Lights, camera… submillimeter action.
Image 1: The James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) on Maunakea, observing for the M87* MOVIE campaign.
Image 2: The observing team on opening night- running the show behind the scenes.
#M87MOVIE
I may well be the last person in the star formation community to have seen this one... xkcd.com/3222/
A tube of glow-in-the-dark plastic planets that lists the contents as “8 glowing planets” and “1 glowing Pluto”
I salute the pedantry of the child’s new toy.
An excellent write-up from @pallabg.bsky.social - great to see this getting attention! And some interesting discussion of leaked minutes from STFC's governing council, suggesting that at least within STFC, this is seen as a shift in funding away from "curiosity-driven" research.
The Science, Innovation & Tech committee have written the most amazing letter to DSIT/UKRI/STFC:
"What is clear is that, despite your assertions to the contrary... widespread cuts have been proposed before adequate consultation with those affected was undertaken. This is wholly unacceptable" 💪🔭⚛️🧪
People sat in rows a committee hearing - all smartly dressed
Here is my run-down of today's Science and Technology Committee hearing (House of Lords) where "considerable disquiet in the science community" was raised with Sir Patrick Vallance. Really great to see the public gallery packed with physicists!
UKRI funding changes are raising serious concern across the UK science community. More than 50 university physics leaders including all 23 Russell Group universities with physics facilities have warned that proposed cuts risk undermining innovation-led economic growth.
🔗 www.ft.com/content/a235...
📢 @astroroyalscot.bsky.social, Prof. Jon Butterworth, & our rep for Early-Career Researchers, Simon Williams @si-wills.bsky.social will meet the SITC Committee next week to talk about the STFC funding!
Let's all attend the hearing in person and online!🙎💻
committees.parliament.uk/event/26683/...
I had so much fun speaking about magnetic fields and star formation at #astrofest2026 yesterday - and even more listening to the rest of the amazing speakers!
It's back! 🎉 🎉 🎉
Very excited to be talking about the future of interstellar magnetic field observations at European Astrofest on Saturday! europeanastrofest.com
![1. [Title Panel]: Is Your 17th Century Astronomer Spending Too Much Time on His Telescope?
2. [Text -only panel] These days, more and more 17th Century Astronomers have access to telescopes. Here are some warning signs that they are on the slippery slope to Godless heliocentrism!
3. STAYING UP LATE WITH THEIR TELESCOPE
[GALILEO is looking through his telescope out the window at a starry sky].
GALILEO'S WIFE:
Go to bed, Galileo!
GALILEO: In a minute...
4. ‘FOMO’ (FEAR OF MISSING OBSERVATIONS)
GALILEO'S WIFE:
Dinner, Galileo!
GALILEO [Looking through telescope]:
Just need to check my orbits
5. WITHDRAWING FROM REAL-WORLD ACTIVITIES
[Galileo's friend the POPE is now standing next to Galileo, who is still looking through his telescope]
THE POPE: Come to church, Galileo!
GALILEO: Not now...
6. FALLING OUT WITH FRIENDS
GALILEO: [Showing The Pope the book he's working on) I'm just working on my book challenging the Bible's view of the Universe
7. BEING ARRESTED BY THE INQUISITION
[GALILEO is being dragged out of the room, hands outstretched to his telescope. He is calling to it]:
GALILEO: Telescooope
9. GETTING SENTENCED TO HOUSE ARREST UNTIL DEATH FOR HERESY
[GALILEO sitting in front of his telescope, now with bars over the windows]
GALILEO: Ah, crap.
10. CONTINUED TELESCOPE USE DESPITE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES
[GALILEO in same position but now with long white beard, he is looking through his telescope through a barred jail window at the sky]
GALILEO'S WIFE:
Go to bed, Galileo!
GALILEO: In a minute...
[Ends]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4m3we4apbjayclzcnhwe3pfp/bafkreibook423m77cuwcpoahuocnd5dmylnlfi7jdhgaladuzytsynr7q4)
1. [Title Panel]: Is Your 17th Century Astronomer Spending Too Much Time on His Telescope? 2. [Text -only panel] These days, more and more 17th Century Astronomers have access to telescopes. Here are some warning signs that they are on the slippery slope to Godless heliocentrism! 3. STAYING UP LATE WITH THEIR TELESCOPE [GALILEO is looking through his telescope out the window at a starry sky]. GALILEO'S WIFE: Go to bed, Galileo! GALILEO: In a minute... 4. ‘FOMO’ (FEAR OF MISSING OBSERVATIONS) GALILEO'S WIFE: Dinner, Galileo! GALILEO [Looking through telescope]: Just need to check my orbits 5. WITHDRAWING FROM REAL-WORLD ACTIVITIES [Galileo's friend the POPE is now standing next to Galileo, who is still looking through his telescope] THE POPE: Come to church, Galileo! GALILEO: Not now... 6. FALLING OUT WITH FRIENDS GALILEO: [Showing The Pope the book he's working on) I'm just working on my book challenging the Bible's view of the Universe 7. BEING ARRESTED BY THE INQUISITION [GALILEO is being dragged out of the room, hands outstretched to his telescope. He is calling to it]: GALILEO: Telescooope 9. GETTING SENTENCED TO HOUSE ARREST UNTIL DEATH FOR HERESY [GALILEO sitting in front of his telescope, now with bars over the windows] GALILEO: Ah, crap. 10. CONTINUED TELESCOPE USE DESPITE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES [GALILEO in same position but now with long white beard, he is looking through his telescope through a barred jail window at the sky] GALILEO'S WIFE: Go to bed, Galileo! GALILEO: In a minute... [Ends]
Another comic I never bothered posting
This one from 2023. Topical galileo humour apropos of precisely nothing at all
The Royal Astronomical Society is gravely concerned at the drastic cuts to support for UK astronomy outlined by the Science and Technology Facilities Council.
Read our statement 👉 ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
Had an excellent time at this last week - it's worth mentioning that the book in question is best viewed through 3D glasses!
An image of the Rosette Nebula
A very happy Halloween to everyone apart from* the person who recently pointed out to me just how much the Rosette Nebula looks like a skull 💀
* or rather, especially to
Image credit: Nick Wright/IPHAS collaboration
Always good to see the Cosmic Bat Nebula out and about! This is one of the most striking examples of an outflow from a young star reshaping the cloud that it's forming in - and in 2023 we found that the outflow is reshaping the magnetic field in the cloud, too! iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
One of my very favourite star-forming regions!
Can't make it to our lates event, 2075: A space odyssey, tomorrow evening? Head to our YouTube channel from 6.30pm to catch livestreams straight from the event and learn about building spacecraft, the lives of stars, and more: #WorldSpaceWeek https://www.youtube.com/@royalsociety/streams