Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Sean D. Johnson @seanjohnson.bsky.social · 14h

This is the closest I’ve found, but still not quite getting those sweet, sweet Hershey fonts.

github.com/AstroJacobLi...

GitHub - AstroJacobLi/smplotlib: Matplotlib template for SuperMongo style 🔭

Matplotlib template for SuperMongo style 🔭. Contribute to AstroJacobLi/smplotlib development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

1

Sean D. Johnson @seanjohnson.bsky.social · 19h

I have reached the stage of JWST proposaling that involves zooming in on figures so much that I can identify the absolute heroes of astronomy who are still using SuperMongo and pgplot.

13

Reposted by Sean D. Johnson

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 22h

What’s especially wild (legally) about this is that NSBP, NSHP, and SACNAS have always welcomed people of all backgrounds, including white people. NSHP has had a white president, my SACNAS leadership institute class has several white members, and NSBP has a sizable white membership.

Benjamin McKean @blmckean.bsky.social · 22h

Very bad: OSU unilaterally cancelled the registration of grad students attending the joint conference of the National Society of Black Physicists and the National Society of Hispanic Physicists. And OSU won't fund recruiting at the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science.

Ohio State changes policy on group conferences after Trump administration threats

A federal investigation into potentially discriminatory practices at Ohio State prompted the university to change its policies regarding conferences.

www.dispatch.com

6 64 170

Reposted by Sean D. Johnson

Emily Rauscher @astronemly.bsky.social · 21h

🙋🏼‍♀️ Raises hand as white person who has been (warmly!) welcomed at NSBP for many years.
Also from a state (Michigan) that has been operating under an “affirmative action ban” for almost two decades … so our lawyers know that it’s perfectly legal to attend these events

1 9

Reposted by Sean D. Johnson

Katelyn Boo-urns @katelynburns.com · 3d

I wrote a little about some of the little details you might have missed in this video and why it hit me so hard as a trans person this morning:

www.burnsnotice.com/you-have-to-...

56 1.5K 4.5K

Sean D. Johnson @seanjohnson.bsky.social · 3d

The message, the history, and even the choice of music. This is stunningly good.

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 3d

UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.

2

Sean D. Johnson @seanjohnson.bsky.social · 3d

Seeing Frog at a lot of protests. My question: where is Toad??

protests.is

2

Reposted by Sean D. Johnson

Sarah Tuttle @niais.bsky.social · 4d

Are you someone who is interested in astronomy graduate school? This is a list of many/most departments and their expectations for admissions this year. Please feel free to spread it far and wide. If you are doing admissions and you'd like to update your entry, reach out as per the form!

US Astronomy Graduate Admissions, AY 2025-2026

docs.google.com

2 55 71

Reposted by Sean D. Johnson

Josh Moody @byjoshmoody.bsky.social · 4d

MIT rejects "compact" proposed by the Trump administration.
MIT prez wrote: it "would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution" and "is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone."
orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

Regarding the Compact | MIT Organization Chart

orgchart.mit.edu

34 490 1.9K

Sean D. Johnson @seanjohnson.bsky.social · 5d

No words.

ghostly gwen howerton @kissphoria.bsky.social · 5d

San Antonio has no immediate plans to remove its Pride crosswalks, but Gina Ortiz, the city's first gay mayor, says that "We don't need crosswalks for pride, right? We don't need it, though they're nice to have, but that pride rolls on."
www.tpr.org/news/2025-10...

San Antonio: ‘No immediate plans’ to remove rainbow crosswalk or alter roadways amid TxDOT directive

“We are now working with TXDoT to understand the state’s specific areas of local concern. There are no immediate plans to make changes to any roadways, and any future changes will occur with City Coun...

www.tpr.org

Sean D. Johnson @seanjohnson.bsky.social · 7d

southsideweekly.com/federal-agen...

