Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙

@samilamby

PhD Astronomy candidate at Western University • brown dwarfs, ultracool dwarfs & exoplanets • outreach assistant at Cronyn Observatory ✨ she/her

339 Following1,012 Followers144 Posts

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Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· 19d

Quite the storm! For comparison, this is what the mountain looked like back in April 2024 when I was there observing (standing on the other side of SOAR)

View of Gemini South (foreground) and the Vera Rubin Observatory (background) at sunset from outside of SOAR. The mountains are brown, no snow anywhere.

View of Gemini South (foreground) and the Vera Rubin Observatory (background) in the afternoon from outside of SOAR. The mountains are brown, no snow anywhere.

The mountain range as seen from Cerro Pachón, next to SOAR. No snow is present on any of the mountain tops.

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· 23d

Tentative CS2 found in a T dwarf. CS2 is a molecule that has been found at shorter wavelengths in Jupiter, Venus, and a couple of exoplanets. CS2 is thought to form through external or photochemical processes, so a confirmation of this detection could hint at interesting things happening here. 5/6

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· 23d

SiO - Gas-phase SiO has been found for the first time in L0-L2.5 dwarfs. This has been seen previously in a couple of hot Jupiters of similar or hotter temperatures, and in K and M giant stars. We also look back at Spitzer data of late-M dwarfs, and can recover SiO absorption up to M5.5. 4/6

A plot showing gas-phase SiO absorption in ten L0–L2.5 dwarfs. L3 and L4 dwarf spectra with prominent silicate condensate absorption are shown in grey for comparison, much deeper and offset to the right. Three L0–L1 dwarfs known or suspected to be young or to have low/intermediate gravity are shown with dashed lines. These show marginally weaker SiO absorption than the five bona fide field L0–L2.5 dwarfs. Continuum fitting regions are highlighted in grey. SiO opacity at 1 bar and 2200 K is overplotted, showing consistency with the observed absorption features. There are additional narrow absorption features at ∼9.4 𝜇m and ∼9.6 𝜇m that are produced by water.

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· 23d

Silicate clouds! As with a lot of recent work on brown dwarfs, we see silicate clouds in our L dwarfs. Including all the way up to a spectral type of L0, and down to L8 (the latest L dwarf in the sample). As expected, the strongest absorption was found in the mid-Ls. 3/6

A two-panel plot, with the top labelled a) and the bottom labelled b). a) shows relative absorption depth against wavelength, which shows the variations of the silicate absorption feature in L4–L6 dwarfs. The
relative absorption depth assumes a linear continuum fit to the two regions highlighted in grey (7.2–7.8 𝜇m and 11.2–11.8 𝜇m). The central wavelengths of silicate absorption is marked with dotted lines and are estimated from quadratic fits to the 8.6–9.4 𝜇m flux. There is an inset which compares the maximum relative absorption depth to central absorption wavelength, showing a potential correlation between these values. Panel b) is the same as a), but with all profiles normalized to the same maximum absorption.

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· 23d

The super cool key results: First, previously unidentified binaries! Sam found two stars in our sample whose JWST photometry actually shows two sources instead of the one we expected. There were an additional two spectra that were overluminous, indicating possible binaries, still unresolved. 2/6

A six-panel plot: two rows with three panels each. The rows show two different targets. The first column shows the F560W image of the targets. The second column shows the residuals of a one-source fit to the photometry, both showing clear, structured residuals around the location of the target. The last column shows the residuals of a two-source fit, and in this case the residuals are very close to the background/noise floor.

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Jul 1

Omg! This is one of the photos Hubble took on my birthday, and this exact photo has been used by ESA to show how to build an HR diagram -- a video I regularly show in my public outreach talks (including one I gave last Saturday!) 🔭

A screenshot of the NASA birthday website, with a photo of the star cluster Omega Centauri, which is a bright, very dense cluster of mostly white stars but peppered with red and blue ones. The text reads "April 27. Omega Centauri. Omega Centauri consists of roughly 10 million stars that are gravitationally bound. The cluster is about 10 times as massive as other big globular clusters – almost as massive as a small galaxy."

