Ryan Short
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rshort.bsky.social
Ryan Short
@rshort.bsky.social
On the hunt for gravitational waves in the desert @ LIGO Hanford. Colorado School of Mines alum in EngPhys. He/him. Be nice, folks.
Reposted by Ryan Short
“With an idea that the impossible is often possible if you work hard at it. What we do here is thought to be impossible for many decades” Our own @giaime.net talks to @wafb.com about our 10th anniversary

www.wafb.com/2025/09/15/f... by Liam Combs

#GW10Years 🔭🧪⚛️
Federal cuts threaten research at observatory, a decade after historic discovery
President Trump’s federal budget proposal includes a 40% budget cut for LIGO
www.wafb.com
September 18, 2025 at 6:28 PM
I’ve not been as active here as I’d like, so this is a bit delayed, but I was stoked to have been the operator on-duty at Hanford for our largest detection to date!

Publicly funded science is no stranger to setting records 😤
We are excited to announce the discovery of #GW231123, a gravitational-wave signal from the merger of two high-mass black holes to form one about 190–265 times the mass of our Sun

ligo.org/ligo-virgo-k...

#O4IsHere 🔭🧪☄️
August 5, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Always fun to work on our main laser (PSL) table — this time for new optics installation and optical fiber alignment — but three days of it in a row is just a bit tiresome
April 18, 2025 at 6:06 AM
Reposted by Ryan Short
The Department of Government Efficiency, for example
April 1, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Reposted by Ryan Short
Issue 26 of @ligomagazine.bsky.social is out now!

ligo.org/wp-content/u...

Catch up with news from across the gravitational-wave community

🔭⚛️🧪
March 29, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Honored to have played a small role in such a cool milestone. By my count, I was supervising the Hanford detector for 29 of these candidates!
🎉 We have reached 200 #GravitationalWave candidates in O4! 🎉

The fourth observing run (O4) of our detector network has had the best performance so far, with more candidates than ever before! We are currently busy analysing all these wonderful data and look forward to sharing results

#O4IsHere 🔭☄️
March 23, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Reposted by Ryan Short
Overnight gravitational-wave candidate S250208ad

If real, the source is probably a binary black hole

False alarm rate 1 in 84 yr
GraceDB gracedb.ligo.org/superevents/...
GCN gcn.nasa.gov/circulars/39...
Rating ⏰ 🍦

[🧪🔭⚛️]
February 8, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Had to bring up to some older family members about how I could lose my dream job if federal funding to scientific research gets cut.

They changed the topic pretty quick.

I think the only way certain people will snap out of a cult-like following is to show them how it affects the ones they love.
February 3, 2025 at 5:23 AM
What I find incredibly funny about this is that I haven’t posted since 😅

Maybe I’ll change my ways!
Alright I’ll be honest, kinda forgot this app was here. But with everything going on over in the other place, I think it’s time for the permanent switch. Lmk about any cool folks over here I should follow!
January 28, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Reposted by Ryan Short
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are all good things. They don’t happen automatically, we have to actively work to bring them about. Shout it from the rooftops.
January 23, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Alright I’ll be honest, kinda forgot this app was here. But with everything going on over in the other place, I think it’s time for the permanent switch. Lmk about any cool folks over here I should follow!
October 7, 2023 at 12:07 AM
I enjoy evening shifts because of the sunsets and the wildlife here in eastern WA that often puts on a show while I’m making dinner. Last night this coyote family was here taking drinks from our sprinklers!
July 31, 2023 at 3:38 AM
Congrats to a Seattle and worldwide sports legend, Megan Rapinoe, on an amazing career! While I’m sad to see her go at the end of the NWSL season, I know she’ll enjoy her much-deserved retirement. No one like you, ‘Pinoe!
July 9, 2023 at 7:38 PM
What a fantastic episode! Can’t wait for the rest of the series!
Quantum 101 is live! Check out the first episode of this series of short quantum explainer videos, produced by the Perimeter Institute and featuring me! Episode 1: Wave-Particle Duality ➡️ hubs.ly/Q01WFPcM0 #Quantum101
Quantum 101 Episode 1: Wave Particle Duality Explained
You may have heard that light can act like a particle and like a wave. It can bounce off a mirror like a particle, and it can bend and spread out like a wave...
hubs.ly
July 5, 2023 at 10:11 AM
Shoutout to @asleepywanderer.bsky.social for the sweet LIGO design off of her Redbubble store! (I had to get every sticker too, of course)
July 4, 2023 at 7:21 AM
I’m ready
June 22, 2023 at 2:11 AM
Alright so I just learned posts on here are called “skeets,” so we’re off to a promising start
June 22, 2023 at 12:03 AM
Hey Bluesky! Hoping to be more active here than I was on other platforms talking about my neat work at LIGO (but probably posting too many pics of trees). Enjoy a shot of me working on our main laser table!
June 21, 2023 at 11:57 PM