Huei Sears, PhD 🌟
LightNews LightNews
banner
starlights.bsky.social
Huei Sears, PhD 🌟
@starlights.bsky.social
1.5K followers 760 following 1.1K posts
✨ she/her ✨ astrophysicist studying supernovae + GRBs ✨ reputation is my favorite album ✨
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Huei Sears, PhD 🌟
astrokatie.com
Just want to emphasize here that this is an image of an INTERSTELLAR COMET taken by a camera orbiting MARS. Space is so cool!
alexwitze.bsky.social Alexandra Witze @alexwitze.bsky.social · 1h
NASA's pix of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS are now up science.nasa.gov/solar-system...

This is the HiRISE/MRO image ⬇️
A blurry white fuzz in the center of a black frame.
November 19, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Reposted by Huei Sears, PhD 🌟
stsci.edu
Three #NASAWebb discoveries in ONE! Webb shows there are FOUR dust shells (only one was previously seen), allowing researchers to narrow the stars’ orbit of one another to a LONG 190 years. Plus, they confirmed a third star is part of the “party”: https://bit.ly/4n1tpas 🔭 🧪
November 19, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Reposted by Huei Sears, PhD 🌟
kellylepo.bsky.social
I'm glad this is finally out after the government shutdown!

JWST's images of dusty, spiraling shells around Wolf-Rayet star binaries are my favorite.
stsci.edu Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 5h
Three #NASAWebb discoveries in ONE! Webb shows there are FOUR dust shells (only one was previously seen), allowing researchers to narrow the stars’ orbit of one another to a LONG 190 years. Plus, they confirmed a third star is part of the “party”: https://bit.ly/4n1tpas 🔭 🧪
November 19, 2025 at 4:14 PM
starlights.bsky.social
new ESA feature on work incl. @astroryan.bsky.social !! 🧪🔭
science.esa.int ESA Space Science @science.esa.int · 5h
Webb has revealed for the first time that there are four shells of dust around this pair of Wolf-Rayet stars, which are known as Apep.

Read more 👉 https://esawebb.org/images/wolf-rayet-apep/
🔭
Four dust shells in Wolf-Rayet Apep expand away from three central stars that appear as a single pinpoint of light. The shells are curved, and the interior shell looks like a backward lowercase e shape.
November 19, 2025 at 4:05 PM
starlights.bsky.social
why did yesterday-me agree to this smh
starlights.bsky.social Huei Sears, PhD 🌟 @starlights.bsky.social · 16h
going on a 7:30 AM pre-conference hike tomorrow; tuscon has changed me
November 19, 2025 at 2:10 PM
starlights.bsky.social
🧪
wxdawg.bsky.social Ian Boatman @wxdawg.bsky.social · 1d
Any teachers out there? Ramping this back up again and figured I would advertise.

