Another comic I never bothered posting This one from 2023. Topical galileo humour apropos of precisely nothing at all

Are you a Friend of the @royalastrosoc.bsky.social? If so, why not come along to this month's lecture. 🪧'Celebrating Women Astronomers' 📅 12 February ⏰️ 1-2pm 🗣️ Dr Susan Pyne, @ucl.ac.uk 🚨 This talk is exclusively for Friends of the RAS members 🚨 To become a Friend, scan the QR code. 🤳📱

Listeners to Radio 4’s Inside Science today get an essay from me in defence of astronomy as pure research. Please listen in and let me know what you think. Show starts 4.30pm GMT here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...

"One of the best popular-science books I have read within the field, and [an] uplifting read, despite dealing with some of the heaviest ethical questions in space sciences." @dreochapman.bsky.social reviews @scottsolomon.bsky.social's "Becoming Martian" (out Feb 17th) for @physicsworld.bsky.social:

Many people have wondered why the Chien-Shiung Wu never won the Nobel Prize for Physics. New findings from the Nobel archives, exclusively revealed in Physics World, show she was nominated 23 times by 18 different physicists - and yet was still left empty-handed. 🧪⚛️ physicsworld.com/a/twenty-thr...

🚨 Exciting news! 🚨 Here is the first known picture of the 19th Century astronomer Richard Carrington – who had the largest geomagnetic storm in history named after him. It was found by our assistant archivist Kate Bond thanks to some brilliant detective work.🕵️‍♀️ 👉️ ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

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...

I say it all in the review… but seriously, buy the book. Exceptional popular science writing and a unique perspective on human space exploration.

The aurora right now from North Pole, Alaska. Air temp -20 F. Winds calm. Nice night. First substorm tonight was to the north. The next will likely be overhead when we are rotated further under the oval. iPhone video handheld. Colors seen are naked-eye visible.

If you’ve ever wondered why it’s important to share your science with the public, whatever that science is 🧬 🧪 🔭, this @universetoday.com podcast episode is essential listening. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/u...

I am on the train to the @royalastrosoc.bsky.social in London, ready to learn about advances in "Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence applied to astronomy' 🔭. Any bluesky friends going too?

Delighted to see "Radio Universe" mentioned in @newscientist.com Best New Popular Science Books of 2026! So surreal to see so much hard work almost out there. Pre-order now (US title Echoing Universe)! www.dr-emma-chapman.com

NASA Discovers Distant Planet With Conditions That Could Sustain Rocks https://theonion.com/nasa-discovers-distant-planet-with-conditions-that-could-sustain-rocks/

It's happening! ESA & JAXA are teaming up to visit Apophis, the 400-meter (1300-foot) asteroid that will skim close by Earth in April, 2029. The RAMSES mission will study this potentially hazardous object & watch how Earth's gravity reshapes it as it passes. 🧪🔭 cosmos.isas.jaxa.jp/look-up-esa-...

So my publishers @johnmurrays.bsky.social just sent me a load of free books from their list and I could not be happier. I mean … free books, right?! Don’t tell them but I would definitely be fine accepting payment in books as opposed to royalties from now on 🤣

Parents & anyone else up early on Christmas morning: there’s a bright pass of the International Space Station over the UK, just after 6.15. Well, I say it’s the ISS. Could be Santa heading home… Exact timings for where you are at www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary....

Science for Fiction has now made the leap to cyberspace as the Science for Fiction podcast, made in conjunction with the @sffoundation.bsky.social The first episode is me interviewing @defjaf.bsky.social about his new book The Random Universe. Have a listen! apple.co/44A5GIg

Hi friends, please help me spread the word on the open professor position in #planetaryScience we have in Bern 🔽

I’m taking a day off and heading to Sheffield to see two friends from high school. Incomprehensibly, they have no interest in astronomy, but we share a love of musical theatre, many years of good memories, and we’d do anything for each other 🥰

Today would be a great day to sign up to become a Cosmic Shambles Patreon. No reason… patreon.com/cosmicshambles @robinince.bsky.social

I'm hiring a postdoc -- come and do awesome cosmology with great people in one of the nicest cities in the world (not that I'm biased or anything) 🔭 🧪 cosmology.blogs.auckland.ac.nz/2025/12/12/p...

For the first time, astronomers have detected a coronal mass ejection from a star other than our Sun, and it was a big one – powerful enough to strip the atmosphere from nearby planets. That's bad news for the search for extraterrestrial life. Here's why: physicsworld.com/a/astronomer... 🧪⚛️🔭

Inspiring talk by Mayuri Rao, telling us all about the many proposed lunar radio astronomy experiment. My head was especially turned by the “Lunar Crater Radio Telescope”. They want to recreate the iconic Arecibo dish but using a 1-km diameter CRATER on the MOON 🤯🤯🔭 #SALFXI

Orléans cathedral, night and day

"A generally uncomplicated and pleasurable read ... pitched perfectly for the curious general reader and even for those dipping their toes into popular science for the first time." @dreochapman.bsky.social reviews James Riordon's "Crush" for @physicsworld.bsky.social:

Oh my god I am shadow of a human and Day 2 isn’t even over. How do people do conferences? Seriously?

