a Hubble image of a "grand design spiral" (formally NGC 1309) ~100 million light years away & about 30,000 light years across (~1/3 the size of our Milky Way). It's also had 2 recent supernovae ✨ Read more via apod: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap25081... #nasa #space
WHOA! Possible evidence of a "direct collapse" black hole in the Infinity Galaxy ♾️ This unusually-shaped galaxy likely formed via the collision of 2 disk galaxies, but what's REALLY weird is the gigantic black hole is smack in the middle! #jwst Read more: science.nasa.gov/blogs/webb/2...
July 16, 2025 at 5:34 PM
WHOA! Possible evidence of a "direct collapse" black hole in the Infinity Galaxy ♾️ This unusually-shaped galaxy likely formed via the collision of 2 disk galaxies, but what's REALLY weird is the gigantic black hole is smack in the middle! #jwst Read more: science.nasa.gov/blogs/webb/2...
Something positive, something beautiful ✨ The Cat's Paw nebula is the new #jwst image celebrating the 3rd anniversary of science with this incredible telescope. Read more: science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
July 10, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Something positive, something beautiful ✨ The Cat's Paw nebula is the new #jwst image celebrating the 3rd anniversary of science with this incredible telescope. Read more: science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
Stunning 😍 New image of combined Hubble & #JWST data showcasing star clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf satellite galaxy of the Milky Way ✨ Check out link for a slider tool that shows what each telescope reveals! science.nasa.gov/missions/hub...
July 7, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Stunning 😍 New image of combined Hubble & #JWST data showcasing star clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf satellite galaxy of the Milky Way ✨ Check out link for a slider tool that shows what each telescope reveals! science.nasa.gov/missions/hub...
Look at all those galaxies 😍 And look at all the stuff you can't see... #darkmatter ahem @pearljam.com 👀 Almost every dot of light here is a galaxy w/ hundreds of billions of stars, via #JWST. Dark matter is highlighted in blue, via the Chandra x-ray observatory: science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
June 30, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Look at all those galaxies 😍 And look at all the stuff you can't see... #darkmatter ahem @pearljam.com 👀 Almost every dot of light here is a galaxy w/ hundreds of billions of stars, via #JWST. Dark matter is highlighted in blue, via the Chandra x-ray observatory: science.nasa.gov/missions/web...