Karin Sandstrom
@karinsandstrom.bsky.social
Astronomer. Professor at UC San Diego. Lover of coffee, interstellar dust, California, nerdy stuff. she/her
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
My recent PhD paper, titled “The Hidden Life of Stars: Embedded Beginnings to AGB Endings in the PHANGS-JWST Sample. I. Catalog of Mid-IR Sources”, is out!
The paper presents a catalog of JWST MIRI 10 µm and 21 µm sources across 19 nearby galaxies.
arxiv.org/abs/2509.16459
The paper presents a catalog of JWST MIRI 10 µm and 21 µm sources across 19 nearby galaxies.
arxiv.org/abs/2509.16459
The Hidden Life of Stars: Embedded Beginnings to AGB Endings in the PHANGS-JWST Sample. I. Catalog of Mid-IR Sources
We present a multiwavelength catalog of mid-infrared-selected compact sources in 19 nearby galaxies, combining JWST NIRCam/MIRI, HST UV-optical broadband, H$α$ narrow-band, and ALMA CO observations. W...
arxiv.org
September 23, 2025 at 6:46 PM
My recent PhD paper, titled “The Hidden Life of Stars: Embedded Beginnings to AGB Endings in the PHANGS-JWST Sample. I. Catalog of Mid-IR Sources”, is out!
The paper presents a catalog of JWST MIRI 10 µm and 21 µm sources across 19 nearby galaxies.
arxiv.org/abs/2509.16459
The paper presents a catalog of JWST MIRI 10 µm and 21 µm sources across 19 nearby galaxies.
arxiv.org/abs/2509.16459
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
Galactic bubbles like never before! @eric-koch.bsky.social introduced BubbleZoo, a citizen science project cataloging JWST’s mesmerizing voids in galaxies, at the JWST session on galaxies at the 6th Shaw-IAU Workshop! 🔭 #astroedu
www.youtube.com/watch?v=726s...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=726s...
Blowing Bubbles in Galaxies - A Zoo of Bubbles from JWST: E. Koch at the OAE’s 6th Shaw-IAU Workshop
YouTube video by IAU Office of Astronomy for Education
www.youtube.com
August 14, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Galactic bubbles like never before! @eric-koch.bsky.social introduced BubbleZoo, a citizen science project cataloging JWST’s mesmerizing voids in galaxies, at the JWST session on galaxies at the 6th Shaw-IAU Workshop! 🔭 #astroedu
www.youtube.com/watch?v=726s...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=726s...
Sitting here at UCLA medical center while some of the best doctors in the world have their research grants cancelled in between saving people’s lives. Preventing them from doing their work and training the next generation of doctors is in nobody’s best interests.
August 2, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Sitting here at UCLA medical center while some of the best doctors in the world have their research grants cancelled in between saving people’s lives. Preventing them from doing their work and training the next generation of doctors is in nobody’s best interests.
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
Introducing...your sneak peek at the cosmos captured by NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory!
Can you guess these regions of sky?
This is just a small peek...join us at 11am US EDT for your full First Look at how Rubin will #CaptureTheCosmos! 🔭🧪
#RubinFirstLook
ls.st/rubin-first-look-livestream
Can you guess these regions of sky?
This is just a small peek...join us at 11am US EDT for your full First Look at how Rubin will #CaptureTheCosmos! 🔭🧪
#RubinFirstLook
ls.st/rubin-first-look-livestream
June 23, 2025 at 4:06 AM
Introducing...your sneak peek at the cosmos captured by NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory!
Can you guess these regions of sky?
This is just a small peek...join us at 11am US EDT for your full First Look at how Rubin will #CaptureTheCosmos! 🔭🧪
#RubinFirstLook
ls.st/rubin-first-look-livestream
Can you guess these regions of sky?
