Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · 7d

$116.7k, per the latest AAUP Faculty Compensation Survey, rising to $160.8k for full professors.
data.aaup.org/fcs-ft-facul...

Full-Time Faculty Avg. Salary, by Academic Rank | AAUP Data

The number of faculty and average projected salary expenditures for full-time faculty members on the payroll of institutions as of November 1 of each academic year.

data.aaup.org

1 2

Reposted by Dr Robert Minchin

National Radio Astronomy Observatory - NSF NRAO @thenrao.bsky.social · 19d

NEW: NRAO to Outfit the VLBA with New Ultra Wideband Receivers

A major upgrade is coming to the NSF Very Long Baseline Array (NSF VLBA) – state-of-the-art ultra wideband receivers capable of operating across the frequency range of 8 - 40 gigahertz (GHz).

#RadioAstronomy #Astronomy #NRAO #VLBA

National Radio Astronomy Observatory to Outfit the VLBA with New Ultra Wideband Receivers - National Radio Astronomy Observatory

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is upgrading the NSF Very Long Baseline Array with new ultra wideband receivers spanning 8–40 GHz, expanding its scientific reach and enabling Ka-band observat...

public.nrao.edu

12 30

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · 21d

There is a fuller summary of TEC's position at www.episcopalchurch.org/ogr/summary-... (from 2024). This might be more reassuring than the 2022 statements.

Summary of General Convention Resolutions on Abortion and Women's Reproductive Health

Originally published 17 May, 2019; updated 23 February, 2024 Clergy throughout The Episcopal Church counsel those in their care who struggle with issues relating to infertility, family planning, pregn...

www.episcopalchurch.org

1 2

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · 21d

I think the 2022 statements were very much a response to the events at that time, and I know others (including my priest) who were upset by them not reflecting the full breadth of TEC's teaching as agreed by General Convention that “all human life is sacred … from its inception until death."

1 2

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Sep 15

The local TV station, KOAT, confirmed this was a scientific balloon launch from Fort Sumner
koat.com/article/scie...

Scientific balloon spotted in the Albuquerque skies

National Weather Service confirms a scientific balloon in the Albuquerque sky.

koat.com

2

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Sep 15

High altitude balloon seen to the north of #Socorro this evening. Without the telephoto lens it was just a bright object hovering high in the sky at dusk.

White balloon with something below it against a grey background

1 5

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Sep 8

Probably – this was a mesquite wood barbecue,not a gas burner, so there is a fuel there that could be blessed (and gives a definite scent to the smoke)

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Sep 8

It was our annual picnic/mass at a campground in a local National Forest. I played guitar (with others, not pictured). The question was raised as to whether barbecue smoke counts as incense.

Bearded man in shorts and t-shirt playing guitar with trees behind

2 6

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Sep 5

Interesting theo-practical note: three-legged stools are stable as long as you keep your centre of mass carefully within the small triangle of the legs. Move slightly outside of this and they become very unstable very quickly.

1

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Sep 5

I don't like the way it's done, with those replacements you mention, even if the idea of spending some time celebrating creation is good.
We're not making liturgical changes, but we're having an after-mass discussion series on science and religion:
www.eclasproject.org/resource/how...

How has the Church engaged with science through history? A small group reflection – ECLAS

A small group reflection to explore how science and the Church have interacted over time.

www.eclasproject.org

2

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Sep 1

Except it doesn’t feel dated – it’s the same sort of language still used today. NASA’s StarChild page on the universe, for example, opens with “The universe is a vast expanse of space”.

1

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Sep 1

modern understanding of the Earth and the universe, that isn't something that looks likely to change.

Science isn't going away, and wasn't just a brief flurry in the 1970s.

1 2

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Sep 1

If anything, I'd say that language is even more relevant today. Interstellar space hasn't become any less vast, and we are more aware as a society of just how fragile the Earth is. Having come to it fresh in the 2010s, the language doesn't seem in the least bit dated and if the language is tied to a

1 2

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Aug 30

Rhymes with gone for me, as in the astronomers' lament:
Our funding was gone
But the stars still shone

1

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Aug 25

Almost any Catholic bookshop or online store is likely to have this kind of thing.

1

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Aug 23

Great Horned Owl at the Bosque del Apache this evening #Socorro

Owl on a dead tree branch flapping its wings

3

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Aug 17

If just attending, absolutely fine (although probably overdressed at almost every church I've attended). I'd say it can be more confusing for clergy who are not playing an active role to attend in clericals.

Reposted by Dr Robert Minchin

National Radio Astronomy Observatory - NSF NRAO @thenrao.bsky.social · Aug 8

NEW: ALMA Sheds Light on “the Cosmic Grapes”

Super high-resolution #ALMA and #JWST observations unveil unexpected details of rapid growth in a faint, newborn “grape-like” galaxy, similar to galaxies in the early universe following the Big Bang. 🍇

#RadioAstronomy #Astronomy #NRAO

The Universe’s Secret Harvest: ALMA Sheds Light on “the Cosmic Grapes” - National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Astronomers have discovered a remarkably clumpy rotating galaxy that existed just 900 million years after the Big Bang, shedding...

public.nrao.edu

1 5 18

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Aug 2

And it remained at the start of the wheat harvest in Christianity, which is at the end of summer in Europe.

1

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Aug 2

It's one of the festivals carried over from Judaism. Paul didn't just pluck 'first fruits' from thin air – it's in Deuteronomy and Leviticus.

1 3

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Aug 1

In Christianity, it is also associated with the risen Christ as the first fruits of those who died (1 Cor 15:20) ⚓️

1 9

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Aug 1

Today is Lammas, the cross-quarter day marking the end of summer and the start of the harvest. The name comes from “loaf-mass”, when a freshly-baked loaf was blessed as the first fruits of the wheat harvest.

1 4 16

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Jul 29

24 hours left to submit your NRAO proposals! Deadline is 5pm ET (21:00 UT) tomorrow (Wednesday 30 July). #RadioAstronomy

3

Reposted by Dr Robert Minchin

H. Minchin @hminchin.bsky.social · Jul 27

Proud of @robminchin.bsky.social for preaching on bread as part of lay preacher training. He linked it to Lammas (coming on Friday), Christ the first fruits from the dead, and sharing the bread of our faith when it'd be easier to just not. Really well co-ordinated hymns as well!

1 5

Dr Robert Minchin @robminchin.bsky.social · Jul 20

It was Morning Prayer, so no sharing of the kiss of peace today – we dodged that one!

2