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bensutlieff.bsky.social
Ben Sutlieff
@bensutlieff.bsky.social
410 followers 190 following 40 posts
Astronomy postdoc at the University of Edinburgh, researching exoplanets and their atmospheres through direct imaging 🪐 He/Him 🔭 Previously in Amsterdam & Exeter.
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bensutlieff.bsky.social
Ben Sutlieff @bensutlieff.bsky.social · Nov 16
Hi new followers! Seems like a good time for an #introduction post - I'm Ben, a postdoctoral researcher in astronomy based in Edinburgh. I study the atmospheres & weather of exoplanets (and brown dwarfs, their higher mass cousins) using observations from telescopes both on the ground and in space 🪐🔭
The artwork from the cover of my PhD thesis. A large red gas giant exoplanet can be seen. It has bands of clouds and a large storm, similar to the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, in its atmosphere. Two small blue moons orbit nearby. The background is the dark of space, but not black alone - there are also faint blue swirls. There are swirly, red, cloud-like features in the foreground at the top and bottom, partially obscuring the rest of the image. The artwork was designed by @sophiecavelldesign and is partially inspired by the works of Hokusai and van Gogh.
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
mattkenworthy.bsky.social
My periodic reminder for #astrosci #astrodon #exoplanets Early Career Researchers to please, please, please have a simple web site with your current email address on it - rationale here: kenworthy.space/advice/
A pen sketch of a web page for an astronomer, showing name, email, optional phone number, and professional contact details, with a one sentence summary of their research and an ADS link.
September 12, 2025 at 4:22 AM
bensutlieff.bsky.social
Swapped ‘on sky’ in the astronomical sense for ‘on Skye’ in the Scottish sense last week - I’d been meaning to visit this stunningly beautiful place since moving to Edinburgh and it definitely lived up to expectations! So many amazing hikes and things to see (+ we even had surprisingly good weather)
A selfie of me smiling in front of The Storr, a mountain on the Trotternish peninsula of the Isle of Skye in Scotland, which has several unique jagged rock formations. The view from the summit of Blà Bheinn, a mountain on the Isle of Skye that has stunning views over a large area of the island including the Black Cuillin ridge, a famous mountain range that gets its name from the dark colour of the gabbro rock it is composed of. A photo of the cliffs at Neist Point, the headland that represents the westernmost point of the Isle of Skye. There is a yellow and white lighthouse on the top of the cliffs with green hills in the foreground. There is a seabird colony on the cliffs themselves, perched high above the sea. A photo of Dun Beag Broch shortly after sunset. Dun Beag Broch is an iron-age broch, largely in ruins today but the walls can still be seen. There are mountains in the distance and the sky is a sunset gradient of blue to orange.
June 20, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
mattkenworthy.bsky.social
Together with Sebastiaan Haffert our review on “High-Contrast Coronagraphy” is out - writing an ARA&A review has been on my academic bucket list, and I’m very proud of the result. It uses the showyourwork! framework, making it a completely reproducible paper. #FAIR #astrodon #exoplanets
Different telescope mirror apertures and their resultant point spread functions.
June 4, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
oxoplanets.bsky.social
Congratulations to Dr Ben Sutlieff (@bensutlieff.bsky.social) for his pop up talk describing his poster about mapping exoplanet atmospheres with ground based observations 🔭 #ukexom25
April 1, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
profsera.bsky.social
Please help us get the word out: our 6 wk astrophysics 🧪🔭summer research program for international MSc students is open for application! Note this is aimed at students from disadvantaged regions or under-represented groups in astro! I will host one position on black holes ⚫️!

aspire.science.uva.nl
ASPIRE
aspire.science.uva.nl
February 19, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
mattkenworthy.bsky.social
With astronomy job season approaching, if you’re a PhD or early postdoc, PLEASE make a webpage and put your current contact details on it, so that searching for “< your name > astronomer” finds you first - more explanation how and why here: Unsolicited Advice #astrodon 🔭🪐
August 30, 2024 at 10:39 AM
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
emollick.bsky.social
Sharks are older than the rings of Saturn.

