Lancastrian cafe culture 😍

A pretty sobering report from the UK Parliament’s Education Committee: real financial pressure across UK universities, and no clear plan for insolvency if it happens.

Our new President @jim-wild.bsky.social and @iop.org President Paul Howarth have written to science minister Lord Vallance calling for a full impact assessment of proposed cuts to particle physics, astronomy and nuclear research. Read the letter in full: ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

Spent the morning fanboying with some Carrington-related artefacts at the @royalastrosoc.bsky.social. Amazing to get the chance to view these sketches which are - if you are a #spaceweather aficionado - the G.O.A.T. ☀️ 🔭

Jim's started his 1st week as the new @royalastrosoc.bsky.social President with a💥, fighting #STFC funding cuts to astro, particle & nuclear physics 💪 "We urge you to commission a wider study of their impacts, not just on research, but on higher education and the economy as a whole"🔭🧪⚛️

We'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who attended Professor Mike Lockwood's Presidential Lecture, either in-person or online. Due to AV issues, the original recording of the lecture could not be fully captured so Prof Lockwood has re-recorded it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4J4...

📢 Presidents of the RAS and IoP have asked Science Minister Patrick Vallance for an impact assessment of the proposed UK PPAN science cuts. Meanwhile, the community is already seeing hiring freezes and severe reductions. We need to evaluate the long-term damage this will do to the UK economy. 🧪🔭

IOP President Paul Howarth and I have today written to Science Minister Lord Vallance calling for a full impact assessment of proposed STFC cuts to particle physics, astronomy and nuclear (PPAN) research.

Thanks for all your contributions Chris - I think the report from you and Olivia is really valuable.

The @royalastrosoc.bsky.social has a new President. 🪐🔭 Professor @jim-wild.bsky.social begins his two-year term in the role today, after succeeding Professor Mike Lockwood at today's RAS AGM. Read more here: ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

Suited and booted for an early departure to London for RAS Council and the AGM 🔭

An authoritative note on the partitions that were put in place to protect different parts of STFC’s budget from volatility elsewhere in the portfolio written someone who was at the helm at the time. Thank you @johnwomersley.bsky.social for writing this letter (and making it open) 👏

Got your free 🎟️ for this month's Public Talk on solar superstorms? Join us in-person or online to hear Professor @jim-wild.bsky.social discuss whether our modern technological society could cope with another Carrington event ☀️☄️ 📅 Tuesday 19 May ⏰️ 6-7pm

Are you a physics teacher in the UK? We need your help! 🧑‍🔬🧑‍🏫 We've created an open letter for teachers to sign and express their grave concern at the devastating proposed cuts to astronomy, space science and particle and nuclear physics. ✍️ 👉️ ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre... #STFC #UKRI

Not going to my favourite conference this year. The FOMO is real 😬

Lovely to be invited up to the roof for an impromptu solar observing session with the students!

If you’re in the London area, come and see my talk at the Royal Astronomical Society on Tuesday 19 May! ☀️

Last chance! Do you know someone deserving of the 2026 Caroline Herschel Lectureship? 🔭🎓💫 The prize was established to celebrate Caroline's memory and is aimed at supporting promising women astronomers early in their careers. Apply by 30 April at: herschelsociety.org.uk/caroline-her...

Latest on UKGov #STFC cuts to physics & astro. Love Hiranya's take: "Peiris said she thinks...policy is “evolving in a matter of weeks”, suggesting it was a “very incoherent approach that leaves us vulnerable...” Yup - that about sums it up. Feels like they're making it up as they go along 😬🧪🔭

Excited to be giving a public lecture at the Royal Astronomical Society in London on Tuesday 19 May: "Solar superstorms - Are we ready for another Carrington Event?" ☀️

What incredible images: four astronauts returning from a circumlunar flight photographed by the crew of the ISS in low Earth orbit 😲 (Images: NASA)

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There is no better sight than this. Welcome home #ArtemisII. Massive, massive congratulations to all. What a team. What a mission. #Artemis #Splashdown

#ArtemisII travelling at 22,000 mph and still climbing fast. Less than 6 mins to entry interface now. #Artemis

"The European Service Module has performed flawlessly throughout this flight." Thanks @esa.int ! Here's a webcam view into the control centre in Noordvijk, Netherlands:

Watching the live feed as re-entry approaches. Incredible images form the Orion spacecraft. Good luck everyone 👍 #artemisII www.youtube.com/live/m3kR2KK...

