The Lord Vallance/UKRI answers to @chionwurah.bsky.social's Science, Innovation and Technology select committee questions are now online ⬇️: committees.parliament.uk/publications...

Webb and Hubble join forces to share the most comprehensive view of Saturn to date 🪐 Hubble reveals subtle colour variations across the planet, while Webb senses clouds and chemicals at many different depths in the atmosphere 👉 https://esawebb.org/news/weic2606/ 🔭 🧪

I realize this is not a universally held preference, but I just want to point out that For $10 billion we could have orbiters and probes to both Uranus and Neptune, and they would likely succeed at that price tag, unlike this venture

All packed up for a road trip to catch the shadow of Jupiter's moon Kallichore for @science.esa.int JUICE mission. 🇦🇨🔭

Nonsense, but shows the plan is working.

"My flabber has never been so gasted." Peter Purves on watching two lost William Hartnell #DoctorWho and the Daleks episodes from 1965, discovered in 'ramshackle' collection - shown Wednesday at the Phoenix in #Leicester www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Any Sydney-based astronomers here? A team at Andalucia is coordinating an occultation campaign for one of Jupiter's small (2-5km) irregular moons, #Kallichore (a candidate for an #ESAJuice flyby) that'll be passing in front of a star at ~12:20UT on March 18th. opop.obspm.fr/media/data/c...

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" 💪🔭⚛️🧪

From our 2026 vantage point, a 2033 launch window for Neptune feels rather close... but it's encouraging to see this ambition for an Ice Giant mission!

🔭🎢 Join our webinar today at 5pm (GMT) to learn from Dr Jenny Carter about her new ESA mission called SMILE, due to launch soon. Sign up here 👉 le.ac.uk/physics/abou... SMILE will take X-ray images of the location that the solar wind first encounters the Earth's magnetic field and of the aurora.

Uranus Cat is also a favorite. I didn’t expect to like #Uranus cat as much as some others, but here we are. #spaceArt #sciArt

"Planned cuts to physics and astronomy funding threaten to undermine a core UK government strategy to harness innovation to boost economic growth, leading researchers have warned ministers." Thanks @financialtimes.com for covering this really important story 🗞️: www.ft.com/content/a235...

Our first glimpse of comet 3I/ATLAS from Juice's science camera 😍☄️ The precious data from the mission's November observations of the interstellar comet arrived on Earth last week. Teams are now digging in to discover what they reveal. Stay tuned for updates! More 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed... 🔭 🧪

Starting this Friday, four separate #JWST programmes will be exploring physical processes in Jupiter's atmosphere and ionosphere. We're asking amateur astronomers to help provide context imaging over the next few weeks to understand how the atmosphere is changing with time. #planetaryscience

Welcome back, ya big old ball o' nuclear fire, great to see you. Would you... please... stay a while? Not sure I can go back to the endless rain... [📷 East Midlands, earlier today]

Juno is hardly an unbiased source here, NASA. “‘Guy Not As Big a Deal As He Claims,’ Says Vengeful Wife Guy Cheated On Constantly”

If you are a physics teacher in the uk, or know one, please consider signing this open letter on the impact of cuts to the funding for astronomy research: ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

🔭 Miranda Revisited Image Credit: NASA, JPL, Voyager 2; Processing & License: Flickr: zelario12; Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II) apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap26020...

“… the interiors of Uranus and Neptune could have a wide range of possible structures, encompassing both water-rich and rock-rich configurations. More specifically, their calculations yield rock-to-water ratios of between 0.04-3.92 for Uranus and 0.20-1.78 for Neptune” In summary, what Emily said.

Jupiter's south pole from Juno in May 2025, observed by JIRAM in the infrared (5 microns). Looks like the pentagon of circumpolar cyclones is trying to become a hexagon again (it did this once before, in 2019, and soon returned to a pentagon, ejecting the interloper...)

🔊 Calling UK early career researches in astro, particle & nuclear physics. Please sign this open response to the proposed cuts at STFC ⚛️🧪🔭 "Protecting the UK's reputation as a science superpower requires not only investment, but continuity, confidence, and people" ✍️ ecr-openletter-stfc.github.io

The peculiar construction of #STFC, funding national labs & international projects, alongside blueskies research (read: jobs for postdocs, fellows, students...), means it lacks the flexibility to respond to rising costs & shifting priorities within a flat budget. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Climate 'fingerprints' mark human activity from the top of the atmosphere to the bottom of the ocean theconversation.com/climate-fing...

You may have seen pictures, but have you ever seen video of a gigantic jet #TLE from space? Astronaut Jeanette Epps captured this incredible sequence on July 20th, 2024 for the DTU/@science.esa.int Thor-Davis experiment. 🧪🔭 youtu.be/xN2J7_rOBJY Credit: ESA/NASA/J. Epps Processing: Simeon Schmauß

Heading home after a superb week at the Les Houches Winter School for #ESAJuice. I gave lectures about Jupiter and JWST, but I learned so much from all the other lecturers, from magnetospheres, to satellites, and exoplanet connections. What a stunningly beautiful place to wake up to each morning.

I’m hiring! Looking for someone with excellent communication skills, knows Python, and wants a career enabling science by creating user-facing content for astronomers. This is a full-time, long-term position that does NOT require a PhD! recruiting2.ultipro.com/SPA1004AURA/... 🔭 Apply by Feb 21st!

