Well to the surprise of absolutely NOBODY, the Australian University Census on Staff Wellbeing found that the sector is (to put it mildly) a bit fucked when it comes to psychosocial safety climate, with 44% of respondents in a very high risk environment. #AcademicSky
Are you a Southeast Asian student (3rd-year undergrad and above) interested in astronomy research and STEM careers?
Join an international virtual astronomy program featuring lectures, discussions, hands-on projects, and mentorship!
July–Sept 2026
Register: bit.ly/IVC2026ast
Deadline: 17 June
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Dr Vera Rubin changed the way we view the universe. Her meticulous observational work showed that galaxies were rotating faster than expected. Her work convinced scientists that dark matter must exist, and that there’s far more of it than regular matter. 🌌 (3/5)
To design the cover, I combined inspiration from the spiral-galaxy logo of Stefan's running group, maps of Andromeda's dust made with the Herschel space telescope, and my imagination.
Stefan is now continuing his work on interstellar dust properties at CEA Paris-Saclay
New frontiers 🔭🎨
This art was inspired by one of the first images released by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
The Rubin Observatory will capture images of the entire sky every few days using the 3200 megapixel LSST camera, allowing astronomers to identify and study targets that move or change. (1/5)
The inspiration image was created in May 2025 and combines 678 separate images, allowing us to see the faintest details. The picture shows the Trifid nebula (top right, blue) and the Lagoon nebula (central, pink). You can read more about them here: rubinobservatory.org/news/rubin-f... (2/5)
Last year I had the pleasure of designing the cover for Stefan van der Giessen's thesis titled "The resolved lifecycle of metals and dust in nearby galaxies."
For his PhD, Stefan combined multiwavelength observations of nearby galaxies with hydrodynamic simulations and chemical evolution models. 🔭🐡
His research asks how dust grows (and gets destroyed) in the interstellar medium. To design the cover, I combined inspiration from the spiral-galaxy logo of Stefan's running group, maps of Andromeda's dust made with Herschel, and my imagination.
I look forwards to seeing what the Vera C. Rubin observatory will help reveal about the universe.
Here is a timelapse (condensed into 30s) of my artwork from the software I use, Procreate (on ipad). #sciart
In June, @harvardplatestacks.bsky.social held an event celebrating a new U.S. quarter honouring Dr Vera Rubin. Her colleagues and granddaughter shared stories: Vera was not only an amazing scientist, but she was also warm, down-to-earth, loving, curious, and an advocate for women astronomers. (4/5)
