Prof. Abel Méndez
@profabelmendez.bsky.social
Planetary Astrobiologist and Director of the
@PlanetaryHabLab. http://astrodon.social/@profabelmendez #exoplanets #astrobiology #habitability
@PlanetaryHabLab. http://astrodon.social/@profabelmendez #exoplanets #astrobiology #habitability
Pinned
New Study Narrows the Hunt for the Source of the Mysterious 1977 “Wow! Signal” phl.upr.edu/wow #AreciboWow #Astrophysics #SETI #WowSignal
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
It’s SKA Pulsar Day!!
It’s been more than a decade since the previous science case for the SKA was published. So a bunch of us pulsar astronomers put together an update!
🔭☄️
arxiv.org/abs/2512.16152
It’s been more than a decade since the previous science case for the SKA was published. So a bunch of us pulsar astronomers put together an update!
🔭☄️
arxiv.org/abs/2512.16152
Pulsar Science with the SKA Observatory
The large instantaneous sensitivity, a wide frequency coverage and flexible observation modes with large number of beams in the sky are the main features of the SKA observatory's two telescopes, the S...
arxiv.org
December 19, 2025 at 9:14 AM
It’s SKA Pulsar Day!!
It’s been more than a decade since the previous science case for the SKA was published. So a bunch of us pulsar astronomers put together an update!
🔭☄️
arxiv.org/abs/2512.16152
It’s been more than a decade since the previous science case for the SKA was published. So a bunch of us pulsar astronomers put together an update!
🔭☄️
arxiv.org/abs/2512.16152
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
#BlackHoles are notorious for gobbling up everything that comes their way, but new ALMA research shows that supermassive black holes can be picky eaters.
Even with plenty of "food" nearby, many black holes are only nibbling - or seemingly refusing to eat.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #ALMA
Even with plenty of "food" nearby, many black holes are only nibbling - or seemingly refusing to eat.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #ALMA
Super Massive Black Holes May Be Picky Eaters
Black holes are notorious for gobbling up everything that comes their way, but astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter...
public.nrao.edu
December 19, 2025 at 8:43 PM
#BlackHoles are notorious for gobbling up everything that comes their way, but new ALMA research shows that supermassive black holes can be picky eaters.
Even with plenty of "food" nearby, many black holes are only nibbling - or seemingly refusing to eat.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #ALMA
Even with plenty of "food" nearby, many black holes are only nibbling - or seemingly refusing to eat.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #ALMA
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
A 45-Year-Old Mystery Solved: The Van Horne Hydrogen Cloud phl.upr.edu/wow/clouds #astrophysics #radioastronomy #AreciboWow #seti #WowSignal phl.upr.edu/wow/clouds
December 18, 2025 at 5:26 PM
A 45-Year-Old Mystery Solved: The Van Horne Hydrogen Cloud phl.upr.edu/wow/clouds #astrophysics #radioastronomy #AreciboWow #seti #WowSignal phl.upr.edu/wow/clouds
A Unified Explanation for Fast Radio Bursts aasnova.org/2025/12/10/a... #radioastronomy
A Unified Explanation for Fast Radio Bursts - AAS Nova
Researchers examine the possibility that one-off and repeating fast radio bursts could both arise from magnetars.
aasnova.org
December 19, 2025 at 1:17 PM
A Unified Explanation for Fast Radio Bursts aasnova.org/2025/12/10/a... #radioastronomy
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
We've added a tool to upload your published parameters to the NASA Exoplanet Archive! This tool can help us get your new planets and planet parameters onto the archive, so check it out and consider using for your next #exoplanet paper! 🔭🧪
exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/support/uplo...
exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/support/uplo...
Exoplanet Archive Published Data Submission Page
exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu
December 18, 2025 at 10:59 PM
We've added a tool to upload your published parameters to the NASA Exoplanet Archive! This tool can help us get your new planets and planet parameters onto the archive, so check it out and consider using for your next #exoplanet paper! 🔭🧪
exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/support/uplo...
exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/support/uplo...
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
#ThrowbackThursday Computer operators Sandy Braun (standing) and IBM employee Mary Jennings (sitting) in the Charlottesville computer room in 1967.
Every day, staff drove here with tapes of telescope data from Green Bank.
📸 Credit: NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #History #STEM
Every day, staff drove here with tapes of telescope data from Green Bank.
📸 Credit: NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #History #STEM
December 18, 2025 at 6:00 PM
#ThrowbackThursday Computer operators Sandy Braun (standing) and IBM employee Mary Jennings (sitting) in the Charlottesville computer room in 1967.