This is just a small peek...join us at 11am US EDT for your full First Look at how Rubin will #CaptureTheCosmos! 🔭🧪
#RubinFirstLook
ls.st/rubin-first-look-livestream
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
This month we highlight a score of Black astronomers trying to pursue their ambitions without fear, and Black In Astro, an organization supporting predominantly early-career Black people working in the space sciences. Editorial: www.nature.com/articles/s41... #BlackSpaceWeek #EquityInSTEM 🔭
June 20, 2025 at 4:37 PM
This month we highlight a score of Black astronomers trying to pursue their ambitions without fear, and Black In Astro, an organization supporting predominantly early-career Black people working in the space sciences. Editorial: www.nature.com/articles/s41... #BlackSpaceWeek #EquityInSTEM 🔭
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
Delighted that the first paper from our Cy2 JWST program was published today, reporting the discovery of molecular hydrogen in the 3% Solar metallicity galaxy Leo P. This was a very fun project with @karinsandstrom.bsky.social strom.bsky.social and fabulous co-authors! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Molecular hydrogen in the extremely metal- and dust-poor galaxy Leo P - Nature
Observations from the JWST MIRI-MRS instrument reveal the detection of rotational emission from molecular hydrogen near the only O-type star in the 3% solar metallicity galaxy Leo P, providing confirm...
www.nature.com
June 11, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Delighted that the first paper from our Cy2 JWST program was published today, reporting the discovery of molecular hydrogen in the 3% Solar metallicity galaxy Leo P. This was a very fun project with @karinsandstrom.bsky.social strom.bsky.social and fabulous co-authors! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
How bad will it be? Catastrophic.
Proposed cuts to #NSF, #NIH, and #NASA will set the US R&D landscape back 25 yrs+, cause economic and job loss now, and undermine innovations to come.
But, this is the WH's *proposed* budget.
Speak up now before it is too late.
(inflation adjusted $-s below)
Proposed cuts to #NSF, #NIH, and #NASA will set the US R&D landscape back 25 yrs+, cause economic and job loss now, and undermine innovations to come.
But, this is the WH's *proposed* budget.
Speak up now before it is too late.
(inflation adjusted $-s below)
May 31, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
Talk about a double whammy! Baby and big science result in the space of 10 hours - great work, Blakesley Burkhart www.nj.com/news/2025/05... 🔭
N.J. astrophysicist announces astonishing interstellar discovery — 10 hours after giving birth
The cloud of hydrogen is shaped like a crescent and “literally glowing in the dark" like fluorescent stickers on a child's bedroom ceiling.
www.nj.com
May 1, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Talk about a double whammy! Baby and big science result in the space of 10 hours - great work, Blakesley Burkhart www.nj.com/news/2025/05... 🔭
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
The CfA SPARK program offers a one-year postbaccalaureate research opportunity where you will contribute to current and on-going CfA research, and develop essential skills designed to strengthen your graduate school applications and prepare you for a successful career in astrophysics
SPARK: A Postbaccalaureate Internship | American Astronomical Society
Are you a recent graduate passionate about astrophysics and eager to gain hands-on research experience? Are you interested in continuing your education in astronomy graduate school but need additional...
aas.org
April 20, 2025 at 5:32 AM
The CfA SPARK program offers a one-year postbaccalaureate research opportunity where you will contribute to current and on-going CfA research, and develop essential skills designed to strengthen your graduate school applications and prepare you for a successful career in astrophysics
Very excited about this paper led by Ilyse Clark resolving an extragalactic, low metallicity photodissociation region for the first time! 5x more CO-dark H2 column than the comparable Milky Way PDR! arxiv.org/abs/2504.06247
The Resolved Structure of a Low Metallicity Photodissociation Region
Photodissociation Regions (PDRs) are key to understanding the feedback processes that shape interstellar matter in galaxies. One important type of PDR is the interface between HII regions and molecula...
arxiv.org
April 9, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Very excited about this paper led by Ilyse Clark resolving an extragalactic, low metallicity photodissociation region for the first time! 5x more CO-dark H2 column than the comparable Milky Way PDR! arxiv.org/abs/2504.06247
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
Call it anecdotal, but my Canadian friends who are cancelling their US travel are not doing it because of tariff worries at all; they’re doing it because the US government is currently actively threatening Canada’s sovereignty and economy and they’re all justifiably furious
This is exactly why Canadians are fed up with US media.
A segment on Canadians cancelling Vermont vacations. Mentions tariffs but not (1) who started the trade war or (2) that the US is constantly threatening to ANNEX our country!
This isn’t MAGA. It’s not FOX. It’s a random NBC affiliate.
