They did it. Arrow points to the volcanic vent in what last night NASA kept referring to as “the annular ring”. Detail from crew photo at www.nasa.gov/gallery/luna...

They did it. Arrow points to the volcanic vent in what last night NASA kept referring to as “the annular ring”. Detail from crew photo at www.nasa.gov/gallery/luna...

Of course, all rings are annular. The term seems to be a NASA tautology.

The “annular ring” had just been described live by Reid Wiseman as very circular and very dark.

Suck it up Larry ;-)

Arrow points to the dark pyroclastic ring the surrounds the volcanic vent

Arrow points to the dark pyroclastic ring surrounding the vent

There is a 30km long, 2.5km deep explosive volcanic vent in the south of the Orientale basin that resembles several that we want to study when BepiColombo starts its science mission at Mercury.

Katie’s only Katherine when she’s been naughty ;-)

Hoping the #Artemis II crew get a view of the volcanic vent in the south of the Mare Orientale basin tomorrow night. 30 km long and 2.5km deep, made by a volcanic explosion. There are lots of these on Mercury that we will begin studying with BepiColombo next year.

Fireside Chat: BepiColombo: Europe’s Journey to Mysterious Mercury, Prof. David Rothery with Jerry Stone - The British Interplanetary Society Join the Open University’s, Professor David Rothery in a Fireside Chat with Jerry Stone for ‘BepiColombo: Europe’s Journey to Mysterious Mercury’ From icy polar craters to volcanic plains, Jerry and D...

Join me for a Fireside Chat about ‘BepiColombo: Europe’s Journey to Mysterious Mercury’!
tinyurl.com/c5fnc4cj

📅 Wednesday 25 February 2026
⏰ 7.00-9.00PM GMT
📌 BIS HQ London and Online

🎟️ Book here 👇

www.bis-space.com/event/firesi...

#MIXS #Mercury #SolarSystem #PlanetaryScience

@asrivkin.bsky.social hi Andy. Please add me to the bsky planetary scientists list :-)

Happy "Not Submitting an LPSC Abstract Today" to those who celebrate.

Congratulations Faith!

Glad the Apollo 13 movie is getting reruns lately.
This scene is even more moving today: right, Tom Hanks playing Jim Lovell; left, cameo appearance by actual Jim Lovell (1928 Mar 25 - 2025 Aug 7).

Jim Lovell, who guided Apollo 13 safely back to Earth, dies aged 97 Commander of Apollo 13, who rescued his men from a near certain death in space, has died aged 97.

RIP Jim Lovell, a man from a time when the USA did things we could all admire www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A newly minted Open University PhD. Congratulations Dr Annie Lennox!

This is bog standard practice these days. You’d think that universities could trust that the full time employer for their proposed external examiner had already done a right to work check, and would at least trust other univs, but no - the numpties re-burden externals with this hassle every time.

Representation bias on Mercury - GEOSCIENTIST Tell us about your research Annie Lennox: For geological mapping, Mercury is split into fifteen areas called quadrangles. I’ve mapped a quadrangle in the south polar region as part of my PhD research....

Nice article featuring issues of diversity and inclusivity in planetary nomenclature by my student Annie Lennox. If folk don’t see their like represented, they are likely to feel excluded from the field. That’s unfair, but also we need all the talent we can get. geoscientist.online/sections/une...

Well said. Apart from the Orwellian rewriting of history, It’s a breach of trust to take down abstracts by non-US scientists who paid top dollar to attend and entrusted their abstracts to LPI.

Costas’s cool shades would not give much protection from a falling rock.

Indeed it is. Doesn’t VU Amsterdam have an obligation to “teach out” rather than cutting students adrift mid-degree?

Costas Xenophontas, a good friend of Ian’s, is in the 4th pic.

I was once in the Solar System Advisory Committee. We advised it, for the general wellbeing, to continue going round anticlockwise.

Good to meet you :-)

Sigh.

FFS Should make for an “interesting” NASA Town Hall briefing.

"Puppets on a Kremlin String?" - Marsh Family adaptation of Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" on Trump/Vance YouTube video by Marsh Family

youtu.be/pvT3aQjLxdE

Here's a 🎶 twist on Coldplay's thumping #VivaLaVida we're calling "Puppets on a Kremlin String?"

It reflects on the grotesque media spectacle hosted by #Trump & #Vance yesterday at the White House. In solidarity with Zelensky & Ukraine.

#SlavaUkraini
#Dontabandonthem

#PlanetParade had been overhyped, but here are Mars, Jupiter, Venus and last of all Mercury lurking at the lower edge of the band of grey cloud at tree top height. Video shot at 18:37 this evening.

#PlanetParade has been grossly overhyped by lazy journalists and colleagues keen to get on air. I caught sight of Mercury at 18:27 but Saturn was already too low. See pics. Venus is easy in the first 2, but you won’t spot Mercury except in the 3rd, magnified view. (Mars & Jupiter were lovely though)