PhD, occasional astronomer, talking head, science geek, cynic. Senior Editor at @Science.org, responsible for research papers in astronomy and planetary science. Views own, duh. Bio: https://www.science.org/content/author/keith-t-smith
Keith Smith
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☄️🔭 #planetsci #instrumentation
Shin et al. find that super-earth and mini-neptune #exoplanets are on orbits with different eccentricity trends. The results imply that dynamic processes (such as impacts) play a role in generating the radius valley. ☄️🔭
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
"The goal is not just more capable AI, but AI that is more intelligible, accountable, and aligned with human aims. The window for achieving that future is narrowing," argue Eric Horvitz and Robert West in a new #ScienceEditorial. https://scim.ag/4oaIYig
☄️🔭🧪 #planetsci
In a @science.org news feature, @joshuasokol.bsky.social reports on AI adoption in astronomy. ☄️🔭🧪
What tasks can AI do well, and which should be left to humans? Will researchers shift to guiding AIs rather than training students? Can the peer review system cope?
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Dynamical mass measurements of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are usually limited to nearby examples. Newman et al. use gravitational lensing and stellar kinematics to measure the mass of an inactive SMBH at redshift 2, over 10 billion years ago. ☄️🔭 #extragalactic
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
☀️☄️🔭🧪🛰️
A nice paper by @asborlaff.bsky.social showing that launching telescopes to space doesn't necessarily solve the light pollution issue from satellites.
These are satellite trails seen by NASA's SPHEREx space telescope, which appear in 73% of all its images. Eek.
arxiv.org/abs/2605.27501
Ancient Mars was warm and wet, while today the red planet is cold and dry. Szczerba et al. use Curiosity rover data to show that the size and shape of iron oxide crystals provide a mineralogical marker of Mars' climate transition. ☄️🔭 #planetsci
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Particle physicists in Europe intend to build a 91-kilometer-long circular collider—the largest accelerator ever—to smash electrons into positrons. https://scim.ag/4tZAFr3
The $19 billion Future Circular Collider would build on results from CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, currently the world’s largest
The ancient climate of Mars changed from warm to cold surface conditions. This climate transition is demonstrated by geomorphological evidence but lacks suitable mineralogical indicators. We investiga...
www.science.org
The Japanese lunar lander SLIM successfully deployed a compact spherical robot that transformed into a wheeled rover and explored the lunar surface, highlighting the promise of small-scale robots for space exploration. Learn more in #ScienceRobotics: https://scim.ag/4eCZX9K
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Science Magazine
Planetary Science
xkcd.com/3255/
One more exclusive @science.org: Everyone worries about space weather. These scientists have a plan TO DO SOMETHING about it.
A proposed "StormWall" could cut the hazard from an extreme solar storm by more than half -- and it seems genuinely feasible.
