Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
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ahrensscience.bsky.social
Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
@ahrensscience.bsky.social
1.8K followers 950 following 180 posts
Planetary scientist, lunar exploration and sustainability policy. Lunar architecture nerd! UMD-CRESST-II Asst. Research Scientist at NASA GSFC. Science Outreach! Ten Outstanding Young Americans 2018. WVU alum. Views are my own.
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ahrensscience.bsky.social
Dr. Caitlin Ahrens @ahrensscience.bsky.social · 6d
Goal for #AcWriMo week 4:

*Paper 1 reviewer comments are DONE ✅
*Discussion section Paper 2 still ongoing! 😮‍💨
ahrensscience.bsky.social Dr. Caitlin Ahrens @ahrensscience.bsky.social · 14d
Goal for #AcWriMo week 3:

*continue review comments on Paper 1 (nearly finished!!!)
*Discussion section Paper 2 (maybe???)
ahrensscience.bsky.social Dr. Caitlin Ahrens @ahrensscience.bsky.social · 14d
Oooof. Got behind on that discussion section. These reviewer comments are taking up my brain waves 🧠
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
nature.com
Nature research paper: Detection of triboelectric discharges during dust events on Mars

go.nature.com/44BT4jF
Detection of triboelectric discharges during dust events on Mars - Nature
The SuperCam microphone aboard the Perseverance rover captured 55 triboelectric discharges during dust events on Mars over two Martian years, providing implications for examining the planet’s surface chemistry, habitability and human exploration.
go.nature.com
November 29, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
coreyspowell.bsky.social
NASA's OSIRIS-APEX just flew past Earth, making a course adjustment to asteroid Apophis in 2029. Apophis will come very close to us that year & could hit in the future.

OSIRIS-APEX will tell us a lot about Apophis...assuming the mission survives budget cuts. 🔭🧪

news.arizona.edu/news/osiris-...
On the left, this image shows SamCam, provided by the U of A to track the spacecraft’s sample head during its primary mission. The Y-shaped sample return capsule release mechanism is visible in the center in its deployed position. The OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter, provided by the Canadian Space Agency to create detailed 3D topographical maps of Bennu, is behind the release mechanism. To the right, one of the spacecraft's two navigation cameras, or NavCams, is visible.
November 29, 2025 at 1:01 PM
ahrensscience.bsky.social
“Read the syllabus” would have been super helpful back when teaching during grad school
sesmith.lol s. e. smith @sesmith.lol · 17h
Hey @erinbiba.bsky.social I hope this finds you
November 29, 2025 at 1:46 PM
ahrensscience.bsky.social
“It’s in the dust” 👀
emophilips.bsky.social Emo Philips @emophilips.bsky.social · 2d
“Regretting my third wish”
November 28, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
spacemarschall.net
Anyone else want to suggest their favorite planetary science image of the year?
spacemarschall.net Dr. Raphael Marschall @spacemarschall.net · 5d
Hey #planetSci friends, the end of the year is nearing. Does anyone want to help me put together an Image of the Year Bracket?

If you want to propose your favourite planetary science image of 2025, place it below with a link to the source and when it was published.
Bracket for "BSky Planetary Science Image of 2025" contest, featuring small icon of 16 boxes with question marks grouped into four quarter-finals. There are finalist placeholders against a lunar surface backdrop.
November 28, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
nature.com
Latest from the Nature Podcast 🔊 This is what lightning on Mars sounds like

go.nature.com/3LUrHer
This is what lightning on Mars sounds like
Hear the biggest stories from the world of science | 26 November 2025
go.nature.com
November 28, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
drnereide.bsky.social
Every now and then you find a science piece that is both razor-sharp and genuinely funny.

“Avi and the Content Factory” by @deschscoveries.bsky.social is one of those rare gems—a brilliant piece of scientific satire.

Highly recommended—for...⤵️

➡️ medium.com/@steve.desch...

🔭 🧪 #science

1/5
Avi and the Content Factory
“Where did you find this script?” my producer asked.
medium.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
feralrobots.bsky.social
Hey @nature.com, have you got an explanation for how the hell THIS happened? & especially why you accepted a paper with such a bizarre piece of genAI slop in it?!
& more to the point, why we should take you seriously at all going forward?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Figure 1 from a paper published in Nature (linked in post). The figure purports to be an infographic depiction of the "Overall working of the framework" for 'explainably' diagnosing autism spectrum disorder. The infographic is plainly nonsense, containing many spelling errors, nonsense words, meaningless images and graphs. Clearly created using generative AI and (crucially) NEVER CHECKED AT ANY STEP OF THE WRITING OR PUBLICATION PROCESS.
November 27, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
feralrobots.bsky.social
Folks who wrote that 'AI autism diagnosis' paper in @nature.com don't give a shit what it actually says; all they care is they scored a high-value pub for their CVs. They should be rewarded with deep scrutiny of every future claim.
pookleblinky.bsky.social Pookleblinky @pookleblinky.bsky.social · 4d
One of the purposes of this is, obviously, to completely alienate people from their intellectual and creative labor. When "write an article" becomes "push the big red GIMME SLOP button" you're gonna have less pride and investment in the outcome.
November 27, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
lukemeister.bsky.social
Tryptophan? In Bennu? Happy Thanksgiving!

