Rebecca Charbonneau
@rebecca_charbon
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Historian of Science @AIP_HQ . Adjunct Asst Scientist @TheNRAO . Author of "Mixed Signals: Alien Communication Across the Iron Curtain", coming Oct 2024. 🇨🇺🇺🇸
College Park, MD
Joined January 2017
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My book has a cover! Publication expected Oct 2024 (UK) and Jan 2025 (US). For more info (including early reviews!) see:
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Ah yes, I love my job working at the National Radio Astrology Observatory (that’s not photoshop- we got pranked by our summer students… I wonder how they got up there…)
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For those who are interested, there is a cat who lives at the Very Large Array and his name is Morris.
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Woohoo! Book manuscript is officially submitted to my publishers. 💪🏼 coming to a bookstore near you… eventually ☺️
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This is not the first time our summer students have pranked us. See this ad trying to sell the Very Large Array for $500 in 1987, courtesy of NRAO summer students (paper from NRAO historical archives)
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Here are some life updates: I got hit in the face with a softball, needed emergency surgery (I now have a titanium plate in my face) and two weeks later I got married. I had the best surgeon in the world, I think you can hardly tell I’m a cyborg now!
Book coming mid next year!
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(Sorry, it was 1988, not 87) The prank even made the newspaper.
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Morris is such a star and he doesn’t even know it!! More Morris fun facts: he was a stray desert cat but he was being bullied by other stray cats and so the VLA warehouse staff took him in. He is very pampered now, living his best life amongst the dishes.
For those who are interested, there is a cat who lives at the Very Large Array and his name is Morris.
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I'm incredibly excited to begin reading the other articles in the American Indian Culture and Research Journal's special issue on "Settler Science and Alien Contact". As part of my engagement w/ the issue, I'll be tweeting some thoughts on each article over a few days. (long 🧵!)
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Came to Copenhagen for the physics, stayed for the bumper cars (@ tivoli gardens)
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This paper is the culmination of years of thinking that started back in 2019, when
@nadiamdrake
and I ran a seminar at NRAO on colonial rhetoric in the space sciences. Colonial logics impact so many aspects of science, including our language, infrastructure, and even our ideas.
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Signed a contract for my first book deal while having afternoon tea at Harrods— so basically on cloud 9 🤩
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Today I passed my PhD defense (viva) with no corrections! ☺️👽📡 Very relieved, happy, and exhausted.
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The most exciting part about starting new projects is ordering all the new books I get to read
#ItsChristmas
🤩
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How has the history of colonialism shaped SETI and how can we do better? My paper addresses these questions and more in this exciting forthcoming special issue of the American Indian Culture and Research Journal, "Settler Science, Alien Contact, and Searches for Intelligence".
In weeks, you'll be able to read an incredible piece by
@StellarHistory
: "Imaginative Cosmos: The Impact of Colonial Heritage in Radio Astronomy and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence." (Image below is "Alien" by
@joannebarker62
; see thread). 1/5
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Feliz Noche Buena 🇨🇺🇺🇸 from me and Sputnik, who was very overwhelmed and excited by his first Christmas.
#MeowyChristmas
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#SHAFR2021
Keisha Blain: "It is impossible to study the history of the United States without grappling with race and I would say that anyone who attempts to do so is being disingenuous."
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I'm delighted to share that our special issue on "Settler Science and Alien Contact" in the American Indian Culture and Research Journal was published this week! The issue features beautiful original artwork by Lenape artist
@joannebarker62
. Find it here:
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As always, I invite people to read my paper, not simply the truncated interview, before critiquing my ideas:
Richard Dawkins says that Lawrence Krauss heard that an observer at a SETI meeting reported that
@StellarHistory
wanted "the word 'intelligence' banned bc it is a white construct".
What she has actually said about her proposal to decolonise SETI:
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Writing a syllabus for a class tentatively titled "The Search for Life"-- a social science course which takes an interdisciplinary look at the history of human attempts to find evidence of life in space. Taking suggestions for required readings! :) Any thoughts?