This paper finds that the rings are no older than 400M years. Sharks date back to at least the Late Ordovician Period, 450M years ago.
December 8, 2024 at 6:54 AM
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
brionya.bsky.social
Lovely to go on the Dirleton Solar Walk and see some of what @bensutlieff.bsky.social has been up to 🪐
Would definitely recommend, and Neptune is near a great garden centre if you need cake motivation.
bensutlieff.bsky.social Ben Sutlieff @bensutlieff.bsky.social · Dec 6
Very excited to be at the opening of the Dirleton Solar Walk today - a scale model of our Solar System in the East Lothian countryside, placed over 1.2km of the John Muir Way walking route! 🪐🔭 This was a really fun project to support and I highly recommend it for those local, esp. for kids/families!
A sign showing a map of the Dirleton Solar Walk, with information describing its scale (1:3.6 billon) and instructions on how to access its augmented reality features for each planet. Myself next to the marker for the planet Jupiter, which consists of a fence post with a sign on top showing an artistic representation of Jupiter and a metallic ball representing its relative size according to the scale. There is also a QR code linking to information about the planet and an AR representation. The marker for the planet Saturn, with a view of the countryside around Dirleton. Myself and my colleague Gergely Friss attempting to demonstrate the augmented reality visualisation of the planet Neptune. I am trying to hold the planet but my hands are in totally the wrong place.
December 6, 2024 at 5:15 PM
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
astroroyalscot.bsky.social
Calling the Lothians - fancy an autumnal planet walk?

The beautiful historic village of #Dirleton is proud to announce that dirleton.solar is open! 🥳😎

Take a stroll from the Sun in the village through to Neptune at the Archerfield Walled Gardens. Scan the QR codes for planet-facts en route! 🔭
A leafy grassy verge, surrounded by trees, sports a tall pole with a silver orb on top. This is the start of the Dirleton solar walk. A sign showing the location of all the planets. It reads "welcome to the Direction Solar Walk" with a cute walking astronaut cartoon logo Inside on a table and all lined up are the planet markers before they were installed in the outside. You can see the swirly pinks on Jupiter and the pockmarks on mercury. Bluer planets for Neptune uranyst and earth are in the distance with red mars right at the end of the table A wooden marker saying "Earth" with a perspex earth like planet on the top. The autumnal leaves scatter the grass verge with trees surround a sort of grassy paddock in the background.
October 12, 2024 at 10:54 AM
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
mikechristie.bsky.social
For those in Scotland, Dan Arnold has just completed the Dirleton Solar Walk - dirleton.solar - a scale model of the solar system, with help from @astroroyalscot.bsky.social , @bensutlieff.bsky.social , @astronomyedinburgh.bsky.social and others listed on the supporters page. #astronomy
Discover the wonders of space and the Solar System with the Dirleton Solar Walk | Dirleton Solar System Scale Model
Discover the solar system, one step at a time through our 1:3.6 billion scale model. Spanning 1.2km between Dirleton Village and Archerfield Walled Gardens, experience the enormity of our solar system...
dirleton.solar
October 8, 2024 at 12:50 PM
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
mark-nicol.bsky.social
Just found out that some of the talented people at work helped with this project to make a walk that takes you through the solar system in the very lovely heart of East Lothian.

Definitely on the list to try out soon.

