Okay, I need your help!

I am finalising my PhD thesis at the moment, and it is "tradition" to have a quote at the beginning of each chapter. Now I want to be difficult: I want quotes from FEMALE astronomers / scientists talking about astronomy.

Shoot me your favourites pls

You’ve heard of the Big Bang. Now astronomers have discovered the Big Wheel – here’s why it’s significant

https://theconversation.com/youve-heard-of-the-big-bang-now-astronomers-have-discovered-the-big-wheel-heres-why-its-significant-252170

"We previously thought galaxy disks form gradually over a long period: either through gas smoothly flowing into galaxies from surrounding space, or by merging with smaller galaxies.

Usually, rapid mergers between galaxies would disrupt the delicate spiral structures, turning them into more chaotic shapes. However, the Big Wheel managed to quickly grow to a surprisingly large size without losing its distinctive spiral form. This challenges long-held ideas about the growth of giant galaxies."

Mission mode change detected, now in Monument Mode.
Goodnight friends.

Blue Ghost’s final message as it signs off from the Moon

Wow, several initiatives are being proposed in the EU (also more tomorrow, I guess) in order to host scientists fleeing from the US (meaning from Trump and Musk, basically):

for example:
https://www.lemonde.fr/sciences/article/2025/03/13/coupes-budgetaires-de-trump-aix-marseille-universite-pionniere-de-l-accueil-d-urgence-de-chercheurs-americains_6580305_1650684.html

ESO analysis confirms that the INNA industrial megaproject would have a devastating and irreversible impact on the facilities at Paranal Observatory in #Chile.

Light #pollution would increase by at least 35% above ESO's Very Large Telescope, by a minimum of 5% above ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope and by at least 55% above the south site of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory

Air turbulence would also increase, degrading seeing conditions by up to 40%

Vibrations from the project could seriously impair the functioning of the ELT and the VLT Interferometer, which are both extremely sensitive to micro-seismic noise.

Dust during construction is also problematic as it settles on the telescope mirrors and obstructs their view.

Full story here: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2506/

More in the message below. 1/

The lasers our Very Large Telescope (VLT) pierce the Milky Way… but what is that vertical glow just below?

That’s the zodiacal light: caused by dust grains in the Solar System, it's so faint that it’s only visible in the darkest skies, such as those of Chile’s Atacama Desert.

And the pristine night sky in this region has always been intertwined with the culture and traditions of its indigenous people, discover how: https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2511a/

F. Millour/ESO

There is a LOT of heavy lifting being done in this short article. I will attempt to summarize.

Scientist Says He Found Evidence Our Entire Universe Is Trapped Inside a Black Hole
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/scientist-says-found-evidence-entire-121519011.html?guccounter=1

"Kansas State University associate professor of computer science Lior Shamir found that out of the 263 galaxies examined, two thirds of them rotated clockwise, while only a third rotated counterclockwise, as detailed in a paper published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
[...]
"It is still not clear what causes this to happen, but there are two primary possible explanations," said Shamir in a statement. "One explanation is that the universe was born rotating. That explanation agrees with theories such as black hole cosmology, which postulates that the entire universe is the interior of a black hole."

The findings add credence to an existing, Russian doll-like theory called "Schwarzschild cosmology," which suggests that our galaxy is trapped within a black hole, which in turn is located inside another universe.
[...]
"I think that the simplest explanation of the rotating universe is the universe was born in a rotating black hole,"
[...]
As Space.com reports, this would imply that other observed black holes could be wormholes, otherwise known as Einstein-Rosen bridges, to other universes, which are unobservable to us due to the black holes trapping light within them."
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/james-webb-space-telescope/is-our-universe-trapped-inside-a-black-hole-this-james-webb-space-telescope-discovery-might-blow-your-mind

1/9 Martian Potato1

Animation of Phobos Over Mars: a time lapse from 2007 to 2021

Full size & info: https://flic.kr/p/2qREua9
Credit: ESA/DLR/FUBerlin/AndreaLuck CC BY

8 frames, captured by ESA Mars Express. It's stabilized on Phobos (Todd crater) to play with the disorienting effect.

All images below

Check out also my Album about Phobos on Flickr: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAvrQL

Where are we with the construction of our Extremely Large Telescope (ELT)?
This video takes you on a drone flight over the site in #Chile. We recommend full screen and volume up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3GJbCasyOo

To account for some delays, we've updated the ELT schedule, which now has the following main milestones

Telescope first light (first test observations) expected in March 2029
Instruments installed and commissioned over the course of 2029 and 2030
Scientific first light (first observations with scientific instruments) expected in December 2030

Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann25001/

CIMOLAI/S. Petkovic. Music: Jon Kennedy – Toy Soldiers

"The four exoplanets orbit Barnard’s Star so closely that their years last only a few Earth days. They are probably rocky and, given their proximity to the star, uninhabitable. In fact, the 2024 study estimates Barnard b’s surface temperature to be a balmy 257 degrees Fahrenheit (125 degrees Celsius).

One of the exoplanets has the smallest mass ever detected using the wobble method, officially (and boringly) known as the radial velocity technique. This new record paves the way for more precise exoplanet hunting than ever before.

Exoplanet hunters are particularly interested in rocky planets within habitable zones, the ideal distance from a star to sustain liquid water. Why? Because water is a prerequisite for life—and maybe not just our own."

Astronomers Confirm 4 Rocky Exoplanets in Earth’s Backyard, Just 6 Light-Years Away
https://gizmodo.com/astronomers-confirm-4-rocky-exoplanets-in-earths-backyard-just-6-light-years-away-2000574818

The Enigma of Zebra Rock: update from #LPSC2025

https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2025/pdf/2014.pdf

#Mars

https://mastcamz.asu.edu/galleries/daniel-pomarede-3/