Jennifer L. Hoffman ✨😷
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astroprofhoff.bsky.social
Jennifer L. Hoffman ✨😷
@astroprofhoff.bsky.social
4.5K followers 1.9K following 1.2K posts
Astronomer, professor, birder, singer, cat communer (she/her)
University of Denver, @chamberlin-obs.bsky.social
Past Grand Canyon Astronomer in Residence
Posts Replies Media Videos
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
Okay, I've volunteered to be a media contact person for stories about this week's amazing #aurorae. Scientists, what are your favorite fun facts or useful similes? Non-scientists, what questions do you have that I could try to answer? 🔭🧪

Definitely mentioning that you can get an #auroraselfie!
Aurora selfie! Jennifer Hoffman, a white woman with short red hair, stands in front of a nighttime neighborhood scene. A curving red curtain of northern lights arches above her head.
November 12, 2025 at 4:59 PM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
🚨HEY DENVER, GO LOOK AT THE SKY!!! 🚨

Never seen aurorae this good before. 🤯 They were totally naked-eye around 9:45pm from south Denver, bright red and green. They're coming and going, so if you don't see anything at first, try again later!

Pics with an iPhone 13, 3-sec exposures
A night scene of pink streaky aurorae above a lit building A night scene of pink and green aurorae behind silhouettes of trees and power lines A night scene of red aurorae with a flamelike structure, behind houses and trees
November 12, 2025 at 5:20 AM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
I saw this from the ground! Naked eye, best one I've ever seen!
A night sky with bright pink and green aurorae behind tree silhouettes
November 12, 2025 at 5:15 AM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
ALSO SLEEPY
Three tawny and spotty lion cubs sleep in a pile on a grey rock. One face with closed eyes and cute black nose is visible, and one back foot shows black toe beans.
November 3, 2025 at 6:56 PM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
Even better: my zoo has FOUR of them!
Four tawny lion cubs with big round ears sitting on a big gray rock in various poses of cuteness
November 3, 2025 at 6:07 PM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
Have a cute lion cub. 💛
A small tawny lion cub with big round ears and enormous paws rests on a sunny rock, gazing to the left with round eyes and a half-smile.
November 3, 2025 at 6:07 AM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
Got in some prime comet viewing tonight with my class! (2025 A6 Lemmon, taken near Larkspur, CO)
A comet with a greenish fuzzy head and a diffuse tail with a central bright streamer, seen against a black starry background. Caption says “Seestar S50, C-2025 A6, 3min” and gives the coordinates of the park where I took the photo.
October 20, 2025 at 5:53 AM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
Where I skeet from
A twilight park scene with red and yellow trees against a pastel sky
October 18, 2025 at 4:08 AM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
Late summer trip up Mt. Blue Sky. Aspens are still green, but there’s a dusting of snow at the summit!
A mountain scene with green sunlit trees in the foreground, pine-covered peaks in the background, and puffy grey and white clouds filing the sky. View of a mountain lake (Echo Lake, Colorado) from above. The lake is a pale blue irregular oval surrounded by dark green pine trees. Mountain peaks are in the distance and the sky is cloudy. Mountain tundra scene with grey-brown rocks poking out of a thin layer of snow. Tattered dark grey clouds screen much of the distance, but at left a few faraway ridges are visible.
August 26, 2025 at 9:12 PM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
Hi everyone! I'm Jennifer, an astronomer at the U. of Denver. I study binary stars and supernova explosions, specifically the interesting shapes created by gas and dust in both. I also direct our local observatory, @chamberlin-obs.bsky.social, and am a former Grand Canyon Astronomer in Residence!
Jennifer Hoffman, a woman with short red hair wearing a dark blue blouse, looks up at the eyepiece of a large refracting telescope, the 20" telescope at Chamberlin Observatory. The dome slit is open in the background and various pulleys and dials are visible. Animated gif showing the outward movement of dust in the spirals around WR140, a binary star observed by JWST. From Lieb et al. 2025, Astrophysical Journal Letters, 979, L3. HST images of the galaxy NGC 4790, a fluffy, nearly face-on spiral galaxy. Insets show before and after images of the supernova SN 2012au. Image credit NASA / ESA / J. DePasquale, STScI. Upcoming paper by DeSoto et al. in the Astrophysical Journal studies this explosion. Jennifer Hoffman, a woman with short red hair and wearing sunglasses and a purple coat, stands in front of a Grand Canyon landscape with blue sky, red rocks, and green plateaus.
August 20, 2025 at 11:54 PM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
Dumbbell Nebula looking lovely tonight. Thanks to @denverastro.bsky.social for a fun evening!

