Dr. Moiya McTier
@GoAstroMo
Followers
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Following
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“genuinely funny astrophysicist,” folklorist, worldbuilder | Writer ( #MilkyWayBook ) | Host ( #FateandFabled , @ExolorePod , @PaleBluePod ) | goastromo *everywhere*
New York, NY
Joined June 2014
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Pinned Tweet
Are you a storyteller looking to build a fictional world? My workbook is probably for you!
I've developed this workbook over years and tested it in multiple worldbuilding classes. Now you can buy it in digital form for $9.99 ☺️
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I ordered some garlic knots. The menu said “$2.50 ea” and I thought that was kinda pricey, but it is nyc so 🤷🏽♀️ I bought 6
But friends. It was not each! It was $2.50 for 5 garlic knots! I bought THIRTY GARLIC KNOTS 😭😭😭😭😭😭
No vampires for me in the foreseeable future 😔
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There were definitely tears when I opened this envelope and held my PhD diploma for the first time
10 years ago, I lived in a log cabin without running water and now I have four Ivy League degrees that no one can ever take away from me
I really did that 🥲
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Officially a Doctor of Philosophy in Astronomy!! 🥳🥳🥳
If you missed the public talk about my research, you can watch it on YouTube here!
Thank you to everyone who helped and supported and congratulated along the way ❤️
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Watch this video and like this tweet if you think
@jimmyfallon
should invite me, an actual astrophysicist, onto
@FallonTonight
to teach him about space
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This is my most popular tweet ever. I’m a whole ass astrophysicist and I’m gonna be known as garlic knot girl 😂
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My hot take that no one asked for is that I should be able to send emails whenever I want.
Shaming ppl for emailing outside of “working hours” ignores the fact that not everyone works a 9-5. I like working & emailing at 11pm. It doesn’t mean I expect you to respond then
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Sitting at a WOMEN’s conference where the presenter is parroting back the lessons that I (a woman) have heard my whole life
Tone policing. Appropriate dress. Prioritizing another person’s comfort
I’m SICK of hearing these lessons. And heartbroken to hear a woman promote them
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@funfactscience
Too many in general? Absolutely not. Too many for me in that moment? It pains me to admit it, but yes.
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A little old lady tapped my arm on the train to ask if my tattoo was about physics. When I nodded, she smiled and said recognizing spectra made her day. I smiled back and told her she made mine
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We both asked, and we both said yes! ❤️🥂💍
Introducing the future Mr. Dr. Moiya, aka
@wncorbett
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If the whole Crab Nebula (~4.5 times the Sun’s mass) were made of crab meat and you seasoned it ~properly~ you’d need to use enough old bay to fill up about 1/3 of the whole ass sun
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Love that y’all think I actually leave my apartment 😆 This was for delivery
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The place is La Rustica Pizza on the upper east side!
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Hey, this is me!
Another Black women in STEM you need to know about is Moiya McTier
@GoAstroMo
who is an Astrophysicist, Folklorist, Science Communicator, Worldbuilder & Host of Exolore podcast.
She was the first ever
@Harvard
student to study both astrophysics & folklore & mythology! 1/2
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Does “write drunk, edit sober” also apply to scientific papers??
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No, YOU’RE crying because The Milky Way is featured on the Barnes & Noble homepage 😭🤯
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Dear new grad students,
Please don’t work through lunch in grad school 🙏🏽 Unless the work is genuinely fun for you or you’re under an urgent and uncompromising deadline, just don’t do it. It isn’t worth it, and you will cherish social lunches with… 1/2
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What the fuck did I get a PhD for if I still have to choose one of these??
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Happy Loving Day!
On this day in 1967, the US Supreme Court struck down the laws that made interracial marriages illegal
Just 53 years ago, my partner and I would have been arrested for loving each other
We still get dirty looks when we hold hands on the street
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This Friday is
#JUNETEENTH2020
(learn more here: )
Some people like to say that 246 years of slavery wasn’t that long, so last year I gave a talk that put the history of slavery into an astronomical context
Here’s that talk
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My thesis defense includes a free PUBLIC TALK about my research, which tries to understand where in the Milky Way galaxy life might be most likely to form 👽💫
That talk starts next Tuesday, April 6th at 1:30pm ET and you can watch it at this link: !!
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Normalize *sincerely* reaching out to cool strangers on the internet if you want to be friends
ESPECIALLY right now when so many of our interactions are virtual
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Raise your hand if you were supposed to get married today but then your partner dumped you for bullshit reasons ✋🏽
Now raise your other hand if you are so relieved to be free of someone who would treat you like that 🤚🏽
Honestly I’m thanking the universe right now 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙏🏽
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New life goal unlocked: see my name in the credits for a Disney movie 😱🥳
Everyone go see WISH and stay for the credits
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I want to teach an interdisciplinary science-based fictional worldbuilding class
Over a semester, students build a fictional world based on lectures in astro, bio, anthro, etc.
The final project will be an artistic representation of their world (painting, story, radio play...)
