Dr. Jillian Scudder

@jillianscudder

Astrophysicist, author (40 Ways to Know A Star, Milky Way Smells of Rum & Raspberries), artist, sewist, science communicator. English/Français/子供の日本語。Associate Professor. hEDS ♿️. She/her. 🏳️‍🌈. Opinions all mine.

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Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Jul 11

I have finished the ninth skein. I have about 8 inches left to knit, (about 60 rows). It is seven feet long. 🧶

The working end of a heavily cabled gray scarf next to a tape measure which reads 7ft 2in.

The same scarf doubled over to show the work remaining is about 6 more inches of heavy cabling and then 2 inches of rib knit.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Jul 4

Cool and normal

Screenshot of weather alerts. “3 severe weather alerts”. The alerts are “heat advisory” “severe thunderstorm warning” and “air quality alert”

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Jun 29

My plan is to stay indoors absolutely as much as possible for the next three days. No heat exhaustion for me please and thank you.

Severe weather alert. “Extreme heat warning”, listed as “severe” with significant threat to life or property. “Dangerously hot conditions with heat index values up to 107 expected”

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Jun 29

Our turn for the heat wave (in Celsius). We have a heat advisory for Tues-Thurs. The feels like temp on Wednesday is 38C. It’s already so gross outside.

The next five day forecast, showing a high of 36C and a low of 25C on Wednesday, with Tuesday and Thursday giving a close approximation. Today’s high is 32. Fridays high is 33 with a chance of thunderstorms.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Jun 3

A slightly chaotic doodle from finals week. Still like it, in spite of the chaos. 🐡

A moderately chaotic Celtic-ish knot in white on a black background in the shape of a two armed spiral galaxy. It is signed “JScudder 2026” in red in the center.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Jun 3

a picture that captures your essence

Handwritten sign reading “Sorry - Skeletons are for display only.”

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· May 8

Going into the last day of class looking like I lost a fight in an anime

White womans hand, heavily splinted, with a bunch of white sports tape covering the wrist and base of the thumb.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· May 7

This morning I learned that my very beloved book on silly space facts has sold its 6000th copy. 🔭📚 www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-milky-...

The author’s splinted hand holding a copy of the paperback version of the Milky Way Smells of Rum and Raspberries. The cover is deep blue with a raspberry colored galaxy swirled on top of a martini glass.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Apr 25

I have had time lately with enforced “no thinking too hard” rules, and so I have been playing with art again. Experimenting with a linocut style - I learned to do these analog a long time ago but currently have none of the tools. Dusted off my Celtic knotwork drawing skills for this one. 🐡

A black and white illustration of Saturn and its rings in white against a black background with scattered white stars. In each of the four corners is a Celtic knot.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Apr 19

Look I don’t want to talk about the pace at which I’m doing this, but I’m now done with 7/10 skeins and it is getting close to as long as me. 🧶

A heavily cabled gray knitted project in progress lies on the floor with a tape measure next to it. The project has loose threads in many places but measures 66 inches.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Apr 15

Someday I will find a better way of realizing it’s hailing beyond “that is WAY too loud to just be rain” Happy I was inside and not driving for this round of ice flung from the sky

Vivid green grass with many sizable (large peas) pieces of hail visible. A white woman’s index finger is pouting to one that is substantially larger than her fingernail, at least triple the size of the other pieces of hail.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Apr 9

Drew it. Experiments with colored pencil (& sharpie for some black). 🔭🐡

A rendition of the earth set photo from the Artemis 2 crew drawn in colored pencils on white paper. Behind the Earth is black from a combination of colored pencils and sharpie markers, with ragged edges all the way around. The moons surface is loosely shaded in gray and browns with the indication of craters and a rough edge to toss upper silhouette.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Mar 18

Very fun weather alert yesterday, in spite of me not registering the loud explosion at all.

Text message from Mar 17 at 9:43 am reading “The loud explosion heard just after 9 this morning was due to a meteor. This is from the National Weather Service. No action is required.”

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Feb 27

I understand the cereal based recipe. I don’t understand forty needles and a needle threader in the same packet.

A recipe for Quick All Bran Muffins from the pack of the pamphlet which starts out by asking you to rehydrate the cereal into mush.

The inside of the pamphlet, which has colored foil for holding forty needles and a needle threader. About 1/3 of the needles are still in place.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Feb 27

Amongst the many sewing bits and bobs I inherited from my grandmother, this one might be one of the weirdest. A Kellogg branded “needle/recipe pak”.

