Bruce Macintosh
@bmacastro.bsky.social
Astronomer working on imaging extrasolar planets, instrumentation, and science policy. Spare time involves hiking with a golden retriever, and not playing enough boardgames.
Director, University of California Observatories, but opinions are my own. He/him
Director, University of California Observatories, but opinions are my own. He/him
This is a pretty darn important election here in California for an odd-numbered year. Get out there!
November 4, 2025 at 3:08 AM
This is a pretty darn important election here in California for an odd-numbered year. Get out there!
October 29, 2025 at 12:24 AM
This is going to sound corny, but to me, @ucmerced.bsky.social 's vibe was...hopeful. Building something excellent and new for the very best of reasons, to teach the students of California.
Also the adorable bobcat is now tied with the UCSC slug for my favorite UC mascot.
Also the adorable bobcat is now tied with the UCSC slug for my favorite UC mascot.
October 24, 2025 at 7:50 PM
This is going to sound corny, but to me, @ucmerced.bsky.social 's vibe was...hopeful. Building something excellent and new for the very best of reasons, to teach the students of California.
Also the adorable bobcat is now tied with the UCSC slug for my favorite UC mascot.
Also the adorable bobcat is now tied with the UCSC slug for my favorite UC mascot.
SGL is the most likely one I was thinking of (though to be fair 10km is hard.) See for example arxiv.org/abs/2002.11871 or arxiv.org/abs/2204.13811
August 11, 2025 at 9:33 PM
SGL is the most likely one I was thinking of (though to be fair 10km is hard.) See for example arxiv.org/abs/2002.11871 or arxiv.org/abs/2204.13811
Other highlights include the mandatory chile enchiladas with egg, and a very nice hike up Tortuga Mountain with Eric Nielsen and the students of the exoplanet/young stars group, including excellent corgis.
May 4, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Other highlights include the mandatory chile enchiladas with egg, and a very nice hike up Tortuga Mountain with Eric Nielsen and the students of the exoplanet/young stars group, including excellent corgis.
Fortunately there's actually a considerable literature on extrasolar plants, for example O'Malley-James & Kaltenegger 2019.
May 4, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Fortunately there's actually a considerable literature on extrasolar plants, for example O'Malley-James & Kaltenegger 2019.
Back from a nice visit to New Mexico State University. Based on the departmental poster I realized the audience might want something different so I responded accordingly.
May 4, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Back from a nice visit to New Mexico State University. Based on the departmental poster I realized the audience might want something different so I responded accordingly.
Does it look something like this?
April 29, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Does it look something like this?
Meanwhile: we're doing the first full cooldown of the upgraded spectrograph for the Gemini Planet Imager.
February 20, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Meanwhile: we're doing the first full cooldown of the upgraded spectrograph for the Gemini Planet Imager.
We got a couple of pounds of fresh mochi from a friends' church that does a large-scale Mochisuki. (Pre-covid we helped out on the assembly line.)
December 30, 2024 at 7:10 PM
We got a couple of pounds of fresh mochi from a friends' church that does a large-scale Mochisuki. (Pre-covid we helped out on the assembly line.)
Bluesky didn't seem to animate the previous GIF so here's a movie version. Kept in this loop forever. I'm pretty sure I am human, but what do I know?
December 29, 2024 at 10:07 PM
Bluesky didn't seem to animate the previous GIF so here's a movie version. Kept in this loop forever. I'm pretty sure I am human, but what do I know?
Researchgate ("The Pinterest of science") seems utterly unwilling to believe I am human and I am peculiarly insulted.
December 29, 2024 at 6:54 PM
Researchgate ("The Pinterest of science") seems utterly unwilling to believe I am human and I am peculiarly insulted.
These are model Gundams from Bandai. Snap together, decorate with stickers and markers so no painting (at least for me). This one is a super-deformed (chibi) version of the XV-016 Aerial.
December 25, 2024 at 10:01 PM
These are model Gundams from Bandai. Snap together, decorate with stickers and markers so no painting (at least for me). This one is a super-deformed (chibi) version of the XV-016 Aerial.