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I finally got to visit the place I’ve been working at for a year! 🤩
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Since you all enjoy space cats so much, here is my own, Sputnik, destroyer of puzzles. He doesn’t live at the VLA but he’s got a space historian for a mom and a radio astronomer for a dad (which I think is enough to make him a space cat).
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Frank Drake was an amazing and brave man. Here is an image of Frank at
@TheNRAO
in 1959, the same year he began planning the first scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence (source: NRAO Archives).
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@RichardDawkins
Hi Richard. I'm the scholar Dr. Krauss is referring to in this article. I'm disappointed that you've jumped to conclusions on my research without reading it yourself. I'll gladly email you a PDF of my paper, the one that the Scientific American article covers. Have a great week.
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Niels Bohr helped design this chalkboard with its electric motor and pre-PowerPoint “slides”! Welcome to the AIP Early Career Conference for Historians of the Physical Sciences!
#AIPECC23
(thanks to director of the Niels Bohr Archive Christian Joas for modeling)
#NBarchive
#NBI
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I made a cranberry tart and I’m extremely proud of it.
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One of my students visited New Mexico on field work and brought me back a new little friend. Any ideas on what I should name her?
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Excellent article covering our recent special issue on Settler Science and SETI in the American Indian Culture and Research Journal. Quotes from
@KimTallBear
@davidshorter
@Astro_Wright
@historianhuettl
and others.
Sixty years after President Kennedy described space as a new frontier, scholars are calling for greater awareness of the connections between the search for life on other planets and the legacy of colonialism on Earth.
📝:
@DougcJohnson
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Very fun. Looks like an alien
@GreenBankObserv
. AI-generated image for my thesis title, "Mixed Signals: Communication with the Alien in Cold War Radio Astronomy"
Enter your PhD thesis title into this AI art generator. Mine was ‘Towards a Posthuman Curriculum’ :) ❤️
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Quite a lot of angry internet folks messaging me to say "stop making SETI ideological" regarding my SciAm interview in which I talk about "how we can make SETI less ideological"... :-)
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One of the things I admired most about Frank Drake was the optimism he felt towards international cooperation; even at the height of the Cold War he frequently reached out to and supported his Soviet colleagues. Here is an image of Drake's Ozma radiometer, reproduced in Russian.
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Did you know that Columbus rejected the scientific consensus of his time (which knew the Earth was round & understood its diameter) in favor of a (flawed, unscientific) theory that the Earth was smaller & therefore easier to circumnavigate? Columbus is not a scientific hero.
#ColumbusDay
makes me ponder the weight, challenges, pressures & risks of exploration. I imagine venturing across turbulent seas to discover a new world w limited supplies & technology & narrow understanding of what’s beyond the horizon. In some ways, like our journey to the moon
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Given the recent war on Ukraine, I thought I'd take a moment to highlight an incredible Ukrainian (and one of my favorite historical people), Iosif Shklovsky (Ио́сиф Самуи́лович Шкло́вский).
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Sometimes the memes hit just a little too close to home...
Fig. 1.81: A meme [1].
[1] Quantum Computing Memes for QMA-Complete Teens, Language, Speech & Memes (2021).
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Astronomers at NRAO sometimes give me stickers to reward my writing progress on my book. Today I earned a diamond sticker for writing 1,000 words. (Less than 2 months til deadline day!)
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NRAO has a Pride Bake-off contest today! Here are my entries (rainbow challah and rainbow cheesecake). Wish me luck! 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🌈
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Speaking of
#ObservatoryCats
, I spent some time at the Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory in Russia and they had a cat— it’s been a few years but I believe her name was Masha (she liked to sit in my lap).
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Well, well, well.... now we know how they did it!