“Kay Kellogg®️ Needle/Recipe Pak”. It is a small folded cardboard pamphlet, on a purple background and has two images of Kellogg cereal - All Bran and Bran Buds. It also includes 40 needles and a needle threader.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Jan 20

Went outside in a severe cold weather advisory to check for the aurora and did not see the aurora but did see Orion looking stunning to the south 📷: iPhone w/quick edits for contrast. 🔭

An iPhone shot of Orion. The image has been roughly edited to get the sky to look blue black instead of gray. The constellation of Orion sits upright in the center of the frame.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Jan 19

Squinting at cleardarksky for the cloud cover forecast says mayyyyyybe around midnight we’ll have clear skies here to check for aurora. However there is also this situation. (Celsius). If I turn off all my lights can I watch from inside?

Apple weather screenshot reading the current temperature as -13C. Feels like: -23C. Severe weather advisory (which is the cold causing a frostbite hazard).

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Jan 14

Six skeins complete. 55in. 🧶

An intricately cabled project in gray wool next to an extensible tape measure. The working end reads 55in (4 ft 7 in).

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Jan 7

My poor Teacup cat is now at rest. In the end, it seemed she had some kind of cancer, and she was in pain. I am devastated, but it was the only path that remained. Since I adopted her, she went from scared of *everything* to sleeping deeply on my lap. What an honor to have the tiny cat trust.

A gray cat lays fully relaxed on a blue blanket, with hind legs stretched out into the air, and front paws loosely curled in the air. She has mashed one ear into the blanket.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Jan 4

The good news today is that The Belly made a reappearance.

A mostly gray cat looking exceptionally relaxed with both back legs stretched out, front paws relaxed, and fluffy belly on display. She’s on a blue down blanket, and a couple shaved patches (forelimb, back leg) are visible.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Jan 1

I choose to believe that I am the source of the peril and not the subject.

Screen grab of the Miriam Webster word gif, which reads “your 2026 word:”

“perilous”

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Dec 29

My tiny Teacup cat has been in cat ICU for two days, after abruptly becoming critically ill. She started to eat again this morning, finally. Her kidneys and pancreas were shutting down, for no obvious reason. She’s not out of the woods yet, but Death will have to fight me (& vets & science) for her.

A mostly gray cat with white toe tips and an orange stripe on her nose sleeps on her side, on my lap with her front paws pulled up close to her chin.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Dec 9

You can get my books for the space themed folks (deeply affectionate) in your life! Or maybe you are the space themed folk, in which case you can get them for yourself. Milky Way: footnote jokes, 45 pgs of citations & silly line drawings. 40 Ways: beautiful diagrams on every page. 🧪🔭📚

A hardback copy of The Milky Way Smells of Rum and Raspberries, by Dr Jillian Scudder. The cover is a deep blue, and has a raspberry galaxy swirled into a martini glass.

A hardback copy of 40 Ways to Know A Star, in tan with gold foil on the title. The cover art is an irregular galaxy overlaid with a spherical grid.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Dec 6

#ArtAdventCalendar, from 2022. This one took a while to render and I’m still proud of it. 🐡

A deeply rendered iris in shades of black, teal, and purple. In the black spaces, pinpricks of stars have been dotted in.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Dec 6

In honor of #ArtAdventCalendar, some old (2020) art I still enjoy. 🐡

An illustration of a comet over Stonehenge in flat colors against a gradient sky. The comet has a bright nucleus and the tail is stylized as a set of golden straight lines.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Dec 5

Also seen at OSU: a remarkably comprehensive aversion to the letter M.

A brick building with a fancy relief plaque reading “McPherson Chemical Laboratory”. Both of the letter M are crossed out with red tape.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Dec 3

Today I am at OSU’s Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics giving a free public lecture tonight, and tomorrow a quick science chat plus a scicomm lecture tomorrow. I have brought books to sell, and am excited to get to tell people silly space stories. 🔭📚

Poster for my public talk. It has a large picture of myself teaching, under the heading “CCAPP SPECIAL PUBLIC LECTURE”. 6-8:30 pm, with rsvp QR code.

Three Sloan plug plates suspended in the air. A large window some distance behind them backlights the fiber optic cable holes.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Dec 3

I’m four feet and five skeins deep into this absurdly cabled project and officially halfway. 🧶

An oblique look at a gray scarf with four different cable patterns in it. A tape measure next to the body of the scarf reads 48 in (4ft) at the working edge.

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Nov 26

I need you all to know about the long eared owl, which I learned about last night, and brings the biggest "cat with its ears back" energy to owlhood I've encountered to date 🦉 📷: Diego Delso, (delso.photo) CC BY-SA Source: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:B%...

a brown mottled owl with the biggest floof ears yet and wide open golden eyes, looking for all the world like a cat that's spotted something it philosophically disagrees with

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder· Nov 18

This weekend also marks my transition into being able to (tax law compliantly) sell copies of my books directly, at in person events! My desire to head to sci-fi/fantasy cons with a giant sign reading “GET YOUR SPACE FACTS HERE” is increasing.