NGL: as a young man of the 90s, I had #Cast #Walkaway cued up for while there this evening 😬

At today's UKRI board meeting, the fate of UK particle physics and astronomy will likely be decided. Have we done enough to convince the powers-that-be to halt the proposed funding cuts? 🤞 Read Prof. Hiranya Peiris in Nature today eloquently explaining why these cuts are wrong.🧪🔭⚛️ 📖: rdcu.be/friwM

"Restructuring research funding as a choice between discovery and application gets the economics wrong, the evidence wrong and the people wrong." Timely piece by Hiranya Peiris in Nature Reviews Physics as we await UKRI/STFC's decisions on what to cut. rdcu.be/friwM

A very valuable resource. This is the discussion of UKRI unchecked.uk/public_body_...

Congratulations to my colleague Prof. Isobel Hook on securing a €2.5M ERC Advanced Grant. SPARKLES will study supernovae and their environments to explore dark energy and the accelerating Universe ✨ www.lancaster.ac.uk/physics/abou...

Some LU updates: our Physics Department is now the School of Physics & Astronomy - a brilliant milestone after years of building a strong astronomy programme. I’m also delighted to be taking over as Head of School from 1 Sep. Really looking forward to helping this fantastic community keep thriving!

It was inevitable, wasn't it🙄 Of course the Telegraph would run with something like this👇 So let's remove some of the rose-tinted spectacles and also look at some of that data comparing 1976 with modern heat waves Because the 1976 nostalgia porn is wearing a bit thin at this stage 🧵1/23

'A senior member of one of STFC’s advisory bodies told RPN that the..exercise represents “a major crisis for the UK"...all of the outcomes modelled are “shocking”....the government would be “committing an act of national self-harm by imposing these cuts”.' 🙏 @francesjones.bsky.social

Final undergraduate exam board completed! Every year I think that students would be amazed if they could be a fly on the wall and see the care that is taken over their marks.

Solstice run photobombed by the Lancaster Univeristy wind turbine ☀️

🚨"Astrophysics research is in trouble!"🚨 @drbecky.bsky.social talks to Prof Brian Cox about the STFC funding crisis facing astronomy, particle and nuclear physics! #SaveUKAstronomy youtube.com/shorts/omICc...

So what impact will the proposed cuts to astronomy and particle physics research have on the next generation of aspiring scientists? 🧑‍🔬💫 Speaking after Monday's event, RAS President Professor Jim Wild told MPs the funding crisis would leave UK universities struggling to attract young talent 📹️👇️

Neuromorphic computing is the next big-thing for the future of hardware & algorithm design. Dame Chi, being awesome, as ever, asks if the #STFC cuts to astro/particle physics will impact this UK industry. "I think for sure... someone else [will be] doing the cutting-edge research for the future" 🔭⚛️🧪

We've had a great turnout here at Westminster Hall, with MPs and Peers packing out the room to hear from early career researchers and senior academics representing astronomy, particle physics and nuclear physics. Read more about the event 👉️ ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

Among the worst-hit by the cuts will be early career researchers, nearly 80% of whom are now considering leaving the UK in the wake of the crisis, according to a new survey. 🧑‍🔬🔭🪐 @drbecky.bsky.social said they feel "disheartened, disillusioned and dismayed by the bleak future they're facing". ⤵️

Stars of physics are in Westminster right now to call on the Government to halt funding cuts to astronomy and particle physics research. Professor Brian Cox called them "inexplicable", urging the Government to instead "trust, inspire and continue to invest in the next generation of scientists".

Found @astroroyalscot.bsky.social and @jim-wild.bsky.social and some deckchairs.

Made it to London to help @astroroyalscot.bsky.social @jim-wild.bsky.social and many other friends brief MPs on the effect of cuts on particle physics and astronomy. Government seems sympathetic but no action forthcoming yet.

Heading to Parliament to meet MPs and enlist their help to stop the cuts that UKRI and STFC will impose upon UK particle physics, astrophysics and nuclear (PPAN) research! We need to help Science Minister Vallance, who is “determined that UKRI must find a way to look after PPAN” #SaveUKAstronomy

Talk about a week of contrasts. Started on the couch watching myself talk space weather on the BBC. Ended it writing a pretty frank response to UKRI’s budget cuts. Tomorrow I’m heading down to Parliament to see if I can get some MPs to help stop history repeating itself. Some reflections here 👇

End-of-week spirit cleansing* Feat. puddle, mud, sheep 💩 and angry swans 🦢

" #STFC ... have worked collaboratively with the sector as this process progresses across many community meetings ... involving many thousands of research colleagues. " Dear 1000's of research colleagues: do you feel "involved" in this "collaborative" process? 😡🙅‍♀️🔭⚛️ ℹ️: ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

Deeply concerning. We were calling for a robust, transparent impact assessment to ensure the UK’s strengths in particle physics, astronomy and nuclear (PPAN) research are protected. Good policy depends on good evidence and listening to the community.

