ESCAPE Gateway to EOSC for Astronomy & Particle Physics

🚀 Great news! The journal Astronomy is now indexed in Gale & Reaxys—boosting visibility and discoverability across global research communities. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dpTyd2Jm #Astronomy #OpenAccess #AcademicPublishing

NEXT EAI SEMINAR: "Photosynthesis under simulated red dwarf spectra and analogous light niches on Earth" Tuesday 24th March 2026, 16:00 CET by Nicoletta La Rocca, Associate Professor of Plant Physiology, Department of Biology, University of Padova - Italy Oxygenic photosynthesis generates both atmospheric and surface biosignatures, making it a primary target in the search for life beyond Earth. The release of atmospheric oxygen and the distinctive reflectance spectra produced by photosynthetic pigments represent two potentially detectable indicators of biological activity on exoplanets. Because many potentially habitable planets have been found orbiting the habitable zones of M-dwarf stars, a central question in astrobiology is whether oxygenic photosynthesis could operate under the spectral conditions of these stars and generate detectable biosignatures. Most known oxygenic phototrophs rely on visible light (VIS, 400–700 nm) to drive photosynthesis. However, planets orbiting M-dwarfs receive radiation that is relatively depleted in visible wavelengths and enriched in far-red and infrared light (FR, 700–750 nm; IR, 750–1000 nm), spectral regions that generally do not support conventional oxygenic photosynthesis. Nevertheless, several terrestrial environments provide natural analogues of these conditions. Far-red–enriched ecological niches on Earth host diverse oxygenic phototrophs capable of functioning under these light conditions thanks to a suite of unique physiological and structural features. To investigate the astrobiological implications of these adaptations, we developed a laboratory platform that simulates key exoplanetary conditions, including an anoxic atmosphere and tailored irradiance spectra. The system also allows real-time monitoring of organism growth, oxygen evolution, and reflectance spectra. By combining laboratory simulations with the study of photosynthetic diversity on Earth, our multidisciplinary research team in Padova, Italy, is exploring the plausibility of oxygenic photosynthesis on M-dwarf planets and the biosignatures it could produce. Watch the seminar at: https://lnkd.in/d-3WufX4 Trailer: https://lnkd.in/d6puAcbn

Looking for the most impactful astronomy research right now?🔭 🌌The Editor-in-Chief of Astronomy has curated a collection of Editor’s Choice articles -highlighting studies that stand out for their innovation and relevance. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/d3dJ-zKX #Astronomy #Astrophysics

Excited to share that our software release paper for iDaVIE (Immersive Data Visualisation Interactive Explorer) has been accepted for publication in Astronomy & Computing! 🚀 As astronomy enters the era of increasingly large and complex datasets, we need new ways to explore and understand them. In this work, we present iDaVIE v1.0 — a virtual reality environment for interactively exploring 3D astronomical data cubes, enabling more intuitive analysis, quality control, and discovery. The software has already been applied to datasets from instruments such as MeerKAT, ASKAP, and APERTIF, supporting tasks like source identification and refining detection masks. This project has been a great opportunity to combine astronomy, visualisation, and immersive technologies. 🔗 Journal article: https://lnkd.in/earhsSgU 🔗 arXiv preprint: https://lnkd.in/eFGSduWM 💻 Software: https://lnkd.in/eZtK_r9j 📦 Zenodo: https://lnkd.in/ehMbT9_b Big thanks to all co-authors — Lucia Marchetti, Angus Comrie, Pieter Cilliers Pretorius, Thijs van der Hulst, Fabio Vitello, D.J. Pisano, Ugo Becciani, A. Russell Taylor, Paolo Serra, Mayhew Steyn, Michaela van Zyl — and all collaborators who made this possible! #iDaVIE is part of the exciting #BigData visualisation work we do across IDIA - Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy University of Cape Town Armagh Observatory & Planetarium INAF Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica Kapteyn Astronomical Institute #Astronomy #Astrophysics #DataVisualization #VirtualReality #OpenScience #Unity3D

