Benne W. Holwerda
@benneholwerda.bsky.social
Dad, Professor of Astronomy at the University of Louisville. He/Him/hey you. Opinions are my own. As are the typos.
Astronomy, datascience, ethics & occasional US/EU politics.
Astronomy, datascience, ethics & occasional US/EU politics.
Reposted by Benne W. Holwerda
For the astronomers: I found an accretion disk diagram cheese. A quesar.
November 20, 2025 at 12:47 PM
For the astronomers: I found an accretion disk diagram cheese. A quesar.
Reposted by Benne W. Holwerda
Extremely upset that a throw-away XKCD joke somehow became the organizing principle for the Internet.
November 20, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Extremely upset that a throw-away XKCD joke somehow became the organizing principle for the Internet.
Reposted by Benne W. Holwerda
Remember that lovely aurora last week?
Well...um...this is what Euclid saw... 😱
🧵
Well...um...this is what Euclid saw... 😱
🧵
November 19, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Remember that lovely aurora last week?
Well...um...this is what Euclid saw... 😱
🧵
Well...um...this is what Euclid saw... 😱
🧵
But what is a new administrator to do then? Talk to these people?
November 19, 2025 at 3:12 AM
But what is a new administrator to do then? Talk to these people?
Also @aussiastronomer.bsky.social totally saved my bacon in class prep this week. 🙏
November 18, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Also @aussiastronomer.bsky.social totally saved my bacon in class prep this week. 🙏
Last week of the semester. Proposal hangover. Only one way to get going. A coffee and…
Norwegian rock.
Norwegian rock.
a man in a superhero costume is standing in the dark
Alt: a man in a superhero costume is standing in the dark
media.tenor.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Last week of the semester. Proposal hangover. Only one way to get going. A coffee and…
Norwegian rock.
Norwegian rock.
Reposted by Benne W. Holwerda
SI units for #ExoELT instruments are mass and height in Chilean Elephants (ChEl) and German Giraffes (GeGi), respectively.
I will not be taking questions at this time.
I will not be taking questions at this time.
November 18, 2025 at 9:24 AM
SI units for #ExoELT instruments are mass and height in Chilean Elephants (ChEl) and German Giraffes (GeGi), respectively.
I will not be taking questions at this time.
I will not be taking questions at this time.
Reposted by Benne W. Holwerda
This picture of Io's shadow by Juno is excellent.
November 18, 2025 at 2:04 AM
This picture of Io's shadow by Juno is excellent.
And the NSF proposal is in! Gotta have a cliffhanger otherwise the grants people at the university don’t get to have their little fun.
a man holding a large rock over his head
Alt: a man holding a large rock over his head
media.tenor.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:31 PM
And the NSF proposal is in! Gotta have a cliffhanger otherwise the grants people at the university don’t get to have their little fun.
3am in the library? Librarians have families too. Why does everything have to be 24/7?
Forget 24 hour libraries, I want library branches (open normal hours) with social workers, nurses, and psychologists on staff.
November 17, 2025 at 10:13 PM
3am in the library? Librarians have families too. Why does everything have to be 24/7?
Reposted by Benne W. Holwerda
Like it or not this technology is here to stay and if you don’t use it you’ll fall behind in your industry
November 16, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Like it or not this technology is here to stay and if you don’t use it you’ll fall behind in your industry
Reposted by Benne W. Holwerda
Hup Jerry Afriyie! Zó Goed om hierboven te staan. ✊✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿
November 16, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Hup Jerry Afriyie! Zó Goed om hierboven te staan. ✊✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿
Reposted by Benne W. Holwerda
Those were beautiful #aurorae in the past days. A solar storm brought a lot of protons to Earth. Not only to Earth but also to #ESAEuclid – but does #Euclid notice? Oh yes.
www.euclid-ec.org/here-comes-t...
#ESA #Sun #SpaceWeather #space
www.euclid-ec.org/here-comes-t...
#ESA #Sun #SpaceWeather #space
November 15, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Those were beautiful #aurorae in the past days. A solar storm brought a lot of protons to Earth. Not only to Earth but also to #ESAEuclid – but does #Euclid notice? Oh yes.
www.euclid-ec.org/here-comes-t...
#ESA #Sun #SpaceWeather #space
www.euclid-ec.org/here-comes-t...
#ESA #Sun #SpaceWeather #space
Thrifting with the elderkid.
November 15, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Thrifting with the elderkid.
Reposted by Benne W. Holwerda
In the global electrification race China is marching ahead.
The US and Europe risk falling behind clinging on to yesterday's technologies.
The US and Europe risk falling behind clinging on to yesterday's technologies.
November 14, 2025 at 1:51 PM
In the global electrification race China is marching ahead.
The US and Europe risk falling behind clinging on to yesterday's technologies.
