Jonathan Fortney
@jjfplanet
UC Santa Cruz Astronomy Professor, Director of the Other Worlds Laboratory (OWL). Textbook Forthcoming: "Planetary Astrophysics: Exoplanets & Solar System." Father, Husband, Minnesotan, Runner. Proud product & employee of the public school system.
The end of OWL, week 2, Prof Andy Skemer's BBQ at Natural Bridges State Beach!
A great pic by Zifan Lin of the UC Santa Cruz mascot, a Banana Slug, at the Other Worlds Laboratory (OWL) today. *On a redwood tree*, no less!!!
A big group for Week 2 at the Other Worlds Laboratory in Santa Cruz this week!
Coffee and breakfast before the 50th Bay Area Exoplanets Meeting, at UC Santa Cruz! 50!
Other Worlds Laboratory (OWL) Exoplanet Summer Program, Day 1, prepped and ready!!!
. @sagnikmukherjee.bsky.social gave a copy of his impressive *540-page* PhD thesis! To quote Jackie Faherty: "Sagnick, holy shit!!". 😜
I find this brand of "alternative" environmentally friendly home products to be really hilarious.
As seen in Santa Cruz (I believe ironically?) vol. 156, Bass Pro Shops hats
I saw The Phantom of the Opera up in San Francisco last night. First time for my, 6th time (!) for my wife. Ummm....ok? Gosh, probably my least favorite musical. I did enjoy the set! We look cute though.
Just came across my pic from the August 2020 Santa Cruz Mountains fire that destroyed 1000 homes in the surrounding redwood forests. It was a truly apocalyptic sky. We left town the next day. The fire thankfully did not reach town.
Just when I think that Europe has everything figured out and the American Way of Life just can't compare, I encounter yet another European hotel bathroom where the shower water just gets all over the *entire bathroom floor*. You know what I mean. Hi from Stockholm!
I had a great hike at Point Lobos State Park on Sunday. My only previous time there was about a decade ago. Just an hour drive from my house! Point Lobos is a tiny peninsula just below the Monterey Peninsula.
At Exoplanet Atmospheres 2026 in Denver: The Fortney Group, past, present, and future! So many brilliant folks have passed through Santa Cruz!
Weird weather ahead for the Exoplanet Atmospheres meeting in Denver! Cold with snow flurries right now!
I just found this pic of me from the Fall 2000 DPS meeting, my first conference. All subsequent posters were printed on a newfangled "wide format printer" but that was not an option for me. This shows work in progress on modeling hot Jupiter "transit spectra." ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001ApJ....
Santa Cruz sunset, looking out at the Monterey Peninsula, last night
9 degrees F outside, shoveling the driveway after 10 inches of snow yesterday, outside of St. Paul, Minnesota. (With my mom.)
The Fortney men, now in Minnesota, saw the Avatar movie in 3D on a giant screen.