Chad Bender
Astronomer at University of Arizona's Steward Observatory. Instrument builder: LFAST, NEID, HPF. Building giant telescopes! Hobbyist woodworker. Decent vinyl collection.
- I've been looking for this system for 25 years.
- Binary Star xkcd.com/3203/
- Finally finished Ken Burn's American Revolution. If you haven't made it through it, the last 15 minutes of Episode 6 are worth skipping ahead to, particularly in these trying times that we live in today: a true encapsulation of what it means to be the United States of America and an American.
- Tonight is the night that the dumb cat discovered what happens when he jumps on top of the fish tank while the lid is open for feeding. Turns out the fish are protected by more than glass.
- And this is why I'll order from almost anyone except for Uline.
- Ah Tucson in January, where the local public radio host gives the hourly weather update and describes it as "a chilly 55".
- As a recovering oboist myself, this is a great article (and the comments section is pretty wild...) www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/a...
- Reposted by Chad BenderVideo message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG... www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
- Finally managed to get some time in my wood shop this weekend, and made good progress test fitting a dresser I've been working on for a while. This is modeled after the Harvey Ellis designed #913 in the Gustav Stickley catalog. I've used paneled sides and back, and full web-frames inside. 1/4
- Reposted by Chad BenderPicard management tip: Suppress your inner alarm. Be the calmest person in the room.
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- www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/s... #LFAST in the NY Times.
- Reposted by Chad BenderPacked splinter session at #AAS247 for the announcement of The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Observatory System—a modular, rapid-response network of four novel observatories designed to democratize access to the cosmos. Read more about the initiatives here: www.schmidtsciences.org/focus-area-a...
- Just spent the day doing a thing: www.science.org/content/arti... Roger Angel and I are Co-PIing the LFAST telescope, which is being built at @stewardobservatory.bsky.social and provides the ground based spectroscopic component of this venture. @schmidtsciences.bsky.social #AAS247 #Arizona #LFAST
- Happening now!
- More Astrophysics for More People ✨ Join us for a virtual #AAS247 session and a first look at The Schmidt Observatory System—a new network of ground and space-based initiatives designed to break the traditional limits of discovery. 📆 Jan 7 | 3-5:30pm MT / 5-7:30pm ET Register here: buff.ly/kbbNFuB
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- The above average temps we had in November and lack of freeze so far, means my fall tomatoes have lost their minds. Things we can get away with in Tucson...
- More billionaires buying newspapers. Previous experience across the country suggests it would be unusual if this proceeds without meddling in the papers' content.
- Truer words have never been spoken.
- And astronomers everywhere give a small gasp of despair.
- Wyatt thinks he's been caught in the act doing something he shouldn't. I'm like, dude, it's your cat tree...
- This thread is the most fun I've had all week.
- Two juvenile bobcats paid me a visit this morning. Of course our house cats missed the whole thing, since they were buried in blankets and passed out for the day
- Anyone who lives in Tucson knows we have a vehicle - pedestrian collision problem, but the map in this article really drives it home. Many tens of deaths in just a couple of years. Speedway and 1st Ave particularly bad (hell, it's called speedway!). Slow down people! wapo.st/4polhCJ
- Reposted by Chad BenderPicard management tip: Ignore rules that make no sense.
- This will kill federally funded STEM research, which will basically kill all research. The science community is intertwined, and cannot be separated like this. Nor is it necessary - there are already expert controls in place to prevent transfers of sensitive information.
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- Reposted by Chad Benderi’m excited to announce that i am hiring (again)! i am looking for a postdoc in computational astrophysics that’s excited about models of stellar transients and multi-messenger astronomy to join my group (star stuff @ steward) at @uarizona.bsky.social! apply here ✨💥: aas.org/jobregister/...
- Genuinely confused: How can the (as seen on tv) cleaning product 'Alien Power' be 'Made in the USA'? They are lying about something ...
- Called Ciscomani's office this morning to yell about the ATC situation, and someone actually picked up the phone on the first ring. Sadly, the staffer appeared to be channeling Mike Johnson's "I don't know anything, head in the sand" vibe.
