Steinn Sigurðsson
Professor of Astrophysics at Pennsylvania State University. Science Editor at Astrophysical Journal. Icelandic. Herder of Cats.
catdynamics
Posts by this author
January 25, 2012
So you want to be an astrophysicist?
You've suffered through 3-4 years of undergrad, and you're ready for more.
You picked the places to apply to (or have you...?), and you're ready for the paperwork.
Another lightly retouched blast from the past...
So what do you do?
First you apply to the…
January 25, 2012
interesting pair of stories on black hole discoveries
ok, so they're like so totally last year...
I'm trying to catch up
RXTE finds low mass black hole - claim it is just under 3 solar masses
intereting to contemplate how it came to be
well, either that or the object is further away or more…
January 20, 2012
Exoclimes 2012 is over.
But, I belatedly found out that there conference was tweeted and liveblogged by a group at Exoclimes.com
Really, .com?
Not .org?!
Anyway, it is a good summary of the sessions.
Go wild.
January 19, 2012
Exoclimes 2012 is wrapping up
I have been hanging out at Exoclimes 2012 this week, taking in the latest results on exoplanetary atmospheres, both observations and theory, as well as future prospects.
It is clearly a very active and rapidly expanding field with prospects for huge amounts of near/…
January 19, 2012
So, you want to be an astrophysicist? You're an undergraduate, doing astronomy or physics (or possibly engineering, mathematics or computer science, or something), should you go to grad school?
Another lightly reworked blast from the blog past
see also Rob's recent take at Galactic Interactions…
January 19, 2012
The 2012 Crafoord Prizes in Astronomy and Mathematics were announced this morning.
Crafoord Prize 2012 Announcement
In Astronomy, Prof. Andrea Ghez, UCLA won for her patient and groundbreaking work on stellar dynamics in the core of the Milky Way and the robust mass measurement of the central black…
January 16, 2012
So, now you're at university, and you're thinking about heading for grad school ...
More re-runs from Ye Olde Blogge
The following is horribly UScentric, 'cause that's where I am right now.
The general principles are broadly applicable, the actual getting into grad school procedure bit in future…
January 12, 2012
You are at university.
Do you like stars, and stuff?
Another rehashed blast from the past
Should you do astronomy as an undergrad? (the following is in part shamelessly cribbed from a colleague's previous freshman seminar for our majors):
Do you like stars and stuff?
If not, you probably should…
January 12, 2012
BBC reports Oxford Astronomy Prof Steven Rawlings found dead
"A 49-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. "
Oxford Mail has more details and updates.
Steve Rawlings
Update: may be coroner's inquest, not murder inquiry - Rawlings' widow says she thinks Dr Sivia (man initially held…
January 11, 2012
What should a high school student do to get on a track to become an astrophysicist?
Reworked from an oldie.
Yeah, it is cheap blogging, but moderately timely and fills space...
So, you're in high school wondering what to do with yourself, and you think: "hey, I could be an astrophysicist!"
So, what…
January 11, 2012
ok, on a roll, so lets put out some must listen:
Blog Talk Radio interviews Bill "CR" McBride from the legendary Calculated Risk blog
on a completely different note:
The Must Have Billy Bragg and Wiggy podcast collection - linked to before, but can never be reminded of too often, 'cause there ain…
January 10, 2012
some random links for your reading pleasure
Free SF Online - indexed, mostly shorts and audio podcasts.
Excellent way to get an intro to some new reads.
Then go out and buy the books.
eg Ted Chiang
David Brin
Greg Egan
On a different note:
"5 things you should know before dating a scientist"
Chad…
January 6, 2012
Some blogosphere buzz on SETI having found candidate signals during a search of Kepler candidate exoplanets, are NOT true.
Kepler-SETI interference
there is narrow band signal in some of the data, but it is terrestrial interference.
Nothing to see here.
December 23, 2011
And, so, as this feast of Saint Thorlacius comes to an end, we await the arrival of the last of the yule lads the sneaky candle swiper hisself
Kertasníkir
The lads are bathed, a major achievement in and of itself, and ready for the grand finale
tomorrow night they leave town, but first their…
December 22, 2011
The penultimate half-troll trundles into town today,
ready to pounce on the shoppers rushing home with their treasures
Ketrókur
he carries a big stick and he is not afraid to use it,
upon it is a hook with which he'll snag the who-beast shanks straight from the pot and scarf it up while it is hot
December 22, 2011
getting ready for the grand finale,
the eleventh of the elven comes sidling into town
Gáttaþefur
He is well endowed this lad, and his long and sensitive proboscis will sniff out the christmas baking and he will swipe it if he can
he is hoping for some Laufabrauð
nom nom nom
December 21, 2011
Books, of course, but which books...?
One of these "be careful what you wish for" things, is that I now get a lot of requests to review books (and DVDs and online games etc), just as I reach the stage of my life where I spend most of my time doing reading reformatting paperwork instead of reading…
December 21, 2011
bit naughty this half-troll is
Gluggagægir likes to peep through your window late at night and see wassup
he's a sweety, really he is, just checking on whether you've been naughty as we get closer to the big day
December 21, 2011
Interpretative Dance of Astrobiology
It is your job to do that.
The interpretive dance of astrobiology, that is.
FameLab Astrobiology<.A>
An official competition with prizes and stuff:
"FameLab Astrobiology is a science communication extravaganza! Via four preliminary and one final…
December 20, 2011
and the jólasveinar march on with their stout staffs in their hand...
this morning
Bjúgnakrækir
he climbs the rafters looking for sausages being hung or smoked, he particularly like the thick fatty bjúgu - lamb or horse he'll eat them all
nom nom nom
December 20, 2011
Theorists think of observations and data a bit like businesses think of science and technology: it happens, apparently effortlessly, and is available for free as needed or on demand.
December 19, 2011
This year I noted an anomaly in one of my class assignments...
In my class, that just finished, as part of some of the short writing assignments, I ask the students to look at past, current and future space science missions, NASA or ESA, and to describe one of each to me : 1-2 pages at a level…
December 19, 2011
Oh dreadful son-of-a-troll!
Last night the most feared of all the jólasveinar came, and a true son of a troll is he...
Skyrgámur!
Curse you!
He steals your skyr, the last of the precious few hauled hundreds of miles across the mountains, in the snow, up hill, both ways...
and then he taunts you!
December 17, 2011
If you wake tonight to the door slamming, it is probably just the wind,
or is it...
Hurðaskellir - he's a bother.
This explains it all...
December 16, 2011
And the jólasveinar keep stumbling in, the pace ramping up as christmas approaches (actually it is steady at one per day, it just feels ever more frantic)
Askasleikir - he licks your Ask clean, natch.
No, this sort of Askur, silly - the sort you keep your skyr in!
December 16, 2011
Prof Fred Rasio NU named ApJL Editor
Congratulations Fred!
Chris Sneden should receive our profuse thanks, he always handled my papers with supreme patience, speed and courtesy, and was actively helpful in providing advise and sliding through some of our more amusing speculative missives.
Fred, I…
December 16, 2011
Pottasleikir - cheap, but he licks the pots clean, saves on the washing up
December 15, 2011
For my class, one f the things I asked is what I should tell them about which I did not do.
Somewhat to my surprise, one question, endorsed by a number of other students, was whether I could recommend some good science fiction to read over the holidays.
Why, yes, yes I can...
Ok, we'll jst let rip…