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
November 27, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
geohenning.bsky.social
You’ll be visited by 3 spirits

The three spirits
Igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks
November 26, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
womensartbluesky.bsky.social
Ruby Silvious, artist known for using the tea bag as a canvas for her artworks #WomensArt
Painting on a teabag featuring a white woman sitting at a desk, back view, with her bare feet resting on the desk next to an open laptop computer
November 27, 2025 at 4:23 AM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
setiinstitute.bsky.social
Dr. Shania Nichols is a physicist with a background in gravitational wave detector characterization and astronomy. She graduated with her PhD in Physics from Louisiana State University in 2024 and is currently a NANOGrav Physics Frontier Center Postdoctoral Researcher. 🧪 🔭 👩‍🔬 #NotJustAliens
Text: #notjustaliens. Shania Nichols, Astrophysics. Background: Starry night sky. Inset: Photo of Shania Nichols. Text: Dr. Shania Nichols is a physicist with a background in gravitational wave detector characterization and astronomy. She graduated with her PhD in Physics from Louisiana State University in 2024 and is currently a NANOGrav Physics Frontier Center Postdoctoral Researcher. Background: Starry night sky with graphics of a star and exoplanets in front of it. Text: Dr. Nichols researches pulsar timing for the NANOGrav Collaboration, which uses rapidly spinning neutron stars to detect nanohertz gravitational waves. She develops methods to model and improve timing precision due to a pulse profile shape change in one of the array’s most precisely timed millisecond pulsars. Background: Starry night sky with graphics of a star and exoplanets. SETI Institute logo. Graphics: (top) Black hole. (bottom) radio telescope dishes at the Allen Telescope Array. Background: Starry night sky.
November 27, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
queenofpeat.bsky.social
I spoke to my deep passion of bogs and peatlands in this TEDx talk. Will you join me in becoming a bog champion? m.youtube.com/watch?v=mWt9...
Bogs are real superheroes, cast as villains | Dr. Merritt Turetsky | TEDxBoulder
YouTube video by TEDx Talks
m.youtube.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
iainrb.bsky.social
This.

Whenever local government reviews the library budget and asks, "Why should we give you money?"

We want the library to be able to say, "Because we provide a valuable service used by many people!"

Libraries are like muscles, using them more makes them stronger. 💪
tkingfisher.com Kingfisher & Wombat @tkingfisher.com · 3d
Anybody who is like “Piracy is activism!”—trust me, supporting your local library is about 1000% more effective activism, and it’s still free for you and authors still get paid!
November 26, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
profabelmendez.bsky.social
published www.space.com/space-explor...
Planets may make their own water as they form — could that mean more habitable worlds in the universe?
Planets may make their own water as they form — could that mean more habitable worlds in the universe?
www.space.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
antiquaries.bsky.social
Come for our free lecture at 5pm this Thursday & hear from Dr Fabio Silva & Prof Clive Ruggles FSA about the 13 towers of Chankillo that form part of a monumental complex built in the Peruvian coastal desert in the 3rdC BC! ✨🔭⭐ Organised w/ @royalastrosoc.bsky.social

www.sal.org.uk/event/ras-le...
Robust Methodologies in Skyscape Archaeology: Case Studies from Malta and Peru - Society of Antiquaries of London
Evening lecture organised jointly with the Royal Astronomical Society. Learn about the thirteen towers of Chankillo which form part of a monumental complex built in the Peruvian coastal desert in the ...
www.sal.org.uk
November 25, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
aviationmarlene.bsky.social
Today marks 60 years since France became the third space power by launching the A-1 Astérix satellite on 26 November 1965... So happy anniversary to
November 26, 2025 at 9:12 AM
ahrensscience.bsky.social
Very polarizing views and interesting look into priorities 🧐
bordergroves.bsky.social Gregory A. Hargreaves 🍂 @bordergroves.bsky.social · 5d
Trump voting men rank having children as their highest priority in life, and rank having emotional stability dead last. Those poor children.
November 26, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
whereisyvette.bsky.social
New solar system lecture! Cratered worlds- comparing Mercury and the moon 🔭🧪🎢

youtu.be/HBSMDVs9VKI?...
Cratered Worlds- Comparing Mercury and the Moon
YouTube video by Astronomer here!
youtu.be
November 26, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
g0mfr.bsky.social
unrefinied galaxies on a clear night -... early part of a clear night
November 25, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
coreyspowell.bsky.social
Look at little Mercury racing in front of the Sun! (Sped up quite a bit; the actual transit took about 5 hours.)
aretsch.bsky.social aretsch.bsky.social @aretsch.bsky.social · 3d
Mercury Sun transit 👀👀👀
We can't see it from 🌍, but the
Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUVI), an instrument of the NASA STEREO mission that examines the sun, take a video in the spring👍
November 26, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
davidbflower.bsky.social
Rainbow over Newcastle upon Tyne. 25th November 2025. 🧪 🎨 #SciArt #photography #StormHour #ThePhotoHour
A multicoloured band arching across the sky. Trees and gardens below in foreground.
November 25, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
arstechnica.com
Formation of oceans within icy moons could cause the waters to boil
A rigid ice shell over a shrinking interior makes for pressures low enough to boil.
arstechnica.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Reposted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens
icy-pete.bsky.social
Two miles of ice core on the shelf at our national ice core facility in Lakewood, Colorado. The WAIS Divide core from West Antarctica is a 3400m long (deepest US core, 2nd deepest ice core ever) 68,000 year old record of high resolution climate.
November 24, 2025 at 5:03 PM