Every day, staff drove here with tapes of telescope data from Green Bank.
📸 Credit: NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #History #STEM
Every day, staff drove here with tapes of telescope data from Green Bank.
📸 Credit: NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #History #STEM
SETI Looked Beyond Habitable Exoplanets—and Found a New Way to Search for Alien Technology thedebrief.org/seti-looked-...
SETI Looked Beyond Habitable Exoplanets—and Found a New Way to Search for Alien Technology
Scientists searched 27 exoplanets for alien technology using planetary eclipses, revealing a new way SETI hunts signals beyond habitability.
thedebrief.org
December 18, 2025 at 7:27 PM
SETI Looked Beyond Habitable Exoplanets—and Found a New Way to Search for Alien Technology thedebrief.org/seti-looked-...
A 45-Year-Old Mystery Solved: The Van Horne Hydrogen Cloud phl.upr.edu/wow/clouds #astrophysics #radioastronomy #AreciboWow #seti #WowSignal phl.upr.edu/wow/clouds
December 18, 2025 at 5:26 PM
A 45-Year-Old Mystery Solved: The Van Horne Hydrogen Cloud phl.upr.edu/wow/clouds #astrophysics #radioastronomy #AreciboWow #seti #WowSignal phl.upr.edu/wow/clouds
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
New paper! Today it's warm CO emission from a nearby debris disk hosting A star led by @chardswiss.bsky.social: ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025arXi...
Just a gorgeous forest of CO lines between 4.46-5.06 micron!
Just a gorgeous forest of CO lines between 4.46-5.06 micron!
December 16, 2025 at 2:06 PM
New paper! Today it's warm CO emission from a nearby debris disk hosting A star led by @chardswiss.bsky.social: ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025arXi...
Just a gorgeous forest of CO lines between 4.46-5.06 micron!
Just a gorgeous forest of CO lines between 4.46-5.06 micron!
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
I got to meet Lisa Kaltenegger, director of the Carl Sagan Institute and the author of ALIEN EARTHS: The Science for Planet-Hunting in the Cosmos!
🪐🔭
#exoplanets #space #astronomy
🪐🔭
#exoplanets #space #astronomy
December 18, 2025 at 1:08 AM
I got to meet Lisa Kaltenegger, director of the Carl Sagan Institute and the author of ALIEN EARTHS: The Science for Planet-Hunting in the Cosmos!
🪐🔭
#exoplanets #space #astronomy
🪐🔭
#exoplanets #space #astronomy
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
Remember those red spots next to two white dwarf stars that looked like possible planets in JWST images that we found?
We just had a paper accepted that continues to tell the story.
We just had a paper accepted that continues to tell the story.
December 18, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Remember those red spots next to two white dwarf stars that looked like possible planets in JWST images that we found?
We just had a paper accepted that continues to tell the story.
We just had a paper accepted that continues to tell the story.
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
NSF VLA and ALMA Reveal Time-Stamps of Star Birth in Dazzling Cosmic Jet
New observations from ALMA, building on decades of VLA groundwork, have uncovered molecular rings in a stellar jet that act as time-stamped records of its past eruptions.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #ALMA #VLA
New observations from ALMA, building on decades of VLA groundwork, have uncovered molecular rings in a stellar jet that act as time-stamped records of its past eruptions.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #ALMA #VLA
NSF VLA and ALMA Reveal Time-Stamps of Star Birth in Dazzling Cosmic Jet - National Radio Astronomy Observatory
New NSF VLA and ALMA observations of the SVS 13 protostellar system reveal nested molecular rings that act as time‑stamped records of violent outbursts, confirming that jets from newborn stars faithfu...
public.nrao.edu
December 17, 2025 at 5:03 PM
NSF VLA and ALMA Reveal Time-Stamps of Star Birth in Dazzling Cosmic Jet
New observations from ALMA, building on decades of VLA groundwork, have uncovered molecular rings in a stellar jet that act as time-stamped records of its past eruptions.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #ALMA #VLA
New observations from ALMA, building on decades of VLA groundwork, have uncovered molecular rings in a stellar jet that act as time-stamped records of its past eruptions.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #ALMA #VLA
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
NEW: ALMA Helps Unmask Monster Black Hole Behind Record-Breaking Cosmic Burst
Astronomers used ALMA, NASA’s Chandra X-ray, and other telescopes to study AT 2024wpp, the most luminous fast blue optical transient (LFBOT) ever observed.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #ALMA
Astronomers used ALMA, NASA’s Chandra X-ray, and other telescopes to study AT 2024wpp, the most luminous fast blue optical transient (LFBOT) ever observed.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #ALMA
ALMA Helps Unmask Monster Black Hole Behind Record-Breaking Cosmic Burst - National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Astronomers have used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), of which the U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy...
