Astronomer, astrophysicist, professor. He/him.
Joined September 2013
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84 Photos and videos
The TRAPPIST-1 planets now have the best measurements of any set of terrestrial planets other than our Solar System... and they look different than our terrestrial planets. With Caroline Dorn @Nonomamades @ElsaDucrot @LaetitiaDelrez Michaël Gillon @AbVsm @brettmor @fselsis
22 Jan 2021
The TRAPPIST-1 star is home to the largest batch of roughly Earth-size planets ever found. Now we know even more about the densities of these seven rocky worlds.
And the composition of the TRAPPIST-1 planets could be notably different than Earth's! go.nasa.gov/3c78qST
ALT illustration of planets on a scale
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Dynamical evidence for a second black hole with ~1e4 M_sun at the Galactic center sounds analogous to the claimed evidence for planet nine in the outer Solar System: arxiv.org/abs/2606.08971
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Eric Agol retweeted
Where Americans Choose to Move & Where They Leave: "I was surprised by the extent to which certain ecological regions correspond to the patterns on this map" bluebookmke.substack.com/p/w…
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Eric Agol retweeted
10 Dec 2025
I was in the middle of shooting my narrowband data on this galaxy when the supernova happened so I was probably one of the first people to photograph it!
10 Dec 2025
PSA: When I post my photos in this format, it’s because I want you to save them and use them as phone wallpapers.
Anyways, here’s my photo of the pinwheel galaxy featuring a supernova.
More coming 🤓
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I computed a model for the appearance of a supermassive black hole (right), which was confirmed twenty years later with the Event Horizon Telescope (M87 on left; Sagittarius A* middle).
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Eric Agol retweeted
30 Oct 2025
Incredible: A selection of the multi-planet systems discovered in the Milky Way galaxy by the Kepler Telescope!
(Credit: Ethan Kruse/NASA Goddard)
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The statue of Pasteur in Paris faces the Invalides where Napoleon is buried. This is apt as one fought germs, while the other fought Germans.
28 Sep 2025
Today Sept 28. #OTD in 1895 chemist Louis Pasteur passed away. Renowned for discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization. His research led to remarkable breakthroughs in the understanding of the causes and preventions of diseases.
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Sorry @Wikipedia and @Google but this is not correct. Half of the Nobel prize was awarded to Penrose for the mathematical theory of black holes; the other half to Genzel & Ghez for their study of Sgr A*. (Thanks @NYTGames Connections for alerting me to this!)
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RIP William Paxton, the founder of the MESA stellar structure and evolution code.
28 Aug 2025
One of the most important contributions to the study of how stars evolve didn’t come from an astrophysicist, but instead a computer scientist. Bill Paxton — who died last month — revolutionized the field by creating the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA). Read more about Paxton's life and MESA: simonsfoundation.org/2025/08… #science #astrophysics
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Eric Agol retweeted
28 Aug 2025
One of the most important contributions to the study of how stars evolve didn’t come from an astrophysicist, but instead a computer scientist. Bill Paxton — who died last month — revolutionized the field by creating the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA). Read more about Paxton's life and MESA: simonsfoundation.org/2025/08… #science #astrophysics
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Eric Agol retweeted
8 Sep 2025
Whether planet e has an atmosphere is still TBD. Researchers are still observing it, and think its primary atmosphere is gone, though it could have a heavier secondary one. go.nasa.gov/3VBE3cL
ALT Modified version of a previous, popular artist illustration of the TRAPPIST-1 star system. The background is black. At far left is a representation of the TRAPPIST-1 star, an M class dwarf star. It is seen as a glowing orange-yellow semi-circle. To the right of the star, illustrations of its seven planets. The planets are labeled b, c, d, e, f, g and h.They all resemble mottled clay marbles in browns and dark greens. The planet TRAPPIST-1 e, which is the fourth one from the star, has been spotlighted to stand out. The other planets are dimmed down to be less visible. The planet e also has a white label as opposed to gray letter labels for the rest of the planets. At bottom right is the word “Illustration (2018)” in tiny gray text.
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Eric Agol retweeted
8 Sep 2025
🆕 Webb has taken a close look at TRAPPIST-1 e 👀
This transmission spectrum graph compares data collected by the #NIRSpec instrument on Webb with computer models of the exoplanet, with (blue) and without (orange) an atmosphere. 1/2
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The LIGO Scientific Collaboration will greatly miss our friend and colleague, Professor Rainer Weiss, whose immeasurable impact on gravitational-wave astronomy will be felt for generations to come
ligo.org/professor-emeritus-…
Our thoughts are with Rai's family and friends
ALT Rai wearing round glasses and a warm sweater. Photographed in 2016 by Bryce Vickmark
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And so is the other 'UW' (University of Washington)!
22 Aug 2025
At the University of Wisconsin–Madison, we are excited to host 51 Pegasi b Fellows in the Department of Astronomy! Applications are due October 3, 2025. This was the fellowship that I had as a postdoc, and I’d be happy to chat if you think you might be interested in applying!
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Eric Agol retweeted
22 Aug 2025
At the University of Wisconsin–Madison, we are excited to host 51 Pegasi b Fellows in the Department of Astronomy! Applications are due October 3, 2025. This was the fellowship that I had as a postdoc, and I’d be happy to chat if you think you might be interested in applying!
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Eric Agol retweeted
19 Aug 2025
Most planets in our galaxy orbit dim red stars. But can any of them support life?
A new JWST study of planet TRAPPIST-1 d offers clues. No sign of an Earthlike atmosphere, but its cooler neighbors look more promising. (So, alas, we're still at "maybe.")
esawebb.org/news/weic2516/
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