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Mar 31

That was fun! And hard. Here's how I scored:

Game results of guessing colours. Total score 47.38/50, individual scores: green = 9.51, yellow = 9.62, blue = 8.76, purple = 9.56, red/pink = 9.93

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Feb 10

This is a super cool tool! It looks like I'm right where I belong, in the blue circle in between the planetary and exoplanet scientists 🔭

Close up view of the astronomy and astrophysics cluster of bluesky users. The image is annotated with red circles around smaller satellite clusters that have been marked with the community names, such as planetary scientists, exoplanet scientists, solar physicists, engineers, space enthusiasts, etc. The cluster of about 5 people where I reside is marked by a little blue circle.

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Jan 1

Looks like it'll be a pretty good year

Merriam-Webster: Your 2026 Word. The word in the center of the screen is "prosperous".

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Nov 1

This is Merlin, the Red Hot Chili Pupper

Merlin the merle coloured great dane, wearing a plastic Halloween necklace covered in chili keychain trinkets.

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Oct 17

I just got back from practicing with the 10" refractor at our university's observatory! Very fun in concept, until I get there and learn that not only did they turn on the spotlight pointed at us, they bedazzled it with Christmas lights too

Construction crane from the deck of the Hume Cronyn Observatory. Spotlights on, pointed directly at the observatory, and the crane itself is decorated in purple and white Christmas lights. No stars visible in the background.

The light from the spotlight, illuminating the wall through the opening in the dome.

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Aug 18

Omg, my dad has a dog named Luna who looks very similar! Lunas unite!

Luna the pupper wearing a yellow bandana, sitting in the front seat of an old car (white with blue stripes)

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Jul 27

Yes, Cerro Pachon is gorgeous, I'm just sad that when I was there last year observing with SOAR I couldn't visit the still-under-construction Rubin! This was as close as I got:

A photo of Cerro Pachon taken from the SOAR observatory, pointing in the direction of Gemini South (foreground) and the Vera Rubin Observatory (background)

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Jul 16

We also see some evidence that young objects are more variable: 53.8±9.8% of objects in young stellar associations vs. 31.6±2.4% of field dwarfs. However, we have only a few young objects in our sample to consider.

A bar graph showing the number of stars that are periodic, possibly periodic, and not periodic in a number of young stellar associations sorted from youngest to oldest: Beta Pictoris Moving Group, Argus Association, AB Doradus Moving Group, Carina-Near moving group, Coma Berenices, and the Hyades. There are 24 stars in total, 14 of which have either "real" or "possible" periods.

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Jul 16

Next, these stars display a maximum amplitude of variability around 3%. This indicates that late-M dwarfs likely have fairly uniform spot coverage and no large discrete temperature anomalies on their surfaces.

An amplitude vs TESS magnitude scatter plot. There are purple, orange, and green X's in an upward sloping line, indicating the theoretical limit of the smallest recoverable amplitude for each magnitude. My results follow this trend (with some points below, as my method can be slightly more sensitive to low amplitude variability), but they cap out at a highest amplitude variability around 3%.

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Jul 16

The key results: First, there is a maximum rotation speed that is mass-dependent for mid- and late-M dwarfs. We are not the first to notice this, but our work bridges the gap between the mid-to-late M dwarf and brown dwarf populations that this speed limit was first identified in.

A period (days) vs spectral type scatter plot. Days are plotted on a logarithmic axis, with periods ranging from 1-100 days. Spectral types range from K0 to Y0. There are many points on this plot, which form somewhat of an L shape. Along the bottom envelope, there's a steep slope from ~M3-M6, which becomes shallow from ~M6-L3 and then is flat at 1 hour. My targets are plotted in blue in the middle of the plot. There is a gap in the data in the top right of the plot beyond the early M dwarfs, which is a bias of the surveys done on late M and brown dwarfs.

