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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

@cosmicrami.com

20K followers 3K following 12K posts

Astronomer, driving The Dish📡 to study pulsars in my PhD. Also, founded SpaceAustralia.com. Also, love a bit of astrophotography. Also, do everything with my little mate, Max. Also, Ultra-Gay. He/Him.

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · Oct 24

Been a while since an intro & lots of new folks following. So, about me:

1. #RadioAstronomy PhD candidate studying pulsars

2. Started @spaceausdotcom.bsky.social #SciComm

3. Part of @queersinscience.bsky.social fam

4. Live in Sydney with hubby and #BalmainMax

5. Love hiking, astrophotography

A man standing on a raised ledge above a rail track. The track, leading off behind him leads to a large dish antenna radio telescope. The man is wearing a hard hat. He is at a radio telescope interferometer facility.

Man taking selfie and smiling. Perched up on his shoulder is a small white dog who is also looking directly at the camera.

Eight tile image in a 2 row by 4 column grid. In each tile there is a picture of a galaxy, either face on or edge on.

Man, standing at a signpost that indicates it is the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro at 5895m above sea level.

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Reposted by CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Ada Lovelace Day @adalovelaceday.bsky.social · 4h

Ada Lovelace Day has begun! As midnight arrives on Kiritimati Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, our global celebration of women in science, technology, engineering and maths begins! Join us in celebrating by posting about your fave women in STEM #ALD25!

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 4h

I really appreciate @jackshoulder.bsky.social thread on #TodayInQueerHistory - hope folks follow along as well.

Missed this yesterday, but it was the anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death. A harrowing moment for a lot of queer folks my age, as many of us were just coming out and into adulthood.

Jack Shoulder @jackshoulder.bsky.social · 1d

#TodayInQueerHistory
October 12 (1998)
After a brutal attack on October 6, Matthew Shepard dies from his injuries. His attackers were given 2 consecutive life sentences.

His death caused a change in US law, crimes based on actual or perceived sexuality or gender are now hate crimes.

A black and white photo of Matthew Shepard

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 9h

*really annoyed* about the stupid airline thing. Having to make so many changes to security because of it!

CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 10h

At exactly this time (2:30pm), a week from today, my one-on-one interview with Dame Prof. Jocelyn Bell Burnell would have started.

Excited for this! I hope I don't just fanboi mumble out lol

A slide from my talk (with thanks to the excellent artwork by Alexandra Badiu that JBB will be seeing!)

cartoon graphic of a woman, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, looking out towards the sky. The background is coloured in hues of pink and blue and features stars with a few pulsars present. The graphic says: "Pulsars were discovered by (then PhD student) Dame Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell in 1967.

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 10h

you should! If you can resolve it, it should appear. It's bright enough and flickering 33 times per second, so to our integration times it will just appear as a point of fuzzy light!

CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 11h

oh no. I'm very sorry to hear about this. Condolences to you and the family.

CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 12h

I think I also caught the light from the surrounding nebula generated by the pulsar too, a while back! These are 10s integrations (so, not seeing it blink on/off) but rather the accumulated light over the course of an hour from pulsar effects.

Position is consistent with professional shot below!

CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · Jul 31

Since I've been talking about the Crab Pulsar, here's my photo of the Crab Nebula where I think I caught the pulsar's effect (I think?!).

Position relative to surrounding stars is right when I compare it to this high-time resolved image which shows pulsar flickering.

📸 NA Sharp/AURA/NOAO/NSF 🔭🧪

Two tile image. Top image is black and white and shows a diffuse and twisted nebula with several stars in it. The two central stars are annotated with two red cross hair lines. The bottom image shows the same nebula, in colour, with a small square in the centre expanding to an inset that shows multiple sequence images of two stars with one turning on and off.

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 12h

cool, I don't know that one well (I have the Seestar). I was going to suggest to try doing a dual band filter. I found that when I shortened integration times some sharper detail came out, but its a trade off with S/N.

In any case, the settings you have on now are very good!

CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 13h

What telescope / rig are you using, and any special filters?

Reposted by CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Lyndie Chiou @lyndie.bsky.social · 13h

Here are the remnants of a massive star that ignited in 1054. Ancient astronomers marveled at how they could see the supernova even during the day. All that's left today is the faint, colorful smudge called the Crab Nebula.

Image credit: my tiny telescope - only 2 hours!

#science #astronomy 🔭👩🏾‍🔬

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 13h

argh, stupid brain ... knots*

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 13h

Lovely star gutz!

Colours and twisted nots look great in this!

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 13h

Ask the generation/s that did not have these tools available to them, and they will tell you that they felt alone, isolated, alienated and angry, and that anger was then manifested upon themselves, their loved ones and the future trauma they carried.