Build (adorable) model mecha
December 13, 2024 at 11:50 PM
Build (adorable) model mecha
Note that is unknown whether most extrasolar planets are coated with a thin layer of olive oil, so these are not perfect analogs. But promising! I have added the cauliflower boundary to this figure from a great paper by Kielan Hoch, arxiv.org/abs/2212.04557
December 1, 2024 at 10:21 PM
Note that is unknown whether most extrasolar planets are coated with a thin layer of olive oil, so these are not perfect analogs. But promising! I have added the cauliflower boundary to this figure from a great paper by Kielan Hoch, arxiv.org/abs/2212.04557
Result: cauliflower heated to temperatures lower than the typical hot jupiter loses 40% of its mass, almost half of its water, and hence a lot of its oxygen. This gives a C/O ratio of 0.35, consistent with the hot jupiters.
December 1, 2024 at 10:21 PM
Result: cauliflower heated to temperatures lower than the typical hot jupiter loses 40% of its mass, almost half of its water, and hence a lot of its oxygen. This gives a C/O ratio of 0.35, consistent with the hot jupiters.
This is similar to many extrasolar planets. See for example this figure from the excellent Thorngren, @jjfplanet.bsky.social et al arxiv.org/abs/1511.07854 to which I have helpfully added what I hope will be known going forward as the the Macintosh-Marley Cauliflower Boundary.
December 1, 2024 at 10:21 PM
This is similar to many extrasolar planets. See for example this figure from the excellent Thorngren, @jjfplanet.bsky.social et al arxiv.org/abs/1511.07854 to which I have helpfully added what I hope will be known going forward as the the Macintosh-Marley Cauliflower Boundary.
We used the PSDI propagation software to model GPI, and worked with an EUVL-inspired vendor (Precision Asphere) to polish individual mirrors in GPI to < 1 nm RMS. (Measurement here is just from a commercial Zygote)
November 16, 2024 at 10:55 PM
We used the PSDI propagation software to model GPI, and worked with an EUVL-inspired vendor (Precision Asphere) to polish individual mirrors in GPI to < 1 nm RMS. (Measurement here is just from a commercial Zygote)
We used this technology to characterize optics for GPI, especially the MEMS deformable mirror, and show that we could flatten the DM to <1 nm absolute accuracy, precision, and stability.
November 16, 2024 at 10:55 PM
We used this technology to characterize optics for GPI, especially the MEMS deformable mirror, and show that we could flatten the DM to <1 nm absolute accuracy, precision, and stability.
LLNL also developed what was probably the world's most advanced precision interferometer, the lensless phase-shifting diffraction interferometer (PSDI). Led by the brilliant Gary Sommargren, it used a tiny perfect pinhole to make a perfect spherical wavefront, embedded in a superpolished surface
November 16, 2024 at 10:55 PM
LLNL also developed what was probably the world's most advanced precision interferometer, the lensless phase-shifting diffraction interferometer (PSDI). Led by the brilliant Gary Sommargren, it used a tiny perfect pinhole to make a perfect spherical wavefront, embedded in a superpolished surface
NSF CV-generation submittal certification is disturbingly specific.
November 14, 2024 at 3:52 AM
NSF CV-generation submittal certification is disturbingly specific.
Since we're doing SL9 anniversary, here's the Keck Observatory sequence of an impact - the fireball (1300 km high!) becomes visible over the edge of Jupiter. Raw IR data with a terrible camera and a small field of view and still amazing. (Imke de Pater, James Graham, Mike Liu, and @plutokiller.com
July 17, 2024 at 1:08 AM
Since we're doing SL9 anniversary, here's the Keck Observatory sequence of an impact - the fireball (1300 km high!) becomes visible over the edge of Jupiter. Raw IR data with a terrible camera and a small field of view and still amazing. (Imke de Pater, James Graham, Mike Liu, and @plutokiller.com
And, finally, the awesome coronagraph(sitting quietly in its box under an extra layer of dust protection because it is that special.)
June 16, 2024 at 3:00 AM
And, finally, the awesome coronagraph(sitting quietly in its box under an extra layer of dust protection because it is that special.)
The snoot-shield somewhat later as they tested stowing/deploying it.
June 16, 2024 at 2:59 AM
The snoot-shield somewhat later as they tested stowing/deploying it.