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Jun 22

Post a picture of when your pet was little

Merlin the Great Dane when he was a tiny little puppy (~3 months old) sleeping upside down with his legs sprawled out

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Jun 10

Lol this happened at a conference I attended where the conference dinner was at a hockey game:

The big screen in the Columbus Blue Jackets hockey arena that reads "CBJ WELCOMES OSU ASTROLOGY"

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· May 12

Space Day was a blast! The talks, panel, poster presentations, and keynote talk were all awesome! I also had fun giving my 3 minute thesis talk on why brown dwarfs are overachieving planets, not failed stars! 🔭

A photo taken from the audience of me standing beside a screen. On the screen, there are the images of a star, a brown dwarf, and Jupiter, with text that reads "Brown dwarfs: 'Failed Stars' or 'Overachieving Planets'?"

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Apr 20

With my birthday next week, I got the coolest present from my mom! They will proudly live on my desk in my office!! 🔭

"Women of NASA" Lego set - featuring Margaret Hamilton, Mae Jemison, Sally Ride, and Nancy Grace Roman

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Mar 30

Great dane named Merlin holding a giant stuffed baguette in his mouth. It somehow still looks big.

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Feb 9

Fun night at @westernucronyn.bsky.social despite the snow storm! It was great to see a bunch of people come out to celebrate women and girls in astronomy!! 🔭

A photo of me standing in front of the TV in the Cronyn Observatory classroom. On the screen is a slide which reads "Brown Dwarfs: 'Failed Stars' ... Or 'Overachieving Planets'?"

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Dec 30

It's so hard to choose just one!! There were so many cool opportunities this year, so here's a few - and there's so many more I could show

Bright green aurora over Lake Huron, in curtains. Some red aurora glow in the lower left. The aurora is reflected in the lake. In the foreground, there is a crossed wood structure. Taken during the Oct. 10th solar storm.

A photo of me standing in front of the 200-inch Hale Telescope at the Mt. Palomar Observatory. All that is visible of the telescope is the cage at the primary focus. Taken during a tour excursion for Cool Stars 22 (astronomy conference).

A sunset on Cerro Pachon. The sky is streaked red and yellow on the right-hand side of the image, blocked partially by some clouds. This image is taken standing in front of the SOAR telescope, facing Gemini-South and the Vera Rubin Observatory.

A photo of the milky way galaxy. Taken from Cerro Pachon in Chile, colours slightly enhanced.

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Dec 17

Yes!! When I was in Chile, the moon was upside down and it broke my brain. So was Orion, and it felt so terribly wrong

Night sky shot next to the SOAR telescope in Cerro Pachon. Orion is upside down, as if it is diving out of the sky.

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Dec 9

I'd love to be added!

Merlin the great dane peaking over the couch with massive puppy dog eyes

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Nov 22

Hmmm... Close Duolingo, but not quite right...

A screenshot of Duolingo that says "Mon chat grossit parce qu'il grignote entre les repas. Meaning: I'm probably gaining weight because I snack between meals".
Please note, mon chat = my cat

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Nov 18

My tattoos are space+fantasy themed! Space potion and crystals of brown dwarfs/transiting exoplanets!! The next one to come when I publish my first paper (spell books of research)

My tattoos - potion of space on the front of my arm, and crystals on the back (seen reflected in a mirror) tattoos described in the next images.

Black and grey crystal tattoo, with objects embedded in them. Earth-like exoplanet on the left, a transiting exoplanet in the middle, and a brown dwarf on the right. Sparkles surround the crystals

Black and grey tattoo of a space potion. Swooshing space liquid in a jar contains Orion and a ringed planet. Sparkles are escaping the jar.

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Nov 16

To this day, my computer and phone backgrounds are this image. It's the open cluster h-persei (NGC 869), and I took it for a project in a course I took second year undergrad.

True colour image of h-persei (NGC 869) taken with the iTelescope T-7 telescope in 2019.

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Nov 16

Holy cow! My followers have more than doubled in the past few hours. Welcome friends! I'm Sami, a PhD student studying the rotation of very small stars (ultracool dwarfs), and am exoplanet detection-adjacent! I also do outreach at my local observatory, and have a great dane named Merlin!

Great dane Merlin laying on/taking up an entire human-sized double bed

Me standing in front of the 200-inch Hale Telescope at the Palomar Observatory (note: this is not my local telescope)

Me standing in front of a dinosaur skeleton at the ROM

Sami Lamby 🩷💜💙@samilamby· Nov 15