🎙️Let me bring your attention to two preprints that came out of my first postdoctoral fellowship Massey University - Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa, back in New Zealand. This is a joint work with Prof. David J.W. Simpson. In the first work, we introduced the VIVID function, that lets us continue periodic orbits via Poincaré maps through grazing events. With traditional methods, this might fail near the grazing events due to square-root singularities. This is possible because VIVID is a scalar reformulation that maps Velocity Into Variation In Displacement, which circumvents these singularities and allows robust tracking of periodic orbits and their bifurcations right up to grazing. This provides a simpler and reliable numerical alternative to collocation near grazing bifurcations. 📝Title: The VIVID function for numerically continuing periodic orbits arising from grazing bifurcations of hybrid dynamical systems 🔗Preprint: https://lnkd.in/dZzTi2UZ In the second work, we focus on codimension-two grazing scenarios where the square-root term disappears in higher iterates of the Poincaré map. We rigorously characterise how period-doubling and saddle-node curves emanate from grazing, and prove their quadratic tangencies. We also resolve a long-standing conjecture about admissibility of single-impact periodic motions. These explain why chaos often does not immediately follow grazing in experiments. 📝Title: Resonant grazing bifurcations revisited 🔗Preprint: https://lnkd.in/dyjKgZ8R If these works resonate with the research you are doing on hybrid systems, numerical continuation, and complex bifurcation structures, do not hesitate to get in touch with me.

🔍 Model Selection: AIC, BIC or Nested Sampling A few weeks ago, I came across a fascinating paper by Naik & Handley (2025) on Nested Sampling applied to time series model selection in astronomy. This concept of Nested Sampling caught my attention and got me curious: how does this approach actually work, and how does it compare to the more classical AIC and BIC? So I decided to take some time to understand how each of these criteria works under the hood and it resulted in the attached article, easy to read! This was a learning exercise, so if you spot anything I got wrong or could explain better, please do not hesitate to reach out! #DataScience #MachineLearning #BayesianInference #ModelSelection #QuantitativeFinance #FinancialModeling

AfAS 2026 | Research Spotlight Following the successful conclusion of the African Astronomical Society Conference held last week in Kasane, Botswana, we continue to highlight outstanding research presented during the event. Eliab Malefahlo, Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of South Africa (UNISA), presented in the Science and Engineering category. His work on deblending the MIGHTEE COSMOS field using XID+ contributes to advancing data analysis techniques in radio astronomy, supporting more accurate scientific outcomes. AfAS 2026 showcased the strength of African research and innovation, reinforcing the continent’s growing impact in global astronomy. #AfAS2026 #Research #Astronomy #ScienceInAfrica #STEM #Innovation #BIUST

One of the most rewarding parts of organizing training programs is seeing participants take away new skills, knowledge, and confidence and being ready to apply them in their own journeys. It is wonderful to see students completing the Radio Astronomy and Python Programming workshops organized under the #RADIIO initiative and reflecting on how these experiences are shaping their interests in astronomy, data analysis, and scientific research. Workshops like these aim to introduce not only the fundamentals of radio astronomy but also the computational tools, such as Python, that are increasingly essential for modern astronomical research. Congratulations on completing the program, and best wishes as you continue exploring the Universe through astronomy, data science, and discovery. 📡 #RadioAstronomy #RADIIO #AstronomyEducation #PythonForAstronomy #STEMEducation RADIIO is supported by IAU Office of Astronomy for Development

I recently participated in the Hyperion 2025–2026: Astronomy Case Study Challenge conducted by IIT Kanpur. I qualified Round 1 (Online Quiz) and moved on to the 18-hour Case Study round, where I secured Rank 6 with a score of 42.4. For the case study, my work focused on analyzing Fast Radio Burst (FRB 20241017A) using Dispersion Measure (DM) and Rotation Measure (RM). The goal was to understand the host galaxy properties and investigate whether the lack of edge-on galaxies is due to dust extinction or physical suppression. Some key learnings from my analysis: • Estimated redshift using the Macquart relation (~0.6) • Derived host galaxy DM (~81 pc cm⁻³) and RM (~74 rad m⁻²) • Found that RM gives a stronger constraint on galaxy inclination (~68°) • Explored how intergalactic medium and magnetic fields influence FRB signals • Evaluated hypotheses like CGM filament contribution vs galaxy orientation Although I wasn’t shortlisted for the final winners, this experience significantly improved my analytical thinking, research approach, and ability to work under time pressure. Grateful for the learning and excited to explore more in astronomy and data analysis #Astronomy #CaseStudy #FRB #DataAnalysis #ProblemSolving #StudentJourney #Learning