Let young queer people find each other.

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 13h

Stupid social media bans harm minorities a lot, e.g., young queer folks.

Ask any queer folk who grew up with online tools and platforms available to them, and they will tell you how they found their tribe, made connections and friends, and got through tough times.

Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 13h

Here's what she told them fwiw www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Social media ban will create a ‘social gap’ for young people, youth advocate says

The Senate committee looking at the under 16s social media ban and other age checks coming online has heard from youth advocacy organisation Project Rockit on what the ban will mean for young people when they’re kicked off social media from 10 December.

Caitlin Blanch, a member of Project Rockit’s national youth collective and a young disabled person from Tamworth, NSW, said for her social media was a “pivotal way” to make connections with other people with living experience that she could relate to, to find health information, and share her story.

She said:

I think that it’s been pivotal for my friend groups in finding representation of queer people that’s not stereotypical of finding cultural content that is not stigmatised. It’s had an incredibly impactful role on connecting otherwise isolated communities to places that they would not have access to, and for young people in regional Australia who perhaps have that physical isolation.

When the ban comes into effect, she said it will change how young people interact with the world:

It creates a social gap, but it also sends a narrative that young people don’t have the power to articulate their own narratives, that they can’t be in control of their agency online, and that they are responsible for the harmful content that they’re exposed to. And I don’t think that’s fair. I think there should be greater emphasis on the corporations that are in control of the algorithms.

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 13h

Rosie + Lucy and the team at Project Rockit are rockstars, and their work speaks for itself in volumes. They've been a good voice to follow in all of this mess.

CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · Aug 19

This exact point was made, by Lucy Thomas OAM , queer co-founder of Project Rockit — a platform that helps combat online bullying for young people, and a program now rolled out in many schools with great success (650K students) — to the legislators as part of the consultation of this ban.

CAMERON WILSON @cameronwilson.bsky.social · Aug 19

University of Sydney researchers have written an journal article arguing that Australia's teen social media ban risks hurting queer teens' health

"[The ban] demonstrates regulatory ignorance of the diversity of experiences"
insightplus.mja.com....

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Reposted by CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 20h

Here more than 5,000 people answered the question below (more than 4,200 via quote replies & >800 comments). Lots of interesting stories!

On X, 15 people replied to the same query.

Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 5d

Has anything great happened in your life because of social media?

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 16h

The more I think about it, the more I am convinced Conclave put him in the position with strategic intent.

D. Earl Stephens @dearlstephens.bsky.social · 16h

📌“The fact that I am American means, among other things, people can’t say, like they did about Francis, ‘he doesn’t understand the United States, he just doesn’t see what’s going on.’
“Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed?”

-Pope Leo in a direct rebuke of the hideous Trump

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 16h

Wasn’t very successful though!

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 17h

I once got told that putting a full stop at the end of my sentence in a text was “passive aggressive”. lol.

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 17h

Turning out to be another lovely spring day!

Looking down a street past some buildings and through a gap towards the Sydney harbour bridge

In the foreground is a park with stepped levels. Next to it is a cafe which is yet to open so the outdoor umbrellas are not opened. In the distance is the harbour and the Sydney harbour bridge

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 18h

Monday morning shades of blue (+ Moon)

Looking out across a bay. Small waves on the surface and some boats are anchored. The moon hangs in the sky.

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CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 18h

Yep!

Reposted by CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 1d

Honestly, I said this several weeks back about this company - it seems like a massive grift. They've somehow managed to get early funding to the tune of $20M which means they can grift well, but I reckon the idea will fizzle up unless someone solves all the questions (and more) from above.

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Reposted by CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 1d

- What happens with micrometeorite hits?
- Do they have a collision avoidance plan?
- What legal framework / jurisdiction will govern the array?
- How will they deal with light pollution complaints?
- Have they assessed the ecological impacts?
- Will the material reflect terrestrial radio waves?

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Reposted by CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @cosmicrami.com · 1d

You can always tell these companies are full of BS because they lack the coherent details of any of this to make sense:

- what materials is the reflector made from? (because costs)
- What is the product lifetime? How will they be disposed?
- How are they maintained / kept in orbit?

(continued...)

Dr Space Junk (Alice Gorman) @drspacejunk.bsky.social · 3d

Do we really want 250,000 mirrored satellites in Low Earth Orbit? Hasn't the Starlink megaconstellation already done enough damage?
🧪 @mjibrown.bsky.social

A US startup plans to deliver ‘sunlight on demand’ after dark. Can it work – and would we want it to?

Satellites beaming sunlight down to Earth sound like science fiction – and they have astronomers very worried.

theconversation.com

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