public.nrao.edu
December 17, 2025 at 8:45 PM
NEW: ALMA Helps Unmask Monster Black Hole Behind Record-Breaking Cosmic Burst
Astronomers used ALMA, NASA’s Chandra X-ray, and other telescopes to study AT 2024wpp, the most luminous fast blue optical transient (LFBOT) ever observed.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #ALMA
Astronomers used ALMA, NASA’s Chandra X-ray, and other telescopes to study AT 2024wpp, the most luminous fast blue optical transient (LFBOT) ever observed.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #ALMA
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
SPIDERS is installed on the Subaru Naysmith platform and we got first fringes on from the upstream AO system. Next step, a real star!
Huge thanks to Subaru, NAOJ, and the SCExAO teams for accommodating us.
#exoplanets #instrumentation
Huge thanks to Subaru, NAOJ, and the SCExAO teams for accommodating us.
#exoplanets #instrumentation
December 9, 2025 at 8:27 PM
SPIDERS is installed on the Subaru Naysmith platform and we got first fringes on from the upstream AO system. Next step, a real star!
Huge thanks to Subaru, NAOJ, and the SCExAO teams for accommodating us.
#exoplanets #instrumentation
Huge thanks to Subaru, NAOJ, and the SCExAO teams for accommodating us.
#exoplanets #instrumentation
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
A great talk by final-year PhD candidate Morgan Saidel about atmospheric escape from hot Jupiters around F stars, and what we can learn from a large survey of these planets. #astronomy #exoplanets
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jh6...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jh6...
The First Dedicated Survey of Atmospheric Escape from Planets Orbiting Hot Stars
YouTube video by BOWIE+ Seminars
www.youtube.com
December 13, 2025 at 8:44 AM
A great talk by final-year PhD candidate Morgan Saidel about atmospheric escape from hot Jupiters around F stars, and what we can learn from a large survey of these planets. #astronomy #exoplanets
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jh6...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jh6...
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
Dr. Victoria Meadows leads the massively interdisciplinary NASA Virtual Planetary Laboratory, which she started in 2001 with the goal of developing a scientific foundation for the search for habitability and life beyond the Solar System. 🧪 🔭 👩🔬
#Exoplanets #Space #Science #SETI #NotJustAliens
#Exoplanets #Space #Science #SETI #NotJustAliens
December 13, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Dr. Victoria Meadows leads the massively interdisciplinary NASA Virtual Planetary Laboratory, which she started in 2001 with the goal of developing a scientific foundation for the search for habitability and life beyond the Solar System. 🧪 🔭 👩🔬
#Exoplanets #Space #Science #SETI #NotJustAliens
#Exoplanets #Space #Science #SETI #NotJustAliens
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
NASA lost contact with the MAVEN spacecraft orbiting Mars on Saturday.
They're working the problem in an attempt to reestablish contact with MAVEN.
There's no reason right now to suspect the spacecraft has been lost. It's just not phoning home when it should be.
science.nasa.gov/blogs/maven/...
They're working the problem in an attempt to reestablish contact with MAVEN.
There's no reason right now to suspect the spacecraft has been lost. It's just not phoning home when it should be.
science.nasa.gov/blogs/maven/...
NASA Teams Work MAVEN Spacecraft Signal Loss - NASA Science
NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft, in orbit around Mars, experienced a loss of signal with ground stations on Earth on Dec. 6.
science.nasa.gov
December 10, 2025 at 3:27 AM
NASA lost contact with the MAVEN spacecraft orbiting Mars on Saturday.
They're working the problem in an attempt to reestablish contact with MAVEN.
There's no reason right now to suspect the spacecraft has been lost. It's just not phoning home when it should be.
science.nasa.gov/blogs/maven/...
They're working the problem in an attempt to reestablish contact with MAVEN.
There's no reason right now to suspect the spacecraft has been lost. It's just not phoning home when it should be.
science.nasa.gov/blogs/maven/...
