Steve Crawford
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astrocrawford.bsky.social
Steve Crawford
@astrocrawford.bsky.social
1.8K followers 1.1K following 130 posts
Astronomer wandering through time and space.

Likely to post about #Earth and #Space science especially #astronomy, Open Source Software, Open Science, and space. And hiking with our dog. Opinions are my own.

He/him.
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astrocrawford.bsky.social
A nice display at the Pratt Library today in honor of Jane Goodall

#Pratt #Baltimore
A collection of library books about Jane Goodall
October 2, 2025 at 8:14 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
For National Black Dog Day, Tycho did his best alligator impression.
Black dog lying in the middle of a river. His tail is curved up. There are rocks in the foreground and trees in the background. The furthest back trees are illuminated by sun light that also glints off the river.
October 1, 2025 at 11:30 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
Is this color good for the harbor? I’m not sure I’ve seen it so clear or this green.

#Baltimore #water #turtle
Baltimore harbor near Fells Point. The water is a greenish tint to it but also mostly transparent. There is a turtle swimming in the foreground, empty docks to the right, and a number of sail boats and speed boats to the left. Brick row houses can be seen behind them with the ports further in the distance. A medium sized turtle swimming in the water. The water is transparent with green tint so that the turtle is fully visible. It is sticking up its head while paddling with its feet.
October 1, 2025 at 5:36 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
Just an owl hanging out in Baltimore on a Saturday night

#Baltimore #Owl
An owl sitting on a branch with many other branches around it. It is grey with brown stripes. Jupiter can be seen behind it in the blue grey sky.
January 18, 2025 at 11:24 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
Enjoyed Katie Kaleida’s poster on JWST data management system: JWST has produced over 400 TB of data since launch and use over 100 computing nodes to process the data.

#aas245 #JWST
Graph showing JWST data volume increasing from 0 to over 400 TB in the last three years. Graph showing the computing nodes have increased to over 100 computing nodes
January 15, 2025 at 10:50 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
Pandemonium in Patterson Park this evening but it was easy to wander off to find the quiet areas to listen to the falling snow.

#Baltimore
The Observatory in Patterson park which is shaped like a pagoda. It is lit up with blue and green lights. There is a snow covered hill in front covered with people sledding down it and a large crowd of people at the top The Patterson park fountain with blue and purple light. The observatory is in the background from the other side. The fountain is filled with smooth snow and there are flakes falling down from the sky. The Patterson park pond - it looks to be frozen over with snow covered trees at the edges. It’s a color photo that is almost completely all greys. A snowy path lined with snow covered trees. The sky is grey and cloudy. The trees appear to be almost black in this light. The path is well trodden but still think with snow.
January 7, 2025 at 1:45 AM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
Aspiration on the chalk board of the local elementary school: “Someday I will teach the world kindness.” I think that’s a beautiful goal for the future!

Also good luck to the kid that wants to train dogs!

#Baltimore
Chalk board with multiple rows starting with ‘Someday I Will…’ One of the rows has ‘teach the world kindness’ and another has ‘train DOGS ❤️’
January 5, 2025 at 9:29 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
Here are all the details on the back and link: science.nasa.gov/artificial-i...
Data Science and Innovation About NASA's Office of the Chief Science Data Officer (OCSDO) leverages advanced technology to optimize the use of NASA's scientific data, drive scientific advancement, and improve processes across all five of the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) domains: astrophysics, biological and physical sciences, Earth science, heliophysics, and planetary science. This initiative ensures that the wealth of knowledge and data gathered from NASA's groundbreaking missions is accessible and beneficial to a wide range of scientific endeavors. Artificial Intelligence Projects OCSDO explores how Artificial intelligence (Al) can be applied to scientific research, applications, and processes. Foundation Models A foundation model is an Al model trained on vast amounts of data, and can be adapted to perform specific tasks with minimal resources, in collaboration with IBM, NASA is developing a suite of foundation models trained on NASA data for each of the SMD's five science corains. These publicly released models enable scientists to leverage Al for their research and applications more efficiently than before. The first two models in the Prithvi family- a geospatial foundation model and a weather and climate foundation model - were released in 2023 and 2024 respectively. Access the Prithvi geospatial foundation model here: https://science.nasa.gov/artificial-intelligence-science/ Large Language Models Large language models (LLMs) are advanced Al models trained on large-scale text data, allowing them to understand and generate human-like language. LLMs can interpret complex queries, provide detailed responses, and create new content, making them versatile tools. NASA, in collaboration with IBM, developed INDUS, a suite of LLMs specifically designed to enhance different steps of research and data lifecycles. One of the initial applications for INDUS is to power intelligent search tools, significantly improving users' ability to find the information they n…
December 10, 2024 at 4:34 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
Stop by the NASA booth to pick up the new poster highlighting all the data science and implement work going on by the Science Mission Directorate’s Office of the Chief Science Data Officer

#AGU24 #NASA
Photo of a poster with the words Data Science and Implementation. There is an image of two astronauts in the lower right quarter looking out to an an abstract landscape that has images representing astrophysics, earth science, Heliophysics, planetary science, and biological sciences. There is a NASA logo in the corner.
December 10, 2024 at 4:28 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
Great to see @tsnow03.bsky.social poster on Unlocking LandSat applications along the artic coastline using the cloud.