Federal Agents Storm South Shore Building, Detaining Families and Children

Families were woken by flashbangs and helicopters as hundreds of federal agents raided their homes. Days later, neighbors are still searching for the missing.

southsideweekly.com

Sean D. Johnson @seanjohnson.bsky.social · 7d

Terrifying & outstanding reporting by the best local paper I’ve ever been served by, @southsideweekly.bsky.social

“agents detained nearly every resident of the 130-unit building—including children and babies—placing them in zip ties and separating them by race into vans for more than two hours”

Bluesky

bysouthsideweekly.bsky.social

1 1 1

Sean D. Johnson @seanjohnson.bsky.social · 8d

Right! I was just thinking that Loeb must be the only person outside of the Doctor Who universe who thinks that the U.N. Is this powerful…

1

Sean D. Johnson @seanjohnson.bsky.social · 8d

With apologies, arxiv.org/pdf/2510.01405

You’ll be shocked to discover who Avi thinks should be the Director General of this new organization, reporting only to the U.N. Secretary General.

arxiv.org

1

Sean D. Johnson @seanjohnson.bsky.social · 8d

We should form a list of astronomers devoted to telling each other when one of us has gone off the rails. We’ll call it Emily’s List.

1 4

Sean D. Johnson @seanjohnson.bsky.social · 8d

I, too, would like 50 8-10 meter class telescope nights per year, 380 million dollars over two years, and 80 million dollars annually thereafter. If someone could arrange, that would be lovely.

3 8

Sean D. Johnson @seanjohnson.bsky.social · 8d

Buying a "newsletter" that costs subscribers $60/yr for a total price equivalent to nearly $1000 per paid subscriber seems like a not-good idea.

1

Sean D. Johnson @seanjohnson.bsky.social · 10d

Some devices with these tiny LEDs mistakenly end up in astronomical instruments/telescopes/domes, and people spend weeks trying to figure out where the hell the light is coming come 🤦‍♂️

1

Sean D. Johnson @seanjohnson.bsky.social · 10d

(Obviously, this turned into a longer conversation with the kid)

1 3

Sean D. Johnson @seanjohnson.bsky.social · 10d

Yesterday, 4-year old said of me (cis) and a friend (trans man): “you are guys because you don’t have hair on top of your head. Girls have it.”

And with that, after generations, Freudian and Lacanian theories of gender with maleness based on presence & femaleness based on absence went up in smoke.

2 6

Reposted by Sean D. Johnson

ACLU of Michigan @acluofmichigan.bsky.social · 16d

Powerful conversation on @michigan_public Stateside with two Michigan moms talking to host @aprilbaer about their transgender children

www.michiganpublic.org/stateside/2...

Stateside: Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025

First, a conversation with parents on how Corewell Health's step backwards on gender-affirming care affects their families. Then, a residential artist at the University of Michigan walks us through her upcoming book on country/folk music, race and class in American history.

www.michiganpublic.org

1 1 2

Reposted by Sean D. Johnson

Ebony Elizabeth Thomas @ebonyteach.blacksky.app · 12d

....sigh. Star Trek, I'll always love you, but not enough for me to keep subscribing to Paramount Plus.

Miss when Netflix had the streaming rights 10 years ago. Ah, well! Time for me to invest in some Blu Rays. 🖖🏾

15 11 130

Sean D. Johnson @seanjohnson.bsky.social · 12d

Google used to be useful as a quick calculator (though highly inefficient from an energy use standpoint), and could do unit conversions. Now, it often spits out bullshit that is orders of magnitude off. Ah well, AI ruins many things.

4

Reposted by Sean D. Johnson

Assigned Media @assignedmedia.org · 13d

On Friday 18 blue state attorneys general BLASTED the Federal Trade Commission, telling it to back off trans youth healthcare and warning of an insidious attempt to reshape the regulation of medicine in the US.

And nobody covered it.

www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...

State AGs Defend Trans Americans in Stunning Rebuke to Trump’s FTC — Assigned

Eighteen state Attorneys General unite to stand up in defense of trans Americans, in opposition to a Federal Trade Commission investigation into trans healthcare.

www.assignedmedia.org

31 1.5K 2.7K

Sean D. Johnson @seanjohnson.bsky.social · 14d

Now, University of Texas and University of North Texas, among others.

www.texastribune.org/2025/09/30/t...

Texas universities launch course reviews amid push to limit gender identity instruction

After a viral video stirred controversy at Texas A&M, Texas Tech ordered course adjustments while UNT and UT launched reviews. It’s unclear what the reviews will look for.

www.texastribune.org

1