Beautiful aurora seen last night during high geomagnetic activity❗ Automatic auroral recognition routine classifying All-Sky Camera images acquired at the Kevo station in Northern Finland by FMI as a demonstration product👇 🌐 swe.ssa.esa.int/fmi-federated

Good write-up from @planetarysociety.bsky.social on the budget bill that passed Congress, explaining what space science has gained and lost, and which projects appear to be funded for FY26 (including Uranus, HabWorlds, & contributions to international missions). www.planetary.org/articles/adv...

Our website for the British Planetary Society Conference 2026 is now live! 📅 9-11 June, 2026 🎯 St Andrews, Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Our website contains details on how to get to St Andrews and the conference accommodation. Registration details will be added soon. bpsc2026.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk

21 years ago, humanity landed on Saturn's moon Titan.

Looking to start a PhD in Physics & Astronomy in 2026? The team @physicsuol.bsky.social have announced their STFC-funded projects on offer next year, spanning astrophysics, planetary science, and space instrumentation. Deadline: Jan 18th, contact us to learn more! le.ac.uk/study/resear...

Happy #Jupiter opposition for 2026, very bright with a clear sky to the east this evening. Castor and Pollux (the twins of Gemini) to the left; red Betelgeuse and the rest of Orion to the right; Procyon (Canis Minor) and Sirius (the 'Dog Star' of Canis Major) closer to SE horizon. Happy #stargazing

I'm excited to announce the official Nullschool app is here! earth.nullschool.net on mobile browsers works fine, but the app is nicer. Full screen display, persistence across sessions, text size that matches device settings. Even landscape works well. And, like the website: no ads! Links below ⬇️

Come work with me! STScI is hiring a new head of the Office of Public Outreach. It's a great opportunity for scicomm for NASA's flagship missions: recruiting2.ultipro.com/SPA1004AURA/...

Tomorrow, January 7th, is the deadline for CENTA-funded #PhD applications for those interested in studying #Earth Observation Science here @uniofleicester.bsky.social, starting in September. www.findaphd.com/phds/departm... (You have until Jan 18th for everything else!)

There's so much amazing information in this figure - Sun, Moon, clouds - these keograms make for some excellent #dataviz

I'm hiring! 3-year postdoc on an exciting new @royalsociety.org funded project on Martian glaciers @sheffielduni.bsky.social Advert: tinyurl.com/6rzzk5d4 Terrestrial folks encouraged to apply (e.g. GIS, glacier modelling, geomorphology, or deep learning) Closes 19th Jan. Queries via email.

Make a Bond movie academic. Thunderball: A Study of Lightning on Jupiter

Final of ✨ #planetaryScience image of 2025 ✨ is here: Uranus vs. Earth or outer vs. inner Solar System 🗳️ The vote link is 3 posts down. Voting ends on Tuesday, Dec. 30, at 3 p.m. UTC/4 p.m. CET/10 a.m. EST/7 a.m. PST/midnight JST. 🧪⚛️

Join my amazing colleague Stefanie Milam later today (9pm UK) for a discussion of Solar System #planetsci from #JWST. www.youtube.com/live/BgrD1bd...

If you've proposed to #JWST in recent years, or you're working with the data, take a look at the presentations from our recent JWST User Committee meeting at STScI - particularly those on the amazing efforts that go into pipeline development, the TAC process, user support, & telescope scheduling 🔭🪐

🛰️ New Europlanet webinar with @esa.int's Juice mission! This webinar will outline the current status of radar sounding for Earth observation and its connection to RIME’s science for the exploration of the Jupiter icy moons 👉 Register us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Uranus And Neptune Might Be Rock Giants astrobiology.com/2025/12/uran... #astrobiology #astrogeology

TIL about a memorial ceremony in Iceland in 2019 to mark the end of a glacier, changing the place name from Okjökull to Ok (jökull = glacier). Uncompromising wording on the bronze plaque: "This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".

I still can’t believe they said my name!! I got the Global Space Award 2025 in the category of Science Breakthrough for my leadership of the M-MATISSE mission concept to Mars! A really wonderful night! Next step is to do our super best for the mission to be selected in June 2026!

Leicester has partnered with the China Scholarship Council to provide #PhD funding for Chinese students, with astro/planetary @physicsuol.bsky.social specifically mentioned as a priority. If you have contacts with Chinese undergrads, please do share - deadline Dec 11th. le.ac.uk/study/resear...

☄️ Our #ESAJuice team couldn't wait until February, when they will receive data on #3IATLAS from the mission's science instruments. So they downloaded just a quarter of an image from its navigation camera to get a surprise sneak preview. More info and annotations 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed... 🔭 🧪

After a whirlwind week of deadlines, I finally had a moment to download some data from a telescope run I was leading.... and.... they managed to point it at the wrong planet. I mean, seen one giant planet, seen 'em all, right? Time for a beer....

Reading through ESA's draft #CM25 resolution on the level of resources to be committed between now and 2030 - strong support for the proposal to complete #CosmicVision and get #Voyage2050 (M7, L4) underway. Particularly like that line on international flagship partnerships (HabWorlds? Uranus?).

🎵 One of these moons is not like the others, one of these moons just doesn’t belong… 🎵 (it’s Mab, so weird, we love her) 🧪🔭🪐 My latest for @eos.org ahead of #AGU25: eos.org/articles/ura...