A segment on Canadians cancelling Vermont vacations. Mentions tariffs but not (1) who started the trade war or (2) that the US is constantly threatening to ANNEX our country!
This isn’t MAGA. It’s not FOX. It’s a random NBC affiliate.
'Canadians are canceling their vacations': Vermont inns share tariff concerns
YouTube video by MyNBC5-WPTZ
www.youtube.com
March 16, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Call it anecdotal, but my Canadian friends who are cancelling their US travel are not doing it because of tariff worries at all; they’re doing it because the US government is currently actively threatening Canada’s sovereignty and economy and they’re all justifiably furious
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
February 26, 2025 at 1:58 AM
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
The first measles death in the US in a decade -- the tragic, preventable death of a child whose parents chose not to protect them with vaccination -- should spark an immediate nation-wide campaign to ensure all children are protected against preventable diseases. Anything less is unconscionable.
February 26, 2025 at 7:36 PM
The first measles death in the US in a decade -- the tragic, preventable death of a child whose parents chose not to protect them with vaccination -- should spark an immediate nation-wide campaign to ensure all children are protected against preventable diseases. Anything less is unconscionable.
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
Undergraduate research opportunities are incredibly valuable, both for the students and for the progress of the work. And having undergraduate research experience is a massive help for grad school admission. REU cancellations harm students’ preparedness & career prospects, and slow research progress
🚨 Many NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) are being cancelled for Summer 2025.
www.reddit.com/r/REU/commen...
www.reddit.com/r/REU/commen...
Cancellation megathread
www.reddit.com
February 24, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Undergraduate research opportunities are incredibly valuable, both for the students and for the progress of the work. And having undergraduate research experience is a massive help for grad school admission. REU cancellations harm students’ preparedness & career prospects, and slow research progress
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
Very much appreciate the clear directives from the chancellor of our district. Very much aware of how abnormal this all is.
youtu.be/j6qvbVESLKI?...
youtu.be/j6qvbVESLKI?...
Q and A with Chancellor Smith on Non-Participation in Immigration Enforcement
YouTube video by San Diego Community College District
youtu.be
February 4, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Very much appreciate the clear directives from the chancellor of our district. Very much aware of how abnormal this all is.
youtu.be/j6qvbVESLKI?...
youtu.be/j6qvbVESLKI?...
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
As of Jan. 15, a biography of Vera Rubin on the observatory’s website included a section titled, “She advocated for women in science.”
That language was gone Monday morning. Some of it was later restored — but not all of it.
By @lisalsong.bsky.social
That language was gone Monday morning. Some of it was later restored — but not all of it.
By @lisalsong.bsky.social
The Rewriting of a Pioneering Female Astronomer’s Legacy Shows How Far Trump’s DEI Purge Will Go
The federal webpage for an observatory named for the late astronomer Vera Rubin was edited to omit any recognition of the fact that science remains a male-dominated field or that the observatory was…
propub.li
February 2, 2025 at 1:00 AM
As of Jan. 15, a biography of Vera Rubin on the observatory’s website included a section titled, “She advocated for women in science.”
That language was gone Monday morning. Some of it was later restored — but not all of it.
By @lisalsong.bsky.social
That language was gone Monday morning. Some of it was later restored — but not all of it.
By @lisalsong.bsky.social
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
This is hitting my research group as well. NSF postdoc fellow can't get stipend paid in time to pay rent this month.
Apparently all the PhD researchers holding prestigious NSF-funded research fellowships are having their salaries withheld until some unspecified time when the leadership figures out how to eliminate any grant funding that doesn’t align with the president’s political ideology.
It’s official: all funding requests made on Tuesday by postdocs for their salaries have been unilaterally rejected by NSF.
January 30, 2025 at 9:52 PM
This is hitting my research group as well. NSF postdoc fellow can't get stipend paid in time to pay rent this month.
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
It would be fantastic if major federal institutions would acknowledge that the executive branch cannot legally unilaterally cancel or redistribute congressionally appropriated funding on ideological grounds and thus they have no legal obligation to comply with such directives
Trump funding freeze a blatant violation of Constitution, federal law: Legal experts
The Constitution, federal law and court decisions make it clear: President Donald Trump's order to pause federal funding is against the law, legal experts tell ABC News.
abcnews.go.com
January 31, 2025 at 4:54 AM
It would be fantastic if major federal institutions would acknowledge that the executive branch cannot legally unilaterally cancel or redistribute congressionally appropriated funding on ideological grounds and thus they have no legal obligation to comply with such directives
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
LAWLESS NSF:
Every NSF employee who is following the director on this funding freeze and fishing expedition is in violation of US code.
per the post below, this language has been reauthorized twice, most recently by Biden in 2022 as the CHIPS Act.