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My new office bookcase is starting to come together! Just a few more boxes of books to add :-)
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The people who hate my interview think I’m pretty 🤭🥰🌸🌈 happy Monday everyone! Stay tuned for more writing from me.
Physical attractiveness allows women to get away with anything.
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Happy Mother’s Day! I’m flying out to the VLA today but I made this Mother’s Day olive oil cake last night.
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Sputnik has once again tried to pack himself into our suitcase for AAS…
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Fun seeing my own name in the NYT this morning. Great article by
@jongertner
on the CATS project led by
@AdamFrank4
!
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Cheers to a great New Year! My resolutions are to submit my book manuscript on time and be more careful in the kitchen ☺️🎆
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Claire never misses. 👏
Made some cookies to celebrate the
@NANOGrav
announcement! Fortunately you don't need pulsars to detect these
#GravitationalWaves
(a mouth works fine)
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Very excited to have been selected this year's NASA/HSS Fellow of Aerospace History!
The AHA is pleased to announce its 2021–22 fellows for the J. Franklin Jameson Fellowship in American History and the Fellowships in Aerospace History: Jeannette Estruth,
@StellarHistory
, Benjamin Goosen, and Alyssa Kreikemeier.
#AHAPerspectives
.
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Very excited to be "visiting"
@PSETI_Center
today to give a seminar on the history of the post-detection protocol! 👽
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The worst part about writing a book is realizing all the things you cannot include in said book!
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First place in the
@TheNRAO
Halloween chili cook off! Certificate hanging proudly on my office wall 🎃🥇❤️
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Few things are cooler than being a visitor at the Russian Space Research Institute on the anniversary of Sputnik’s launch!
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It's worth mentioning that
@astrobites
is written entirely by graduate students! They do a great job of summarizing and disseminating astro lit at a undergraduate-friendly level. (also I'd buy astrobites cereal...)
Nice to see a succinct summary and appreciation for the AICRJ special issue by
@macyjhuston
on
@astrobites
(which is such a cute name that reminds me of cereal). Anywho: The Need for Indigenous and Interdisciplinary Perspectives in SETI and Space Sciences
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I’m very excited about this :-)
Meet the newest cohort of NRAO Jansky Fellows! Clockwise from top left: Rebecca Charbonneau, Tao-Chung Ching, Michael Rugel, and Dillon Dong. Read all about them in our official announcement:
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It’s Oct 4, so happy Sputnik Day! Here is a picture of Sputnik the cat (not the satellite) hiding from scary lawn mowers in my bookcase 🥺. Happy 64th anniversary to the satellite :-)
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#SHAFR2021
Tomorrow! Join me,
@airandspace
curator
@teaselmuir
,
@lsehistory
historian
@Tomsomol
, author
@ColdWarScience
, &
@HKUniversity
historian
@PeteMillwood
for a panel on US engagement with socialist science! I'll be talking about Cold War SETI & nuclear existentialism.
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Since pranks are the theme this week… 😄
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@JohnSheehanAC
Well, it’s a warehouse in the middle of the desert, there are worse things on the ground than cat hair ☺️
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Sputnik does NOT like that I’m ignoring him to work on my book manuscript 😾😾😾
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I wish all collaborator meetings took place on Parisian rooftops! With the brilliant
@EllieTheElement
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Even though I recently lost the use of my dominant hand, I still managed to pull off a bit of Thanksgiving baking for my family! Happy Harvest everyone! 🦃🍁🤪
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Such a fun visit! Great to see you again David! 👽 thanks for having me.
Belated thank you to
@StellarHistory
for a fascinating
@ColumbiaAstro
colloquium yesterday on Soviet era
#SETI
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Ran my first Half Marathon at New Kent Winery today! ‘Twas hard but the medal is also a wine stopper.
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Paid research opportunity for History/STS/Indigenous Studies graduate students
@CenterForAstro
:
#twitterstorians
Please feel welcome DM me if you have questions!