The US and Europe risk falling behind clinging on to yesterday's technologies.
Reposted by Benne W. Holwerda
Less of a threat than the truck/SUV cult.
November 15, 2025 at 4:17 AM
Less of a threat than the truck/SUV cult.
The Zwarte Piet transition has been one of the more interesting social changes over the last decades.
Six years ago the Sinterklaas parade in Gouda was maybe 80% full blackface. Now it’s 0%. The kids haven’t noticed and no-one cares.
November 15, 2025 at 1:12 PM
The Zwarte Piet transition has been one of the more interesting social changes over the last decades.
We all know what happened to the pope after that sit down.
Vance insisted that he is focused on the GOP winning the midterms right now, and will discuss potentially running in 2028 only after that.
Vance Says He’ll ‘Sit Down’ With Trump And Talk About 2028 After The Midterms
Vance insisted that he is focused on the GOP winning the midterms right now, and will discuss potentially running in 2028 only after that.
www.forbes.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:04 PM
We all know what happened to the pope after that sit down.
Reposted by Benne W. Holwerda
An Islamic school in Kentucky had a bomb threat today, went into lockdown for the first time in its history. I can’t help but wonder if it isn’t connected to that baby formula social experiment that made 2 mosques look more christian than several churches.
November 15, 2025 at 1:36 AM
An Islamic school in Kentucky had a bomb threat today, went into lockdown for the first time in its history. I can’t help but wonder if it isn’t connected to that baby formula social experiment that made 2 mosques look more christian than several churches.
Reposted by Benne W. Holwerda
God bless people who are good about sending calendar invites, I would never remember to attend any of this shit in my own
November 14, 2025 at 7:17 PM
God bless people who are good about sending calendar invites, I would never remember to attend any of this shit in my own
It’s not that the car is intentionally spiky. The soft bits fell off during the last encounter.
![4-panel vertical comic. (1) 100 Years Ago [two people standing next to bicycle with small car nearby] PERSON 1: It’s too dangerous riding a bike with these cars around. I should get a car, too. (2) 50 Years Ago [two people between smaller car and bigger car] PERSON 2 with short hair: Small cars are less safe in collisions with larger vehicles, so I should get a bigger one. (3) Today [two people between big car and even bigger car] PERSON 1: Everyone has huge SUVs now. If I don’t get the biggest one, I’m putting my family at risk. (4) Soon [two people next to large armored car with spiked clubs attached] PERSON 2: If I don’t install more whirling spike clubs, I’ll be destroyed by all the other drivers who...](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreiby6can6k76yzfmv2czxs4pu2l7zie7bqbrpswi7h3ifmiadkuqvu@jpeg)
November 15, 2025 at 1:18 AM
It’s not that the car is intentionally spiky. The soft bits fell off during the last encounter.
I found out who this was today and I’m sad and a little mad about it.
i’d be more comfortable with the olivia nuzzi coverage if every story was headlined something like “seduced by a guy who eats roadkill: the story of an extremely stupid lady”
November 15, 2025 at 1:03 AM
I found out who this was today and I’m sad and a little mad about it.
Reposted by Benne W. Holwerda
Hemp farmers and business holding a press conference outside of Mitch McConnell’s office in Louisville slamming him for slipping in language to the CR that they say will completely destroy their industry and livelihood.
November 14, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Hemp farmers and business holding a press conference outside of Mitch McConnell’s office in Louisville slamming him for slipping in language to the CR that they say will completely destroy their industry and livelihood.
Reposted by Benne W. Holwerda
Is AI making job recruitment less meritocratic? We're getting some v interesting research studies on this question now, and the news is... not good. @jburnmurdoch.ft.com & I dive in, in the latest edition of our newsletter The AI Shift www.ft.com/content/e5b7...
November 14, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Is AI making job recruitment less meritocratic? We're getting some v interesting research studies on this question now, and the news is... not good. @jburnmurdoch.ft.com & I dive in, in the latest edition of our newsletter The AI Shift www.ft.com/content/e5b7...
That comma is really necessary. I read it without first.
The Harvard Scientist, Kim Kardashian and the Comet That Probably Isn’t an Alien Spaceship
Scientists who study comets are struggling to keep up with popular speculation that the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS was sent to our solar system by an alien intelligence.
Learn more: buff.ly/72TcoF5 🧪 🔭
Scientists who study comets are struggling to keep up with popular speculation that the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS was sent to our solar system by an alien intelligence.
Learn more: buff.ly/72TcoF5 🧪 🔭
The Harvard Scientist, Kim Kardashian and the Comet That Probably Isn’t an Alien Spaceship
Scientists who study comets are struggling to keep up with popular speculation that the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS was sent to our solar system by an alien intelligence.
buff.ly
November 14, 2025 at 12:04 AM
That comma is really necessary. I read it without first.