Misty Bentz

@astronomisty

Astronomer and Professor at Georgia State University. She/Her. Big fan of black holes, cats, and cross-stitch. Seestar smart telescope enthusiast. Novice gardener with a penchant for native plants.

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Misty Bentz@astronomisty· 20d

Thank goodness it’s the weekend

Pepper, a small dark gray cat, with her head upside down on my legs, paws curled near her head, and a tiny pink tongue blep

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· 20d

Laptop

Pepper, a small dark gray cat, is passed out on her back in my lap with her head on my arm

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· 21d

Misty has been very cautious since we picked up the kitties a week ago Sunday. But yesterday she really started coming out of her shell, asking for pets and sitting with me on the couch. She even slept on the bed by my feet for a little while last night! She has been a great buddy today too. 🩷

Misty, a tabby with lots of soft white fur, is snuggled into our tan couch cushions, looking cozy and relaxed.

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· 23d

Please enjoy the crystalline details of this bumblebee’s wings 🐝 🌺

A fuzzy bumblebee in the center of a half-opened pink zinnia blossom with green foliage in the background

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· 25d

nap time 💤

Pepper, a small gray cat, lounging sideways on my legs with her paws sticking out and her eyes closed

Kitkat, a small tabby cat with white paws, is curled up on a pink blanket in a window hammock

Luna, a small black and white cat, is lounging sideways on a soft ruby red blanket and looking at the camera

Misty, a medium sized tabby and white cat with a tipped ear, is curled up in a soft brown pet bed

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· 26d

Up next: Tu Youyou! With a plant, test tube, and books 🧪 🧶 #WomenInSTEM

Cross stitch on Cinderella sparkly blue fabric. Tu Youyou is at the 4 o’clock position wearing a blue jacket and glasses with short black hair. She has a small stack of books to the right and a plant and test tube to the left

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jul 14

Pepper decided to come out from under the furniture for a bit. Progress!

Pepper, a small dark gray cat, is lounging on a desk with one paw just over the edge and her tail curled around her

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jul 12

We picked up our new guests this afternoon: Kitkat, Luna, Misty, and Pepper! Kitkat and Luna are wnergetic explorers, Misty is cautious, and Pepper prefers not to participate at this time. They will be with us for ~90 days while their human works to build a stable situation for their little family

Kitkat is a small gray and black striped kitty with a white tummy, v-neck and paws. She has pink ears and gold eyes

Luna is a small black and white kitty with white whiskers. She is looking up at the ceiling fan

Misty is a small calico kitty with half white face and white tummy. She is peeking through the triangle window of a kitty city

Pepper is a small dark gray kitty with gold eyes. She is hiding under the bed

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jul 12

Haha, I have also personally observed this

Silas, a black and white cat, and Sephora, a calico, on a chair under the table. Silas’s tongue is out because he was grooming Sephora’s head. Sephora’s ears are flat and she looks annoyed

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jul 11

Liftoff! The rattlesnake master was buzzing with activity a little later this morning, with all kinds of pollinators coming and going 🌱 🌺 🐝 #nativeplants

A bumblebee has just taken flight above some white spiky rattlesnake master blossoms

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jul 11

These two bumblebees weren’t quite ready to face the day yet. They were still snuggled up and snoozing in a zinnia blossom 🌺 🌱 🐝

Two fuzzy bumblebees in a pink zinnia blossom

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jul 11

Mr Toad wishes you a good morning 🐸 🌱

A small brown toad on the ground near a brick wall

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jul 10

Next featured superstar: Lise Meitner! With an atom 🧪 🧶 #WomenInSTEM

Cross stitch of Lise Meitner with short dark hair at the 2 o’clock in the design. She is smiling and wearing a brown sweater/jacket over a white shirt. The atom has a large nucleus and 6 visible electrons and is to her front left.

