RE: https://mastodon.com.br/@xkcd/117450533354262021

Astronomer here, I endorse this experiment.

The 2027 ESO Calendar is now available!

With its spectacular views of the cosmos and of our observatories in #Chile, it's the perfect companion to travel across the Universe, one month at a time!

Grab yours at the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre, located next to our HQ in Garching, or get it online via the ESOshop: https://www.eso.org/public/shop/product/calendar_2027/

But supplies are limited, so be quick! 😉

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science #astrophotography

Now that we’ve abolished leap seconds, and won’t tweak standard time to match the rotation of the Earth until the discrepancy reaches 1 hour, we should establish a generation-spanning secret society that shuffles objects around to make Earth’s spin conform to atomic time instead.

Poetry Corner

So. Farewell
Then
Leap second.

Cause of joy
And agony
For all timekeepers everywhere.

Now we will have
Leap hours instead.

Which will not cause
Any problems whatsoever.
Obviously.

E.J. Thribb (17.5 != TAI-UTC)

BIPM resolution

#astrodon #astronomy #NoLeapSecond #exoplanets https://www.bipm.org/en/cgpm-2026/resolution-5

Ok, looks like this is the week of funny experiences.

Customer: "I had an AI check our server and it says the SSH port is open and that's not very secure."

Me: "Yes, you asked us to open it so you could access the server via SFTP (actually, you wanted FTP, but we discussed it a bit and found this compromise). Don't worry, it's only accessible from your IP and you land in a dedicated FreeBSD jail. From there, you can only access the 'exchange' directory on your server, where you can upload and download files without affecting the application."

(NB: I had suggested a VPN, but they declined because it was too complicated.)

Customer: "Yes, but maybe it's still insecure. Can't we close it?"

Me: "No, unless you want to lose access to that directory."

Customer: "Ok, thanks."

One hour later:

Customer: "Hi, I think we've found a solution. We've just created an app (!!!) with AI that lets us access the files anyway, but more securely than SSH (!!!). Can we install that and close SSH? Oh, and not in the dedicated jail, but directly in the application's jail, because it needs access to the application's files."

Me: "Frankly, I trust SSH in a dedicated jail, restricted by the firewall, a lot more. I don't think this is a good idea."

Customer: "Ok, thanks."

Half an hour later:

Customer: "Ok, now it's secure. I had another AI check it and it found some security issues, but it fixed them all. Can you install it and disable SSH?"

Me: "I strongly advise against it. I can see problems coming."

Customer: "Ok, thanks."

One hour later, my phone rings.

Their internal IT guy (who has access to the machine, which, after all, belongs to them) had given the AI the login credentials to go ahead with the operation.

Except the AI had managed to lock itself out via the firewall, without even starting the app. And now they couldn't get back in.

Fortunately, I had my own access, via VPN, to a separate jail that the AI hadn't touched (or even considered).

Customer: "SORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRY! From now on, we do things your way."

Well, at least it ended well.

PS: The customer knows I'm sharing this story and agreed to it.

#IT #SysAdmin

That's an end of an era - while I hope that sciXplorer will serve more communities in a similar way, I am also afraid that astrophysics is loosing something unique.

It took me long to realize that not all fields have a dedicated non-commercial publication search engine that allows you to easily track papers & associated ArXiv preprints & all the references. I still have no idea how other researchers manage without something similar ...

▶️ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-026-03009-y

#astrodon #AcademicChatter

Just found out that "prompts marketplaces" are a thing so you don’t have to think too hard about your prompt.

New milestone reached 🥳

Nearly 500 segments of the main mirror of our Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) have now arrived from Europe at the ELT Technical Facility at our Paranal Observatory in #Chile. That is around half of all the segments being made for what will become a 39-metre eye on the sky.

➡️ https://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann26009/

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science #engineering

📷 ESO

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RE: https://mastodon.social/@esoastronomy/117364596589796126

Do you like #astronomy ? Yes you do. Come visit us tomorrow if you're in the Garching / #Munchen area! We have lots of fun activities for all ages showcasing our #science and #engineering 👇👇👇

#Electromagnetism_trivia :

this is one of the many experiments I showed during yesterday Researchers Night #NdR (https://mastodon.social/@franco_vazza/117336284252180524):

a Mickey Mouse fully floating in space.

What is this effect?

#science #physics #electromagnetism

Comic by Smoth Dunk

#FuckAI

I am somehow both birds in this cartoon.

https://poorlydrawnlines.com/comic/must-be-new/

In #Munich on 3 October? Come and visit us! We’re opening our doors for the Open House Day of the Garching Research Campus.

Chats with astronomers, kids activities, live connections with our observatories in Chile... there’s plenty in store for you!

Full programme: https://www.eso.org/public/announcements/annlang26002-de/

Don’t miss the planetarium shows and exhibition at the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre: https://supernova.eso.org/germany/programme/detail/es1281/

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science #munchen #germany #deutschland

me: so those are *definitely* chocolate chips and not raisins, right?

the cookie:

A wheel fit for a giant!

Two engineers look up at the heart of MICADO, a future instrument of our Extremely Large Telescope.

Each slot in this giant wheel carries a different filter. The mechanism measures 1.5 metres, compared with just a few tens of centimetres across in today’s telescopes.

1/2

📷 MPE/NOVA/F. Kamphues

#astrodon astronomy #astrophysics #space #science #engineering

Make sure to take your robot vacuum out for a walk sometimes, so it can try dirt from different places.

This software is a work of fiction. Variable names, character codes, classes, and comments are products of the author's imagination or used ironically. Any resemblance to any actual code, interfaces, or programs, maintained or not, is entirely coincidental.

RE: https://mastodon.social/@404mediaco/117269870717698867

Turns out there were people inside Daleks all along.

A starry night, but in another galaxy ✨

Fly over the Magellanic Clouds, two galaxies orbiting the Milky Way, and discover a new stellar landscape — completely different from the one we see in our sky here on Earth.

1/2

📹 ESO/M. R. Cioni et al., VMC Survey, P. Horálek, Zdeněk Bardon, N. Risinger
🎵 Mylonite – Composition 129

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science

#CitizenScience afficionados, #Euclid scientists would like to again solicit your input for classifying #GravitationalLensing systems. We need a sprint finish before the science analysis can be completed. 18000 galaxies that are maybe acting as lenses are waiting for your eyes and brains.

Do you want to join?

All the background is here:

https://blog.spacewarps.org/2026/09/11/space-warps-classify-complete-sprint-finish-on-space-warps-refine/

#ESA #ESAEuclid #gravity #astronomy #space