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Happy
#WomenInScience
Day!
Please take some time today to reflect on the fact that I’m 1 of 150 Black women in my field in the US. ~1000 white men got PhDs in physics last year alone.
And remember that this difference isn’t due to a lack of interest in STEM on our part
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Y’all, there’s a nice old lady who lives on my floor. She watched my thesis defense live (my partner set up her YT 😍) and she even asked me to give her a copy of my dissertation ❤️❤️❤️
Anyway, she just introduced me to someone in the hall as a “Dr of everything” and 🥺🥺☺️
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So far, the best part of not being in grad school anymore is finishing my to-do list by 6pm and then not feeling a deep pit of anxious dread in my stomach when I stop working
I wish this kind of peace on you all
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Wooooohooo graduating from Columbia over zoom today and it’s totally exciting and not underwhelming at all and I’m definitely looking forward to celebrating alone in my apartment 🥳🥳🥳🎉🎉🎉😅😭
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@That_Astro_Chic
White teacher in high school: “Why are you applying to Harvard?”
White physics professor 1st year of college: “You’ll never make it as a physicist”
*Black* professor senior year of college: “You don’t have what it takes to make it through grad school”
LOOK AT ME NOW BITCHES
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I just spelled “Tchaikovsky” right on the first try without a reference. Please clap
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Venus: *gets people excited about phosphine in the atmosphere and the potential for life*
Mars: hold my salt water
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How do I politely tell all the people who are asking me to give talks/interviews about my research that I never want to think about my research again?
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Hello, I have very exciting news!!!
I’ve been working on my
#MilkyWayBook
for almost 2 years now and you can finally pre-order it 🥳📖🥳📖🥳
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If you’re looking for books for hot girl summer, check out my
#MilkyWayBook
out this august. Because being smart is very hot 🤓🥵
You can prepare to be HOT by preordering now
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At a
@ColumbiaAstro
department-wide event today, a faculty member announced that there will be a grad-student-organized workshop on mental health tomorrow.
Another faculty member fucking laughed.
Here's the email I sent afterwards in response:
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I just realized I’ve been wearing the same shirt for at least three days
Has anyone else been doing this?
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EEEEEEE it's officially happening! My dissertation defense is scheduled for April 6th at 2:30pm ET!!!!
Would any of you... idk... want to, like, watch it??
FYI, my dissertation is (tentatively) called "Why Are We HERE?: Constraining the Milky Way's Galactic Habitable Zone"
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Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!
Happy day 2 of Halloweek, everyone! 🎃
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My mom got me these adorable Stargate earrings to help with my writing because “they can transport [my] brain to wherever [I] want to go” and 🥺😍❤️
I hope it works 🤞🏽
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Welp. Just tested positive for Covid 😩 I don’t feel too bad, thanks to science and the vaccine 🙏🏽 But be careful in these streets, friends
Wear your mask in crowded spaces and get boosted if you can!
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In 2016, I went to ER w excruciating cramps and chest pain
The WM doctor on call said I was just on my period & left me alone in the room for hours
The next dr (a WW) came to check on me and immediately ordered an ultrasound
I had massive internal bleeding and needed surgery
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🙄 😤
This Harvard graduate astrophysicist wants you to stop listening to Avi Loeb. I would love it to be aliens, but it’s just not. There are simpler, better explanations, and he is not doing good science
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Just sent my dissertation to my committee 🎉🎉🎉
Now ABD means “all but defense” ☺️
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Holy crap I finished the book! 🤯 I’m gonna be a published author!! 🥳
What should I do to celebrate??
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I took the physics GRE twice. I scored in the 5th and 12th percentiles and I still managed to become a doctor
Your ability to take a test =/= your ability to do science!
My GRE score was terrible and I did awesome in a PhD program. Fuck standardized testing. Scores don’t mean shit
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Fewer than 100 black women have PhDs in ANY PHYSICS RELATED FIELD
I will be the first black woman ever to get a PhD from my department. That’s unacceptable
#Juneteenth
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I’m bored, so reply with a number between 1 and 215 and I’ll give you a random line from that page of my
#MilkyWayBook
✍🏽
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Doing some hella bi science on this
#LGBTSTEMDay
If you’re also
#BiInSci
, introduce yourself below so we can be friendz
Also please introduce yourself if you’re any kind of queer! I want a whole bunch of queer STEM friendz
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I can’t tell if my brain needs silence or music or white noise to work. Everything is a distraction.
Is anyone else having like WAY MORE trouble focusing these days? How are you handling it??
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It’s my 3 year doctorversary! Being Dr. Moiya has been pretty cool 😎🤓
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I guess I have a cat now
Twitter, meet Kosmo. He’s a god boy
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Got that first dose, BABYYYYYY
Science amazes me every day, but ~especially~ today 🥲
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Did something pretty exciting this weekend!