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Also, I love SETI. Love it. Actually currently writing an entire book on the history of SETI. I genuinely believe being more introspective about our assumptions makes SETI better and more likely to succeed.
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Shklovsky is best remembered for his good humor, despite the many challenges he faced in his life. His autobiography, 5 Billion Vodka Bottles to the Moon, is a must-read for anyone who wants a funny-yet-incisive perspective on life as a scientist (and as a Jewish man) in the USSR
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Super excited to host
@EllieTheElement
and
@orbital_decay
‘s visit to NRAO today :-) Can’t wait for the fascinating interdisciplinary discussions. ☺️🎉
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Interested in learning more about anti-racist projects in astronomy? Come see my talk about Harvard's Figures in the Sky Initiative on 9/29!
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Tapped into my South Florida roots and made a Key Lime Pie to chase the Virginia snowstorms away 🌴
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I’m really proud of myself because after several attempts, I think I’ve finally managed to master homemade puff pastry. Check out my cheese and cherry danishes (a little experimentation with the shapes... I think I like round best)!
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Doodling aliens is part of a long tradition at the Center for Astrophysics. Want to be part of this great legacy? Submit a doodle to be included in our exhibition, launching in early July!
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My sister and I picked blueberries for a cobbler this weekend 🎇☺️
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We are so proud of this exhibition and the amazing artist-scientists we worked with. Check it out! 💫
Curated by our Wolbach Library, the Creative Space highlights the creativity of CfA astronomers as science communicators - from baking to glassblowing, and even translating science into music!
Explore our art:
Pictured: Shooting Star Scarf, Katie Frey
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Hi astronomy twitter! I'm teaching an independent study ("Cultural Astronomy") this semester to a history student and I'd like to assign some scientific literature in addition to the historical assignments. Do you have suggestions for "introductory" science papers for a student?
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In the West, Shklovsky is best known for the book he co-authored with Carl Sagan, Intelligent Life in the Universe (1966), which covered the subject of contacting and communicating with extraterrestrials.
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Spring is here, and so is my lemon meringue pie 🍋
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Very sad to hear about the passing of Lev Gindilis, a Soviet SETI pioneer. I was tremendously lucky to meet and interview Lev in Moscow in 2019, as seen here. He was a kind and brilliant man who made great contributions to preserving Soviet SETI history.
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They instead suggest modeling SETI more closely to the framing Jill Tarter el al have developed, which posits that SETI should reframe its mission as searching for "technology" rather than "intelligence" (which explains the recent shift to the term 'technosignature research').
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World, meet Sputnik, my 11-week old kitten and newest coworker. 😻
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Great new article from Keith in
@SuperclusterHQ
, featuring a few grouchy quotes from yours truly :-)
A new interstellar message called the Beacon in the Galaxy has been designed to present a positive view of humanity to any aliens out there. I ask if this is a good idea, and question the assumptions behind it, in my new article for
@SuperclusterHQ
#SETI
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Excited to visit Chicago to give a talk at Northwestern. First time in the Windy City!
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In the introduction to the issue Shorter and TallBear express disappointment in the way their report was received by some members of BL, but this report will surely have an impact on future intellectual products of the larger SETI community! Highly recommended reading.
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@Astro_Wright
Thanks, Jason. In case it needs saying (though it shouldn’t, I hope), I do not think “intelligence” is a white construct! 🫠 and you’ve completely convinced me of the value of keeping the “I” in SETI.
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Science libraries will want to consider preordering our book on technosignature research, coming out next month!
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Starting in 45 minutes! Come see me talk about atom bombs, spy satellites, and ET 👽at NASA HQ.
This Wednesday (3/16) at noon ET, historian Rebecca Charbonneau (
@StellarHistory
) will be presenting a talk titled "Redefining SETI as a Cold War Science."
Join us!
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Happy to be at
@uarizona
@azstewobs
to give a talk honoring Frank Drake’s legacy before heading to his memorial celebration at
@SETIInstitute
later this week.
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