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jul 7

Next up is: Rosalind Franklin! With a DNA double helix 🧪 🧶 #WomenInSTEM

Cross stitch of Rosalind Franklin at the 12 o’clock position. She is wearing a yellow shirt and a string of pearls. She has short brown hair and a half smile. A blue double helix is at her left

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jul 6

First featured scientist: Katherine Johnson! With a NASA meatball 🧪 🧶 #WomenInSTEM

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jul 5

I decided to start a medium cross stitch project for when I don’t feel like working on my large project. 🧶 🧪 #WomenInSTEM Pattern by Climbing Goat Designs Fabric is 16ct Crystal Whirlpool Aida by Picture This Plus, a sparkly lagoon blue

A bamboo hoop on blue sparkly fabric with
her
SCIENCE
her
STORY
stitched in blues and black

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jul 5

Good morning 🌱 🐝 🌺 #nativeplants

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jul 4

Birthday visit from mama deer 🦌 She was also here just before 7am (caught on the bird feeder cam), so her baby is probably nearby

A white-tailed deer walking through our wooded backyard

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jul 4

Sorry, gotta brag. Jon Ossoff’s mom wishes me a happy birthday every year 😘 My husband didn’t believe me, but I have proof!

Heather Fenton to Misty Bentz:
Misty, the whole country is celebrating your BDay! Wow!
Picture from 2017 of Jon Ossoff wearing a suit with his arm around Misty wearing a March for Science tshirt, a baseball cap and sunglasses. Both are smiling.

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jul 1

I just dropped off these three sweeties to be reunited with their human. We will miss them. At the same time, we are so happy this family can be made whole again and that their human was able to get the time she needed to find a safer and more stable situation for them all. #caturday

Silas, a black and white kitty with green eyes and white whiskers and a blep

Sephora, a calico kitty sitting in a spotlight of sunshine

Pikachu, a striped orange kitty sitting in the shower looking at the camera with his head cocked to the side

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jun 30

My black-eyed susans are just starting to bloom! Also, I met some pollinator friends during lunchtime 🌺 🌱 🐝 #nativeplants

A perfect black eyed susan flower with bright yellow petals and dark brown center against green leaves

A bumblebee with one slightly tattered wing on a white coneflower with a missing petal. Both a little beaten up but still doing important jobs

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jun 29

Good morning from me and this little gal 🦌 She was eating peanuts along the retaining wall that we put there to tempt the squirrels to stay off the bird feeder 😂 I think I found the branch the squirrels were jumping from, we’ll see if lopping off the end restores some order!

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jun 28

White wood aster and some volunteer bluets are flowering in our wooded front yard this morning 🌱 🌺 #nativeplants

small flowers with long thin white petals and bright yellow centers, seen against some green leaves

Tiny pinkish-white bell-shaped blossoms on green stems with long thin green leaves

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jun 27

I love to watch little pollinator friends among the coneflowers 🌺 🐝 🌱

A bumblebee with full pollen pouches on a purple coneflower

A red paper wasp among some sherbet-colored coneflowers

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jun 27

I met some new friends today during the practice portion of our Tree ID course 🦌 🦉 🐍 🦋

A black rat snake out for a stroll (slither?)

A barred owl in a tree who is not amused by our noise

A buck with velvet on his antlers lounging among the trees

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jun 25

Finished this little project on the plane home 🧶 #crossstitch

A cross stitch in colored threads on natural colored aida fabric:
I’D
RATHER
ASK
MY
CAT
THAN
CHATGPT
surrounded on four sides by a cute gray cat with white whiskers in different poses and some yellow sparkle stars

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jun 24

Got up early to weed the garden while it was nice and cool and found this little bumblebee still snoozing. 🐝 #nativeplants

A bumblebee is perched on some flower buds of scutellaria

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jun 23

I found a few friends during a short walk around the yard today 🌱 🦎 🐝

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jun 22

So long, Trieste! Until next time

Fireworks over Trieste at night celebrating the maiden voyage of a new cruise ship

Me posing with the sphinx at Miramare Castle on a beautiful sunny day

Twilight over the harbor with the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter in a line

A sunny afternoon in the hills overlooking the harbor

Misty Bentz@astronomisty· Jun 20

I spent a great week at the International Center for Theoretical Physics attending a workshop hosted by the Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe. As an observer (not a theorist) I felt very welcomed and met many new friends and potential future collaborators. So long ICTP and IFPU!