Taken with my Seestar S50 from the lawn outside @chamberlin-obs.bsky.social.
A bright, oval nebula in shades of teal and orange against a starry background. Caption: “Seestar S50, M27, Denver / 2025.07.19 22:50, 15min.”
July 20, 2025 at 5:20 AM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
Badminton offers a sympathetic paw 😻
A grey and white cat lies curled on his side on a purple sheet. His right front and right rear paws are extended, showing pink pads. He appears to be gazing thoughtfully into the middle distance.
July 14, 2025 at 2:56 AM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
Our SPS group circulated this:
Butterfly meme: a physicist looks at any physical system and asks "Is this a harmonic oscillator?"
June 26, 2025 at 6:33 PM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
This is my sister’s ridiculous beast.
A very large cat sprawls on the floor, exposing an enormous expanse of white belly. His tail rings and the sides of his ears are orange. His head is upside down and his front paws are in the air.
June 24, 2025 at 3:01 AM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
I was lucky enough to see both the sunrise and the sunset on the longest day of the year from the Colorado mountains! Happy #solstice!
A building and trees in silhouette in front of a sunrise sky, shading from blue at the top to pink and yellow at the bottom. A crescent Moon is visible at upper right. Mountains and pine trees in silhouette in front of a sunset sky. The sun is a yellow half circle on the horizon. The sky is orange near it and pale blue farther away.
June 23, 2025 at 12:48 AM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
#Denver #astronomy fans, come over to @chamberlin-obs.bsky.social tonight for some stargazing! I'll be there along with the physics students from @uofdenver.bsky.social and the lovely people from @denverastro.bsky.social . ✨🔭
Details --> www.denverastro.org
A red brick observatory building with a green door and a metal dome. It is dusk, the dome slit is open, and there are two bright lights on the outside of the building.
June 1, 2025 at 1:25 AM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
Proof:
A grey cat with white feet lies on a wood floor holding a cat toy in his front paws. It's a Kickeroo, a long stuffed cylinder with a soft tail.
May 5, 2025 at 2:23 AM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
These purple tulips in my yard 💜
A flowerbed with tulips of various colors: dark purple-black, magenta, light pink, and creamy white.
May 2, 2025 at 6:22 AM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
Storm’s a’comin
Four glass vases full of cut spring flowers from my garden sit on a dining table. White and purple grape hyacinths, white and yellow daffodils, yellow and red tulips. It’s supposed to snow 4” tomorrow, so I wanted to save them.
April 18, 2025 at 3:12 AM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
Here's my ridiculous house goblin. Sending purrs your way.
A grey and white cat is rolling on his back on a brown blanket, exposing his floofy white belly. He is mid-yawn so all his fangs are on display. His white paws are all curled up and his tail is meeting his nose. Possibly the silliest cat pose ever.
April 6, 2025 at 5:05 PM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
Happy bird-day! 🎂 We found a Clark’s nutcracker nest on our spring break trip to northern NM. Sorry for terrible phone photo 😀
A bird in silhouette atop a dead tree, against a blue-gray sky. It’s a Clark’s nutcracker, I promise 😅
March 30, 2025 at 5:35 PM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
He is so handsome! Here is my business cat with distinguished nose stripe:
A grey cat with white bib and paws, white nose stripe, and yellow eyes sits comfortably on a person’s chest, gazing off to the right.
March 29, 2025 at 5:37 AM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
If you see this, skeet or quote reskeet a tree.

One of my favorite shots from my time at the Grand Canyon.
A sunset shot with a gnarled and twisted tree trunk in the foreground. In the background, a silver river winds through a dusky gray and orange canyon landscape. The tree and the river have very similar curved shapes.
March 10, 2025 at 5:53 AM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
Hello, Mercury! 🪶 #planets #astronomy
A twilight sky fading from dark blue at the top to pale yellow at the bottom, with black silhouettes of trees and houses in the foreground. At the top, Venus looks like a bright white dot, and a young crescent Moon is below it and to the left. Underneath them, almost to the horizon, a yellow arrow shows Mercury as a faint point of light.
March 2, 2025 at 1:38 AM
astroprofhoff.bsky.social
Said goodbye to this beautiful affectionate girl a year ago today. Still gutted by her absence. 😭#CatsofBluesky
A black, tan, and grey striped tabby cat with expressive light green eyes and a tiny white nose streak reclines on her human's chest, gazing up at the camera and reaching forward with a white paw.
February 7, 2025 at 7:05 PM