Don't forget to tune into tonight's episode of the BBC's The Sky at Night. 🪐🔭 'Space Weather: The Perfect Storm' airs on BBC Four and the iPlayer at 10pm and features our new President Professor @jim-wild.bsky.social talking to @chrislintott.bsky.social. 👉️ www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

What was the "Carrington Event" and who was the astronomer it was named-after? Catch me talking to @chrislintott.bsky.social on this month's episode of the BBC's The Sky at Night: 10pm, Monday 8 June on BBC Four. #spaceweather #heliophysics #astronomy

Reposting for the morning crowd: please reach out to your MP and encourage them to come to this event in parliament on 15 June with @profbriancox.bsky.social, @astroroyalscot.bsky.social, @jonbutterworth.bsky.social and others! 🧑‍💻👩‍💻👨‍💻 🚨No time to waste - do it today!🚨

📣 Calling UK particle physics, astronomy and nuclear (PPAN) researchers. The @royalastrosoc.bsky.social is co-hosting an event for MPs on 15 June as part of our campaign to reverse catastrophic funding cuts. Write to your MP and encourage them to attend! Full details at ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

This is a wild one: an “orbital airbag” to shield Earth from solar storms 😮 Basically a giant magnetic structure in space to deflect charged particles before they hit Earth. Bold, expensive and very unorthodox! Includes interesting comments from some serious people. www.science.org/content/arti...

As the climate warms, such extremes are expected to become more frequent. Read more in our news release 👇

Memories of the Summer of 1976 endure in the British memory, 35.9 °C, parched fields, standpipes in the streets. 50 years on and, in the last decade alone, temperatures above 36 °C have been recorded on six days in the UK and the UK’s highest record temperature now stands at 40.3 °C.

So the big Brian tweeted this out to his 3M followers over on the other site - and even though it is a cesspit of doom over there - the comments are so supportive. A lot of love out there for physics and astronomy (albeit from a biased subset of Brian's lovely mega-fans) 🤩🔭⚛️

Reposting for the Sunday morning reading crowd with a free-to-read link that isn't behind the Nature paywall! 🔭⚛️🧪👩‍🔬 📖: rdcu.be/floXQ

🚨A must-read summary of the current STFC funding crisis facing U.K. astronomy by @astroroyalscot.bsky.social

@resprofnews.bsky.social highlights a gap in UK science policy: ministers promise curiosity-driven research will “grow”, but the budget is flat in cash terms and DSIT can’t explain how growth happens. The mismatch between rhetoric and reality is impossible to ignore.

#bankholiday family walk at Arnside. Ice creams were eaten ☀️🍦

If you’re out exercising in the heat, remember to hydrate! 🥵

Are you a physics teacher at a UK secondary school or sixth form? Want to join the fight against proposed cuts to astronomy, particle physics and space science? Sign our open letter opposing the cuts below ✍️👇️ ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

Local fun this evening speaking at a @pintofscience.uk event organised by @sci-tech-lancaster.bsky.social the Gregson Institute in Lancaster. Thanks to everyone who came and for the great questions asked!

It's packed here at the RAS as our new President Jim Wild prepares to deliver the final Public Talk of the 2025/26 season. 🥳 'Solar superstorms: Are we ready for another Carrington Event?' will see Prof Wild explore whether our modern technological society could cope with another solar superstorm.

There are some great questions on how vulnerable satellites are to geomagnetic storms, if there is anything you can do to the power grid to mitigate against an impending space weather event, and how solar radiation could affect humans on the Moon. Thanks to everyone for joining us this evening! 👋

We're a lot better prepared than we've ever been in human history, Prof Wild says, despite being more vulnerable with today's technologies. He cites some of the space weather forecasting that now exists. The talk concludes with a Q&A, giving the audience a chance to grill Prof Wild... ⤵️

Professor @jim-wild.bsky.social reveals that the Carrington Event was three times more intense than any other solar storm in recent history, emphasising just how powerful the 1859 event was. So could we cope if another one like it hits? ⤵️

I’m really looking forward to working with the Royal Astronomical Society’s new Council members!

I had great fun at the Royal Astronomical Society this evening taking about the Carrington Event and our preparedness for severe solar storms. Thanks to everyone who came!

Heading to London to give my lecture at the @royalastrosoc.bsky.social. Was disappointed that the train at Platform 5 was not mine!

Very proud of my colleagues at @SpaceParkLeic and @uniofleicester for making this a reality with the SXI instrument! Particularly my great office mate and friend @jennyacarter.bsky.social !!!

Enormous congratulations to the #SMILE team on the successful launch this morning, especially the @physicsuol.bsky.social team leading the Soft X-ray Imager (SXI), which uses the ‘lobster-eye’ micropore optics technology developed @uniofleicester.bsky.social. www.gov.uk/government/n...

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...