Stopped by the Smithonian Air and Space museum this weekend to say hi to the Hubble model.
I also got to see the backup mirror (that was not ground to the wrong curvature) and the actual Hubble WFPC2 instrument that astronauts returned from space.
Remote
Kelly Lepo
@KellyLepo@scicomm.xyz
mastodon 4.7.3Astronomer | Science communicator | Adult Lisa Simpson
Freelance writer and editor. Former Education and Outreach Scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute supporting JWST.
Formerly @kellylepo@astrodon.social
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17 Posts
Joined June 09, 2025
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Replying to
It's been 25 years since Hubble's last full view of the Crab Nebula, and we can actually see it expand.
The way it is expanding is somewhat unique. The expansion of the Crab is driven by the pulsar wind nebula, rather shockwaves from the initial explosion. Filaments around the edge of the nebula appear to have moved more compared to those in the center, and that rather than stretching out over time, they appear to have simply moved outward.
See it in action:
https://youtu.be/xsXH2MGIXbI
Tour the Crab Nebula
Ugh. This is happening at the worst possible time. I have two days to finish all of my grading and set up three sections of summer class, and Canvas gets hacked 🫠
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/05/07/hackers-target-canvas-again
One of the last things I worked on at STScI is finally out.
Learn what JWST has taught us about how stars form, and get excited about what we will learn in the future. We're just getting started!
Narrated by yours truly.
Webb: Transforming Our Understanding of Star Formation
Replying to
They asked me to do a video themed on the Winter Olympics. It turns out that there are not a lot of movies that involve winter sports, so it was either figure skating or Cool Runnings.
Did I think that most people would get the references to an almost 10 year old movie (I, Tonya) or an almost 20 year old movie (Blades of Glory)? No. Did I care? Also no.
Replying to
I will note that in the run-up to launch, as the date was pushed back a few times and it was looking more and more likely that it would be in late December, I was told that JWST would launch any day except Christmas Day. The workers at the Spaceport would not work the holiday. I'm glad they made an exception.
My latest video for Astronomy on Tap Baltimore: Heated Rivalry
In a world where there are no out gay observatories, NASA Astrophysics and NASA Earth Science begin a romance. Can they keep their love a secret?
Heated Rivalry - Astronomy on Tap Baltimore
Replying to
If you like my content on here, and you want to support me as I figure things out, you can buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/kellylepo
Replying to
A visualization of the Apep system, showing the nested shells of carbon-rich dust produced by the colliding winds of a Wolf-Rayet binary.
https://youtu.be/fITdexBNfkQ?si=mdEixVAcvkUpFI3W
Wolf-Rayet Apep Visualization — James Webb Space Telescope
Replying to
@MedeaVanamonde I haven't seen any claims a detection of planets or a debris disk around the Crab pulsar. This thing has been so well studied, I think we would know if any were there.
But that's a good question since the first exoplanets were found around a pulsar!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulsar_planet
Replying to
@cosmos4u This release was one of many that was delayed by the shutdown. I don't know any of the details on ApJ's side of things.