dirleton.solar/flight-plan
Getting there. Plan your journey to the Dirleton Solar Walk | Dirleton Solar System Scale Model
Plan your visit to the Dirleton Solar Walk using our maps, tips and information. Once you are here, explore our great local facilities, making use of our detailed map or what3words location markers. ...
dirleton.solar
December 6, 2024 at 8:00 AM
bensutlieff.bsky.social
Very excited to be at the opening of the Dirleton Solar Walk today - a scale model of our Solar System in the East Lothian countryside, placed over 1.2km of the John Muir Way walking route! 🪐🔭 This was a really fun project to support and I highly recommend it for those local, esp. for kids/families!
A sign showing a map of the Dirleton Solar Walk, with information describing its scale (1:3.6 billon) and instructions on how to access its augmented reality features for each planet. Myself next to the marker for the planet Jupiter, which consists of a fence post with a sign on top showing an artistic representation of Jupiter and a metallic ball representing its relative size according to the scale. There is also a QR code linking to information about the planet and an AR representation. The marker for the planet Saturn, with a view of the countryside around Dirleton. Myself and my colleague Gergely Friss attempting to demonstrate the augmented reality visualisation of the planet Neptune. I am trying to hold the planet but my hands are in totally the wrong place.
December 6, 2024 at 4:57 PM
bensutlieff.bsky.social
In Dundee yesterday for the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance Annual Cormack Astronomy Meeting (longest conference name ever? 🔭) with @agastro.bsky.social, @dirkscholte.bsky.social, and others. A full day of talks, but still managed to sneak in a little bit of sunrise sightseeing!
The RSS Discovery, a historic barque-rigged auxiliary steamship built in Dundee and launched in 1901. It carried Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton on their first journey to the Antarctic. It is now a museum ship in Dundee. A view over the River Tay, just before sunrise. The sky is yellow and the water is reflective like a mirror. A bird (a cormorant, I think) is swimming by. The McManus art gallery in Dundee. It is an impressive gothic revival building with green trees on either side and a curved staircase leading up to the main entrance. The view as seen from Dundee Law (a hill in Dundee) shortly after sunrise, with the sun low in the sky to the east. The city below is in the foreground with the River Tay behind it. The Tay Rail Bridge over the river can be seen.
December 5, 2024 at 10:36 PM
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
andrealuck.bsky.social
Reposting this video because I think everyone needs to see it. We’re so used to seeing Martian dust storms in movies, but this is actual footage, this is real! 🔭
andrealuck.bsky.social Andrea Luck @andrealuck.bsky.social · Nov 11
Dust Storm Conditions over Mars ' North Polar Cap

Full size video: flic.kr/p/2qtp1Vt 🔭
Full size 5k image: flic.kr/p/2qto3Uy

Credits:
Processing: AndreaLuck CC BY
Raw Data: ESA/DLR/FUBerlin

ESA Mars Express 2006-11-16

All timestamps & additional info are available on Flickr in the links above.
December 1, 2024 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
kevinmgill.bsky.social
An enormous 5,000 kilometer wide storm in Jupiter’s north polar region. Imaged by NASA’s Juno orbiter on November 24th during Perijove 67 approach.
A huge circular storm NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill
November 26, 2024 at 10:33 PM
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
philipmuirhead.bsky.social
Check out BU PhD-student @alliemccarthy.bsky.social's paper just accepted to ApJL! JWST spectral light curves of SIMP 0136 show clear pressure-dependence, indicating three variability mechanisms: clouds, hot spots and C chemistry. @johannavos.bsky.social is the JWST PI! arxiv.org/abs/2411.16577
The JWST Weather Report from the Isolated Exoplanet Analog SIMP 0136+0933: Pressure-Dependent Variability Driven by Multiple Mechanisms
Isolated planetary-mass objects share their mass range with planets but do not orbit a star. They lack the necessary mass to support fusion in their cores and thermally radiate their heat from formati...
arxiv.org
November 26, 2024 at 3:07 PM
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
thejason.wang
Optimist: The cup is half full
Pessimist: The cup is half empty
Exoplanetary scientist: We've detected water in the cup!
chanda.blacksky.app Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · Nov 23
Optimist: The cup is half full
Pessimist: The cup is half empty
Cosmologist: The cup is dusty or full of gravitational waves
jwuphysics.bsky.social John F Wu @jwuphysics.bsky.social · Nov 23
Optimist: The cup is half full
Pessimist: The cup is half empty
Astronomer: This is a high metallicity sightline
November 23, 2024 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
interplanetary.bsky.social
These are the planets to scale not only in size, but also in their tilt and rotation speed. Pluto and Ceres (a couple of dwarf planets) are included whether you like them or not 🫣
November 18, 2024 at 10:48 PM
bensutlieff.bsky.social
Finally got to experience a snow day at the observatory!! I only wish I had a sledge… 🔭☃️ (also saw this excellent snowman on Blackford Hill for which I cannot take credit)
A selfie of me in front of the Royal Observatory Edinburgh. There is a lot of snow on the ground, with some grass poking through and a few scattered trees. A view of a snow-covered Arthur’s Seat (an extinct volcano in Edinburgh) as seen from Blackford Hill. A landscape shot showing the snow on Blackford Hill and the Braid Hills beyond. In the far distance, the much taller Pentland Hills can just about be seen through some clouds. A radio mast is visible on the right. A very happy snowman (not built by me!) with a large smile and sticks for arms on Blackford Hill. Arthur’s Seat can be seen in the background on the right, as well as Edinburgh Castle on the left.
November 23, 2024 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
apod.shinyakato.dev
🔭 Undulatus Clouds over Las Campanas Observatory - ©Yuri Beletsky

apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap24111...
What's happening with these clouds? While it may seem that these long and thin clouds are pointing toward the top of a hill, and that maybe a world-famous observatory is located there, only part of that is true. In terms of clouds, the formation is a chance superposition of impressively periodic undulating air currents in Earth's lower atmosphere. Undulatus, a type of Asperitas cloud, form at the peaks where the air is cool enough to cause the condensation of opaque water droplets. The wide-angle nature of the panorama creates the illusion that the clouds converge over the hill. In terms of land, there really is a world-famous observatory at the top of that peak: the Carnegie Science's Las Campanas Observatory in the Atacama Desert of Chile. The two telescope domes visible are the 6.5-meter Magellan Telescopes. The featured coincidental vista was a surprise but was captured by the phone of a quick-thinking photographer in late September. Your Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)
November 19, 2024 at 8:00 AM
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
andrealuck.bsky.social
JWST observations of the ice giant Uranus over 1 year!

Full size, more info & single images: flic.kr/p/2pUN7Ec 🔭

Credit
Processing: Andrea Luck CC BY
Raw Data: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI

3 Frames
2023-02-06, 2023-09-04 PI: Klaus Pontoppidan, JPL
2024-02-06 PI: Naomi Rowe-Gurney, RAS
November 22, 2024 at 2:22 PM
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
statto.bsky.social
There’s more to rainbows than the human eye can see: here’s how a rainbow extends into the infrared and ultraviolet.

Photos:
1. Infrared
2. Visible (obviously)
3. Ultraviolet, and
4. A composite showing how UV is beyond the violet in a rainbow, and IR beyond the red end.

🧪 #photography
An infrared photo of a rainbow: a strange, ghostly-looking rainbow in a mostly black and white photo, with a faintly red outer edge and a cyan inner edge, and what look like a few even fainter ‘echo’ bows inside A regular visible-light pic of a rainbow An ultraviolet picture of a rainbow: a dark, foreboding landscape with a deep purple stripe emanating from it, and a grey stripe inside A composite of the three preceding photos, showing that the infrared bow is ‘outside’ the visible light rainbow, and the ultraviolet bow ‘inside’
November 21, 2024 at 10:35 AM
Reposted by Ben Sutlieff
benjaminpope.bsky.social
Applications are open til April 30 2025 for international applicants to do a Masters + PhD combo with me in astrostatistics at Macquarie University in Sydney!

www.mq.edu.au/research/phd...
Macquarie central square Macquarie lawns and theatre
November 21, 2024 at 3:01 AM
bensutlieff.bsky.social
The view from the roof of Edinburgh’s Royal Observatory today - beautiful blue skies, but it’s definitely starting to feel like winter here (morning frost, peak temperature of 1°C, sunset before 4pm) ☀️🥶🔭
The view as seen from the roof of the Royal Observatory Edinburgh. Arthur’s Seat (a well known hill and extinct volcano) can be seen in the centre, with the sea behind it. Before the hill, many houses can be seen. In the foreground there are several bare trees. The sky is blue and mostly clear, with only a couple of small clouds above Arthur’s Seat.
November 20, 2024 at 1:05 PM
bensutlieff.bsky.social
Delighted to welcome my friend and astrophotographer extraordinaire @joshduryphotomedia.bsky.social to Bluesky! 🔭 #astrophotography
joshduryphotomedia.bsky.social Josh Dury @joshduryphotomedia.bsky.social · Nov 19
Thank you for having me #Bluesky! This is my first post where I saw my #nasa #apod of the #perseidmeteorshower over #stonehenge #unesco has already hit over 30K!! Thank you all!! 🙏🏻

#astrophotography #astrophoto #meteorshower #nightsky #shootingstar 📷🔭✨
November 19, 2024 at 11:17 PM