Hopefully more news soon, but for now, I want to give a universe-sized thank you to
@carolrhartsell
for having faith in me and giving me the opportunity to make my dreams come true ❤️🙏🏽
#GAMFam
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Just started putting my dissertation together on Overleaf 😱
T minus three-ish months until I’m Dr. Moiya 🤩
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The Disney show I consulted on is out! Watch ✨Iwájú✨ now to see a story about a young girl in an imagined Nigerian future
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Who has two thumbs and is hosting a new show for
@PBSDS
?
THIS GIRL!! 👍🏽👍🏽
I’m so thrilled to join
@ZarkaEmily
in this series about mythology from around the world ☺️
First episode comes out next week, but catch the trailer here:
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Halloweek day 3! The mythology girlies will appreciate this one
I am Ourania, Greek muse of astronomy ⭐️
Seemed appropriate as I’m literally writing a book from the muses’ perspectives right now ☺️
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My dept spent 2 days thinking abt racial justice & hasn’t said a peep in weeks
Being told to think abt racism all the time can get uncomfortable, but how do they think their Black students (all 2 of us 🙄) feel? I have to work NOT to think abt it all the time
#BlackintheIvory
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I got an anonymous edible arrangement with this note this morning and I’m still definitely worrying about who sent it 😬 🧐
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Happy
#BiInSci
Day from your resident astrophysicist/folklorist
I’m wishing you clear skies and happy tales
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Those 246 years of slavery followed by 100 years of Jim Crow segregation created MASSIVE inequalities in
- wealth
- health
- housing
- voting power
- education
- trans-generational psychological trauma
So no, I’m not over slavery
Have a happy
#Juneteenth
11/11
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& I don’t like complaining w/o offering solutions, so here’s what I would have preferred from the talk:
- lesson on how to use your individuality as a strength
- brief history of (changing) workplace culture + etiquette
- reminder that other ppl’s comfort isn’t our responsibility
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What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received?
A tattoo artist once told me my “skin is like butter” and I still think about it when I’m feeling down
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Started studying for my PhD defense today and I already feel woefully unprepared
For those who have defended PhDs before, how did you prepare?
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Quick aside to remind you that slavery wasn’t over just because Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation
Slaveowners resisted. And lied
There were enslaved Black people who weren’t told of their freedom until well into the 1960s
#Juneteenth
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Happy Juneteenth to Black people and Black people only 🤎
If you’re not Black, don’t treat this as a holiday. Use this time to support Black people and invest in your own anti-racism. Read, learn, and amplify Black voices
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It might be weird for me to use a gif of myself* but it’s definitely not weird for you to use it! But use it responsibly, only when it is ACTUALLY just facts 🙏🏽
*jkjk i’mma use this gif all the time
I made this GIF of
@GoAstroMo
for you to use at your leisure. There are infinite applications!
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This has to be the best stellar evolution chart I’ve ever seen. Get outta here, HR diagram!
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Since that day in 1865, maybe 500 black people have earned physics PhDs in the US
To compare, more than 1000 white dudes get physics PhDs every year
#Juneteenth
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…other grad students or your private relaxing TV time in your office.
And try to keep weekends free, too! I had a loose personal rule against working wknds
You and your health are more important than your school/work. So take care of yourself by taking breaks. Please ❤️
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Been having a rough mental health time lately and would really like to be reminded of some good things in the world, so...
What is something, anything, that brings you joy?
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I’m already a full-time science communicator with my own podcast, a book deal, consulting contracts with major entertainment companies, and a full calendar of paid talks.
That’s a pretty rewarding occupation 😊
@GoAstroMo
I'm sorry but the real stimulation should come when you've figured out how to best apply that knowledge base to a rewarding occupation
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🚨 Calling all creative and/or science-curious people 🚨
Starting Oct 13, I'm teaching a class on fictional worldbuilding as one of
@atlasobscura
's
#AOExperiences
!
Sign up to learn how to build your own fictional world & WATCH ME BUILD ONE IN REAL TIME
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Me: has a PhD in astrophysics ⭐️
Also me: has not done a single accurate time zone conversion this week 😓
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5 years of research in just 10 short pages 😳😳😳
These are the notes I’ve taken over the last week to prep for my defense. My brain feels so full!
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Break ups as an adult just hit different from break ups in college. This new silence of solitude is deafening
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My partner bought me a GORGEOUS frame made from recycled magazine pages for my PhD diploma. It feels so satisfying to finally see all my degrees displayed together 🥹
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T-4 days to Dr. Moiya 🤞🏽🤓
It feels real now ‘cuz there are slides
My thesis defense includes a free PUBLIC TALK about my research, which tries to understand where in the Milky Way galaxy life might be most likely to form 👽💫
That talk starts next Tuesday, April 6th at 1:30pm ET and you can watch it at this link: !!
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Being
#BlackintheIvory
means people asking me to my face if I got into Harvard because of affirmative action
It means I had a jokey, disarming response to the question ready because it wasn’t my 1st time being asked
It means others laughing it off as polite dinner conversation
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Cried about my dissertation this morning, so now I’m gonna drink wine and watch the Britney Spears documentary. I hope you’re all having a good time wherever or whenever you are
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