As Io orbits Jupiter, its volcanoes spew out particles which interact with the planet’s magnetic field and create bright radio emission. Astronomers are now looking for similar patterns from exoplanetary systems, to probe for magnetic fields (i.e could they be habitable 👽) 🔭 Im: John Spencer

Shaun O’Sullivan kicks off Day 2 of #SALFXI telling us about Faraday Rotation Measure maps. The polarisation plane of linearly polarised light rotates as it travels through the Universe. This helps us trace cosmic filaments & pin down emergence of primordial magnetic fields. 🔭 Image: O’Sullivan ‘23

Some have argued to me strongly that even if Loeb is wrong, he’s getting people interested in 3I/ATLAS and that’s a good thing for science. But Loeb isn't just wrong, he's recklessly following an old playbook that got 39 people killed in 1997. sites.psu.edu/astrowright/...

Updates from the Square Kilometre Array 🔭: 15,000 antennas on the ground, four stations have undergone commissioning testing using the Sun to calibrate the antenna responses. They’ve rediscovered 56 pulsars and created their first image - each point is a bright radio galaxy go baby SKA! #SALFXI

Speaker Naman Jain has just told us that the CHIME radio telescope is detecting about 2 new fast radio bursts A DAY. No wonder it has the largest uniform sample of FRBs around. #SALFXI Image: CHIME collaboration + MIT News

Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.

Excellent talk on Radio Stars by @astrolaura.com. We observe radio emissions from stars all over the H-R diagram. Their flares help us understand space weather. Also radio telescopes can see ultra-cool tiny stars - analogues for planets that help us understand exoplanetary magnetic fields 🔭 #SALFXI

Mic drop moment from this conference… swag includes a calendar of RADIO TELESCOPES 🔭📡😍🥰 #SALFXI

“I’m telling you, if it’s the middle of the night, I’ll just hold it until morning, ’cause there’s no @&£?! way I’m heading out there to be pelted with micrometeorites if I have to wake up in a few hours” theonion.com/astronaut-ha...

It is 4 pm on a Friday, and I want you all to know that every week at this time, a postdoc bangs a gong to let everyone in the astronomy building they have to stop work and gather for cake and coffee. 🍰🔭☕ Do your workplaces have funny little traditions (bonus point for a gong?)

Pub quiz hell is when your job 🔭 comes up as a category. Question: “What’s the coldest planet in the Solar System?” Everyone slowly turns to the astronomer at the table. I confidently say: “Neptune.” Answer: Uranus. I have brought shame upon my family.

Omg shut up

Want to work at the IOP? We're recruiting for three roles! Communications Officer 🗓️ 1 December 🔗 https://bit.ly/4nYGDoQ Accreditation Coordinator 🗓️ 24 November 🔗 https://bit.ly/4oA39G3 Scholarships Project Officer 🗓️ 19 November 🔗 https://bit.ly/43KAp55

Become a UK Moonsighting Leader and empower Muslim communities to hold their own local moonsightings. 9-month course on astronomy, Islamic calendar science & community leadership. Led by New Crescent Society + Cambridge & Leeds experts. Apply by 15 Nov 2025 www.interfaith.cam.ac.uk/moon

Episode 23 – Failed galaxies, faint galaxies, and the proto-Galaxy In this episode, Michelle and Nicole explore the chemistry of faint galaxies and RR-Lyrae stars, tracing the proto-Galaxy, discussing the failure of some galaxies, examining quasi-stars in relation to Little Red Dots, and…

If you're impatient to read COHERENCE, I'm posting the first 4 chapters in PDF and EPUB: www.aaronrparsons.com/books-portfo...

Cosmologists! We have a faculty job going here in Oxford - happy to answer questions. Brief version is that this remains a great & collaborative place to do science and the students are superb. 🔭 www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOP628/a...

Today JPL lost so many incredible people. My heart hurts for every single one of them. This administration is gutting American science institutions and throwing away hyper specific experts who cannot be replaced. This is an extremely detrimental loss.

Episode 22 of the StarXiv is live! As I was away last week, I had to wait to listen until this morning, and it's a great line-up of papers from @payeldas.bsky.social and @nbuckley0810.bsky.social. Check it out on our website or wherever you get podcasts 🔭🧪☄️ starxiv.com/2025/10/13/e...

My book should have had this stamped on the front cover

I've not had time to tour my book as much as I'd like this past year, so I have a stack of "First Light" books needing happy, nerdy homes (UK only) 🔭 I'll dedicate and sign each one, so if you want to grab one for yourself, or even get a jump on Christmas (😱) head to: www.space-stuff.co.uk

I am giving a rescheduled talk from last year, and I had to remind myself of the title. Yeaaaaah... I was clearly feeling a bit despondent when I wrote that.

Me reading Bluesky to catch up on the Comet 3I/ATLAS = aliens drama. ☄️👽🔭