It’s great to see the improvement in the workflow from 1 hour to 1 min.

(And welcome to Blue Sky Tasha Snow!)

#AGU
A poster showing the improvement in workflow using Python and the cloud going from 1 hour to 1 minute
December 9, 2024 at 4:15 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
If you have a chance and clear skies, head out to check the Moon and Venus.

#Moon #Venus
A very crescent Moon with Venus slight above and to the right. The sky is still a dusky blue.
December 4, 2024 at 9:44 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
Some photos from hiking with Tycho yesterday at Franklin Point State Park in Maryland. We had the entire 470 acres to ourselves! Lots of birds but we only saw anyone else at the start and end of the hike.

#dog #hiking #maryland
A black dog in front of a muddy marsh that gives way to a river. There are dead branches along the near shore and trees on the far shore. Fluffy white clouds cover the blue sky and sun. A black dog wearing a blue harness with his tongue sticking out is on top of a bench painted in rainbow colors in an abandoned shed. The cinder block walls have empty windows and doors. The sky can be seen between the wood beams of the roof as it is missing panels that would cover it. The ground is covered in dead leaves and there is a river and woods that can be seen outside of the shed.
November 24, 2024 at 4:15 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
Does this have enough blue sky?
A black dog wading into the Chesapeake Bay. His tail and ears are up as he watches a stick drift away. The bay stretches to the horizon where there is a thin strip of land separating it from the sky. The orange of the sky quickly fades into a deep, dark, clear blue sky.
November 16, 2024 at 11:20 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
Some scenes from Denver on my morning run
Union train station in Denver. A white brick building with windows and an American flag in the front. Tables with blue umbrellas are at the front and there is a bike lane in the road leading up to it. The building is still in morning shadows. A bridge crossing over the South Platte river. There is a sandy shore in Front, a rocky outcropping overgrown with bushes that the river flows around. The bridge is in the sun and the river is in shadow.
November 13, 2024 at 3:28 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
It is October. The trees are changing colors. It is 84 F in Baltimore. Christmas decorations are coming out.

This is now all so normal.
At a distance, A tree with leaves that have turned bright orange with a deer standing underneath it. In front, there are decorations with Christmas lights on them in the shape of jingle bells. There is a green lawn and green trees framing the picture. It is late afternoon and the sky is blue.
October 22, 2024 at 11:33 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
Aurora and Tycho
Picture of black dog silhouette in front of a lake with green aurora low in the sky. The aurora is reflect on the lake
October 11, 2024 at 1:08 AM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
Congratulations to the astropy project!

But also congratulations to Tycho for slipping into the mosaic.
Black dog standing on a rock along a creek. Green leafy trees are on either side of the creek, which is filled with rocks. The black dog has a smile and his ears are back.
September 16, 2024 at 10:31 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
Have you taken NASA’s Open Science 101 course yet?

nasa.github.io/Transform-to...

The first 2,000 to complete OS101 training through the self-paced online platform by the end of the September are eligible to receive a limited edition physical certificate, and TOPS stickers!
An image of the NASA open science certificate, open science stickers including on that says I love NASA open science, and folder.
September 9, 2024 at 6:21 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
A Sunday hike with Tycho in one of our favorite spots in Maryland
A river running through the middle of forest. The trees are green with leaves and run along a sandy line along the banks of the river. A large, old log is in the foreground with most of the log out of the water. There is a black dog in the near, right corner of the image walking away from the camera. His tail is out of the water staying dry.
September 1, 2024 at 11:00 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
Some amazing data visualizations as part of the Beyond the Light exhibit at Artechouse, Houston.

www.artechouse.com/location/hou...
A projection onto multiple walls and the floor of space based imaging of the pillars of creation. The observations have been artistically rendered. There are orange filaments representing dust above star filled backgrounds with a mix of different colors of blue, black, and scatterings of red. Panels made of glass with representation of Earth data measuring ocean composition and temperature. There are four panels in a line. Each panel is clear with a visualization that apparels a mix of orange and pink feather like shapes flowing upwards on the panels.
August 28, 2024 at 10:02 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
Friday night hike with Tyhco!
Black dog pulling at a long leash with his ears up and his tongue out eager to keep hiking along a wooded path. Green trees are on either side of the path with the sun shining through the branches along the middle of the path.
August 24, 2024 at 1:03 AM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
For me, this is one of the main take aways:

A set of core data and computing services that different divisions can then build a range of services on top of that meet the needs of their communities. This provides effiencies along with flexibility.
A graphic with items grouped together by the provider of the items. Services provided by Divisions to support unique needs of Division user communities User Interface Services User interface services for person and machine-to- machine access and use of analysis services Analysis Services Analysis services that are accessed by the user interface services to support Open-Source Science Core Data and Computing Services deployed in collaboration with Divisions Data Services Data access and management services that support the analysis services IT Support Services IT support services for developing and running the user interface, analysis, data, and support services Cloud and Infrastructure Services Infrastructure services with interoperable access to other agency infrastructure services (e.g. computing, networking, communication, etc.) to host/provision the user interface, analysis, data, and IT support services
August 20, 2024 at 6:35 PM
astrocrawford.bsky.social
Cape Town showing off today
Table Mountain with yellow wild flowers I. Front of it and a bright blue sky above it. The mountain has green slopes that give way to the brown and white flat peaks
August 16, 2024 at 1:34 PM