I am on the National Weather Service National School Outreach Team. We are composed of various NWS meteorologists across the country that give school talks about the weather. We can use just about any online platform.
November 19, 2025 at 5:21 AM
Reposted by Huei Sears, PhD 🌟
talbotlabtsl.bsky.social
Dogs have been part of human culture for far longer than previously thought based on genomic evidence from @lachiescarsbrook.bsky.social and team. Great read. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Genomic evidence for the Holocene codispersal of dogs and humans across Eastern Eurasia
As the first domestic species, dogs likely dispersed with different cultural groups during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed 73 ancient dog genomes, including 17 ...
www.science.org
November 13, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Reposted by Huei Sears, PhD 🌟
miriamposner.com
WE JUST KEEP WINNING. (UC President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program RESTORED!!!!)
On official UC letterhead: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA James B. Milliken President Office of the President 1111 Franklin Street Oakland, CA 94607 universityofcalifornia.edu CAMPUSES Berkeley Davis Irvine UCLA Merced Riverside San Diego San Francisco Santa Barbara Santa Cruz MEDICAL CENTERS Davis Irvine UCLA San Diego San Francisco NATIONAL LABORATORIES Lawrence Berkeley Lawrence Livermore Los Alamos DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES November 18, 2025 Dear Chancellors: I'm writing with regard to the President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (PPFP) and the program's associated faculty hiring incentive. As you know, for more than 40 years, PPFP has provided postdoctoral research fellowships, professional development, and faculty mentoring to scholars in all fields whose research, teaching, and service advance the academic and research missions of the University of California. Since 2003, UC campuses that hire current and former PPFP fellows into ladder-rank positions have been eligible for a hiring incentive funded by the University that provides support for newly hired fellows for five years. Since the creation of the incentive, more than $162 million has been invested by the University to support PPFP faculty hires. This commitment has enabled our campuses to successfully recruit and retain outstanding faculty across a range of disciplines. Given the myriad challenges currently facing UC - including disruptions to billions of dollars in annual federal support, as well as uncertainty around the state budget- reasonable questions were raised in recent months about whether the University could maintain the commitment to current levels of incentive funding. After considering a recommendation to sunset the incentive program due to these significant fiscal constraints, I consulted with all of you as well as faculty and campus academic administrators and systemwide Academic Senate leadership. [continued on next image] After learning more about the history and success of the program and weighing the thoughtful perspectives that have been shared, I have concluded that barring extraordinary financial setbacks, the PPFP faculty hiring incentive program will continue while the University continues to assess the program's structure as well as its long-term financial sustainability. As a result of our continuing consultation and review, there may be consideration of some changes to elements of the program including the total number of incentives supported, a number that has fluctuated significantly over the years, and how the awards are distributed among campuses. In the meantime, the University will continue to fund the PPFP faculty hiring incentive program and campuses may continue to take advantage of these incentives. We will have an opportunity to discuss any potential changes prior to adoption. As we look to the future, I will continue to engage with faculty leaders, program stakeholders, and UC community members about this important program. I especially appreciate the thoughtful perspectives shared in recent weeks by Academic Council Chair Palazoglu and Vice Chair Scott, the Council of Graduate Deans, UC faculty members, and you as our campus leaders. Sincerely, James B. Milliken President
November 18, 2025 at 10:34 PM
starlights.bsky.social
going on a 7:30 AM pre-conference hike tomorrow; tuscon has changed me
November 19, 2025 at 4:35 AM
Reposted by Huei Sears, PhD 🌟
sanjanacurtis.bsky.social
cinnaminominon
cute tabby cat
November 11, 2025 at 11:10 PM
starlights.bsky.social
counter in also that the peers doing the peer review are NOT PAID for this work
heimbergecon.bsky.social Philipp Heimberger @heimbergecon.bsky.social · 1d
"academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it... The dominant four collectively generated... $12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024."
November 19, 2025 at 4:25 AM
Reposted by Huei Sears, PhD 🌟
davidbflower.bsky.social
First kiss dates back 21 million years, say scientists. 🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
First kiss dates back 21 million years, say scientists
A new study looks at how the mouth-on-mouth smooch came into being, and concludes that Neanderthals also kissed.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 19, 2025 at 4:09 AM
Reposted by Huei Sears, PhD 🌟
setiinstitute.bsky.social
Thanks to months of monitoring by the Unistellar and AFA communities during 2023, scientists at the SETI Institute and AFA have published a new scientific paper, led by Dr. Ariel Graykowski, that reveals Comet Hartley 2 changing in a dramatic way. 🧪 🔭 👩‍🔬

Learn more: www.seti.org/news/citizen...
Citizen Scientists Help Discover that Comet Hartley 2 is Fading
www.seti.org
November 18, 2025 at 12:00 AM
starlights.bsky.social
ft. comments from @cplberry.bsky.social !!