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...
🧪
Every NSF employee who is following the director on this funding freeze and fishing expedition is in violation of US code.
per the post below, this language has been reauthorized twice, most recently by Biden in 2022 as the CHIPS Act.
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...
🧪
January 31, 2025 at 12:23 AM
LAWLESS NSF:
Every NSF employee who is following the director on this funding freeze and fishing expedition is in violation of US code.
per the post below, this language has been reauthorized twice, most recently by Biden in 2022 as the CHIPS Act.
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...
🧪
Every NSF employee who is following the director on this funding freeze and fishing expedition is in violation of US code.
per the post below, this language has been reauthorized twice, most recently by Biden in 2022 as the CHIPS Act.
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...
🧪
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
I'll be talking about the Iliad in San Diego Feb 4th. www.eventbrite.com/e/the-annual...
The Annual Ranglas Lecture
Annual Ranglas Lecture: The Glory of Violence in the Iliad
www.eventbrite.com
January 25, 2025 at 12:28 AM
I'll be talking about the Iliad in San Diego Feb 4th. www.eventbrite.com/e/the-annual...
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
JWST N628 Stamp issued🔭
#extragalactic🧪https://shorturl.at/Xqrtk
Easy to forget that this is an actual place, a place w/ billions of ✨ and planets where we cannot travel.
Astronomy has guided humanity through the cosmos Humbling to reflect on the role we will play as our presence grows beyond Earth
#extragalactic🧪https://shorturl.at/Xqrtk
Easy to forget that this is an actual place, a place w/ billions of ✨ and planets where we cannot travel.
Astronomy has guided humanity through the cosmos Humbling to reflect on the role we will play as our presence grows beyond Earth
January 22, 2025 at 7:51 PM
JWST N628 Stamp issued🔭
#extragalactic🧪https://shorturl.at/Xqrtk
Easy to forget that this is an actual place, a place w/ billions of ✨ and planets where we cannot travel.
Astronomy has guided humanity through the cosmos Humbling to reflect on the role we will play as our presence grows beyond Earth
#extragalactic🧪https://shorturl.at/Xqrtk
Easy to forget that this is an actual place, a place w/ billions of ✨ and planets where we cannot travel.
Astronomy has guided humanity through the cosmos Humbling to reflect on the role we will play as our presence grows beyond Earth
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
NEW: #NASAWebb has spotted a reverberating light echo spreading across space. As a light pulse travels through space, it illuminates previously unseen material, revealing intricate structures resembling wood grain: webbtelescope.pub/422ET6Z #AAS245 🔭 🧪
January 14, 2025 at 7:41 PM
NEW: #NASAWebb has spotted a reverberating light echo spreading across space. As a light pulse travels through space, it illuminates previously unseen material, revealing intricate structures resembling wood grain: webbtelescope.pub/422ET6Z #AAS245 🔭 🧪
Reposted by Karin Sandstrom
OMG THIS SHOULD BE SHOUTED FROM THE ROOFTOPS!!!
Students!!! Heed this advice, please!!! 🙏
Students!!! Heed this advice, please!!! 🙏
Research is a Skill You Learn.
This is an important one for grad students—you aren’t born with an intrinsic ability to do research, it is a skill you acquire.
And that is what graduate school is for—so ask questions and don’t worry about looking “stupid”—you aren’t SUPPOSED to know!
This is an important one for grad students—you aren’t born with an intrinsic ability to do research, it is a skill you acquire.
And that is what graduate school is for—so ask questions and don’t worry about looking “stupid”—you aren’t SUPPOSED to know!
January 7, 2025 at 11:42 PM
OMG THIS SHOULD BE SHOUTED FROM THE ROOFTOPS!!!
Students!!! Heed this advice, please!!! 🙏
Students!!! Heed this advice, please!!! 🙏