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
NEW: First Radio Detection of Rare Supernova Type, Revealing Secrets of Stellar Death
Brand new discovery from the Very Large Array! 💥 Astronomers have captured the first-ever radio signals from a rare class of stellar explosion known as a Type Ibn supernova.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #Supernova
Brand new discovery from the Very Large Array! 💥 Astronomers have captured the first-ever radio signals from a rare class of stellar explosion known as a Type Ibn supernova.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #Supernova
First Radio Detection of Rare Supernova Type, Revealing Secrets of Stellar Death
Astronomers using the NSF’s Very Large Array have detected the first-ever radio signals from a rare Type Ibn supernova, revealing how a massive star shed helium-rich material in its final years before...
public.nrao.edu
December 12, 2025 at 10:18 PM
NEW: First Radio Detection of Rare Supernova Type, Revealing Secrets of Stellar Death
Brand new discovery from the Very Large Array! 💥 Astronomers have captured the first-ever radio signals from a rare class of stellar explosion known as a Type Ibn supernova.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #Supernova
Brand new discovery from the Very Large Array! 💥 Astronomers have captured the first-ever radio signals from a rare class of stellar explosion known as a Type Ibn supernova.
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #Supernova
I’d bet we solve the origin of the Wow! Signal long before we find aliens. 😄
December 13, 2025 at 3:57 AM
I’d bet we solve the origin of the Wow! Signal long before we find aliens. 😄
This is a fantastic review. We are entering an era of discovering rare cosmic phenomena. 😀
Very happy to announce that our review of radio transients has now been published by PASA!
bit.ly/3Yg3hyD
Unlike most radio sources, transients change rapidly.
My favourite bit are these lightcurve cartoons that show how different types of transients change with time.
#RadioAstronomy
🔭 ☄️🧪
bit.ly/3Yg3hyD
Unlike most radio sources, transients change rapidly.
My favourite bit are these lightcurve cartoons that show how different types of transients change with time.
#RadioAstronomy
🔭 ☄️🧪
December 11, 2025 at 5:28 PM
This is a fantastic review. We are entering an era of discovering rare cosmic phenomena. 😀
The visionary physicist who gave us a new way to view the cosmos www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The visionary physicist who gave us a new way to view the cosmos
Tony Tyson is part of Nature’s 10, a list of people who shaped science in 2025.
www.nature.com
December 11, 2025 at 4:56 PM
The visionary physicist who gave us a new way to view the cosmos www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
Very happy to announce that our review of radio transients has now been published by PASA!
bit.ly/3Yg3hyD
Unlike most radio sources, transients change rapidly.
My favourite bit are these lightcurve cartoons that show how different types of transients change with time.
#RadioAstronomy
🔭 ☄️🧪
bit.ly/3Yg3hyD
Unlike most radio sources, transients change rapidly.
My favourite bit are these lightcurve cartoons that show how different types of transients change with time.
#RadioAstronomy
🔭 ☄️🧪
December 9, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Very happy to announce that our review of radio transients has now been published by PASA!
bit.ly/3Yg3hyD
Unlike most radio sources, transients change rapidly.
My favourite bit are these lightcurve cartoons that show how different types of transients change with time.
#RadioAstronomy
🔭 ☄️🧪
bit.ly/3Yg3hyD
Unlike most radio sources, transients change rapidly.
My favourite bit are these lightcurve cartoons that show how different types of transients change with time.
#RadioAstronomy
🔭 ☄️🧪
I found this disk in one of my old floppy disk boxes. I can’t read it, I don’t remember it, and it makes me wonder how many others like it are still out there. 🤔 #UFOs
December 9, 2025 at 9:57 PM
I found this disk in one of my old floppy disk boxes. I can’t read it, I don’t remember it, and it makes me wonder how many others like it are still out there. 🤔 #UFOs
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
#RadioAstronomy of stars is a rapidly growing area of research as we discover more of them :)
Excellent talk on Radio Stars by @astrolaura.com. We observe radio emissions from stars all over the H-R diagram. Their flares help us understand space weather. Also radio telescopes can see ultra-cool tiny stars - analogues for planets that help us understand exoplanetary magnetic fields 🔭 #SALFXI
December 8, 2025 at 9:49 AM
#RadioAstronomy of stars is a rapidly growing area of research as we discover more of them :)
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
NRAO Doctoral Dissertation Award - Applications Now Open!
The $1500 Award will be be given each year to a recent recipient of a doctoral degree and is based on new radio astronomy data.
🚨 Application Deadline: December 15, 2025
The $1500 Award will be be given each year to a recent recipient of a doctoral degree and is based on new radio astronomy data.
🚨 Application Deadline: December 15, 2025
The NRAO Doctoral Dissertation Award
science.nrao.edu
December 8, 2025 at 8:48 PM