“after a request from RPN, UKRI said the STFC budget would be £849m in 2026-27, £821m in 2027-28, £824m in 2028-29 and £842m in 2029-30” “Since 2023-24, inflation has seen STFC’s budget drop in real terms and is expected to continue to decline through to 2029-30.”

This rather looks like confirmation of what we have feared and suspected - significant real terms decline in funding for research in fundamental physics.

Fabulous to be able to say hello to Dr Helen Sharman OBE today, astronaut and President of the Institute of Science and Technology. An inspirational figure in British human spaceflight! 👩🏻‍🚀🇬🇧

Some important #spaceweather factors for human spaceflight being discussed here by @astroroyalscot.bsky.social ☀️👩🏻‍🚀👨🏾‍🚀

This feels especially appropriate today as the #ArtemisII crew approach the moon - give your ears a treat 🎧 youtu.be/P8LlUrT7MFo?...

#Artemis II update: our European Service Module's main engine performed the translunar injection so precisely that flight controllers in Houston decided to cancel the first of three outbound trajectory correction burns on the way to the Moon 🥳

Bowland fellfie

Wow. That thing really leapt off the pad! Amazing #artemis2

Cuts to UK Astronomy? It's all about the base(line). A short post on LinkedIn highlighting that the effective cuts to UK Astronomy funding are not some far off possibility - they have already started. www.linkedin.com/posts/profji...

I was lucky enough to get a personal tour from Max Alexander around the wonderful Our Fragile Space exhibition installed in the courtyard of the Royal Astronomical Society. Thank you Max! @royalastrosoc.bsky.social

Finally got my @royalastrosoc.bsky.social Save UK Astronomy sticker! #astro

Celebrating the spring equinox with a sunny lunchtime campus run ☀️🏃🌍

"Research funding cuts threaten a whole generation of scientists". Op-ed in Research Professional News today by Mike Lockwood and me. #STFCcuts #SaveUKAstronomy www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...

"This is not straightforward... and the STFC thing is particularly difficult" Understatement 😬 A thread with quotes from Lord Vallance and his thoughts on the "STFC thing"

The RAS will be sending these to astro groups across the UK... They look great on every laptop, particularly in meetings with UKRI and DSIT staff...

Excited to have come away from my trip to London for Royal Astronomical Society Council with a batch of newly-printed “Save Astronomy” stickers! 🔭 @royalastrosoc.bsky.social

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" 💪🔭⚛️🧪

🚨Announcement🚨 Want to learn more about the growing threat of space debris? 🛰️💥 We're delighted to be welcoming the ground-breaking photography exhibition 'Our Fragile Space' to the @royalastrosoc.bsky.social. ⤵️

What better day to promote this than #internationalwomensday?

Astronomers for Planet Earth are submitting a statement about some of the proposed megaconstellations that would ruin ground-based astronomy to the FCC. You can read the statement below: 🔭☄️

Great summary of today's Science, Information & Technology Committee hearing (House of Commons) from @astroroyalscot.bsky.social. It seems pretty clear that there have been serious structural and governance failures at STFC that have led to the current crisis.

Bravo to the scientists, @astroroyalscot.bsky.social, @jonbutterworth.bsky.social and Simon Williams who gave such compelling and clear evidence to the House of Commons SIT Committee this morning 👏 committees.parliament.uk/event/26683/...

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!

Universities use QR funding for a wide array of costs to support their research. The idea that it all goes to “curiosity driven research” is totally wrong. Either UKRI knows this and is deliberately misleading Parliament, or, perhaps worse, it doesn’t. 🧪 committees.parliament.uk/publications...