🧪🔭☄️
November 17, 2025 at 5:10 PM
starlights.bsky.social
i also think that when the plane lands, and the aisle (from front to back) immediately fills with ppl standing — all those standing ppl should be allowed off the plane first
November 16, 2025 at 5:02 PM
starlights.bsky.social
how much extra would you pay to have no babies/young children on your flight? ~ $50? ~ $100? > $150? what if the extra charge went to subsidize cheaper child-incl. flights?
November 16, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by Huei Sears, PhD 🌟
andrewbahle.bsky.social
LLMs get a lot of attention but if you are interested in the original (allegedly) stochastic parrots come to my poster Tuesday where I will present new work on the natural vocal behavior or parrots and its cortical control #Sfn2025 #SfN25
November 15, 2025 at 6:59 PM
starlights.bsky.social
space is SO cool
theplanetaryguy.bsky.social Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.bsky.social · 3d
This is what Jupiter looks like in the infrared.

Its hot, lower atmosphere shining through the cooler cloud layers above.

You show me Jupiter and I'll show you a planet that wants you dead.
A set of orangey–yellow bands interrupted by darker bands, crossing the face of Jupiter in the infrared. The background is black.
November 16, 2025 at 3:13 AM
Reposted by Huei Sears, PhD 🌟
sfn.org
On NPR's nationally syndicated radio program "All Things Considered," three SfN members speak about the funding and career challenges facing the neuroscience community.

🔗 vist.ly/4enax

#NeuroAdvocate #SfN25 #neurosky #neuroskyence
Young brain researchers ponder other careers amid federal funding cuts
Cuts and disruptions to federal research funding are causing many young brain scientists to reconsider their career choice.
www.npr.org
November 15, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Reposted by Huei Sears, PhD 🌟
jessicacalarco.com
If women are underrepresented in STEM, it's at least partly because men like this offer mentoring, then embarrass themselves by assuming their mentees must be into them, then decide the best solution is to cut ties, which sends the signal to other faculty that the mentee must not be good enough.
econmarshall.bsky.social Marshall Steinbaum @econmarshall.bsky.social · 3d
The emails have Summers reporting to Epstein about his attempts to date a Harvard economics student & to hit on her during a seminar she was giving.
November 16, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Reposted by Huei Sears, PhD 🌟
sixfeetofcandy.bsky.social
using a vpn so no one knows i’m posting from the moon
November 14, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Reposted by Huei Sears, PhD 🌟
blueheronfarm.bsky.social
Sharing is caring
Small goat eating a pumpkin while a large tortoise looks on from inside his shell Small goat eating a pumpkin. Large tortoise is emerging from his shell Small goat and large tortoise sharing a pumpkin together
November 15, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by Huei Sears, PhD 🌟
jbyoder.org
This has gotten surprisingly little attention — it's not even on the front page of @science.org right now — but it's really hard to describe what the SAFE Research Act would do to US science and scientists without sounding insane

www.science.org/content/arti...
November 14, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Huei Sears, PhD 🌟
anildash.com
One thing that's abundantly clear: passing the SAFE Research Act would permanently end the United States' ability to be competitive in any area of advanced technology. Just straight up suicidal policy-making.
jbyoder.org Jeremy B. Yoder 🧬📊🌿🏳️‍🌈🖖🏻 @jbyoder.org · 5d
This has gotten surprisingly little attention — it's not even on the front page of @science.org right now — but it's really hard to describe what the SAFE Research Act would do to US science and scientists without sounding insane

www.science.org/content/arti...
November 14, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Reposted by Huei Sears, PhD 🌟
thenrao.bsky.social
NEW: NSF NRAO and Mexican Institutions Sign Historic Agreements to Advance ngVLA Collaboration

Representatives from UNAM and several other leading Mexican universities/research institutes have signed a Letter of Intent to form a Consortium of Mexican Universities and Institutions. #Astronomy #ngVLA
NSF NRAO and Mexican Institutions Sign Historic Agreements to Advance ngVLA Collaboration - National Radio Astronomy Observatory
The U.S. NSF’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory and leading Mexican universities have signed landmark agreements advancing Mexico’s participation in the Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA), s...
public.nrao.edu
November 14, 2025 at 6:38 PM