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The Artemis II mission seems good because it is. People seem excited by it because they are. It looks like a testament to the value of teamwork because it needs many people working together to succeed, and it’s succeeding. One of the best things about this is how straightforward it is. Authentic.

quick and dirty recreation of the current lunar geometry visible to Artemis II using Quickmap. link in the reply if you want to explore this tool yourself!

Sarah Noble talking about lunar geology right now saying there's a "back room to the back room" of geologists watching the lunar flyby, where the feeling is "giddy" haha

✅ #Artemis II update: the spacecraft entered the lunar sphere of influence this morning at 05:37 BST/06:37 CEST, 6 April, at about 51 000 km from the Moon (the region of space where the Moon’s gravitational pull is stronger than that of Earth’s). www.nasa.gov/image-detail... @exploration.esa.int

Moon Joy 👋👋

In 2013, a group led by LPI Postdoc Ross Potter (including myself and LPI colleagues) published a paper about Orientale that combined topographic and geologic analysis with "hydrocode" numerical modeling of the impact process. agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Orientale is a special impact basin, being the youngest and also the least obscured by subsequent volcanism - the dark basaltic lavas that collectively form the lunar "mare". That makes it a unique "natural laboratory" for understanding the impact basin formation process.

This is absolutely for all the lunar scientists whose shoulders we stand on to have seen this far, and those lunar scientists for whom we are writing their future. 🔭🧪🚀🌘

Want a excuse to skip out of your Monday meetings? Follow along with the #ArtemisII crew and Lunar Science Team as human eyes and human brains observe and discuss the lunar far side for the first time ever. 🧪🔭🚀🌘 Download a guide to the observation plan here! science.nasa.gov/resource/art...

Oh my. It's taken from the right side of an aircraft flying past Cape Canaveral just as the Artemis II mission was taking off. Source: Reddit (posted by u/Spook_485; I don't know if that's the person who took the video)

The countdown is on! #Artemis II is scheduled to launch later today, the first crewed mission to the #Moon in over 50 years. earthandsolarsystem.wordpress.com/2026/04/01/a...

Need to catch up on #ArtemisII science ahead of today's launch attempt to the MOON? See our explainer at @nature.com 🧪🔭 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Zoom zoom zoom. We're going to the Moon... 5...4...3...2...1 🌜🚀

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...

There seem to be some inconsistencies between what Patrick Vallance and Ian Chapman wrote about #STFC funded postdoc numbers in their letter to the Commons science committee and recent reports from the chairs of STFC's own grant panels 🧵

We are looking for a new volcano-petrology postdoc to join the NERC-funded large grant ‘ex-x: understanding dangerous eruptive transitions’ Based at Bristol University! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DRA042/s...

UKRI responds to the select cttee: “Across PPAN, UKRI typically funds a few hundred post-docs and we can reassure you that the current level of post-docs will be maintained across the SR.” So will the drastic reduction in AGP PDRA awards be reversed now/next round? Also hints at LHCb options 🔭🧪

A new 225-meter (740-foot) crater appeared on the Moon while nobody was looking. NASA's lunar orbiter imaged the dramatic aftermath. Such large impacts are once-in-a-century events. This one happened in the spring of 2024. 🔭🧪 www.sciencenews.org/article/moon...

We're accepting new #NERC projects! If you would like to access the ionprobe facility, please submit your application to [email protected] by 17th April. Forms, guidance and alternative access modes can be found on our website. #isotope #geochemistry #geochronology

OCR exam board removes AS and A Level Geology. This leaves only the Eduqas (WJEC) exam board offering this subject. Not sure entirely what the implications are, but, this does not feel good 😩 www.ocr.org.uk/administrati...

The future of UK Astronomy & Particle Physics is at risk from proposed 30% funding cuts that, if implemented, will be "genuinely catastrophic". Great to see this detailed BBC report on the issue by @pallabg.bsky.social 🔭🧪⚛️ #STFCcuts #SaveUKAstronomy 🗞️: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Utterly galling after the community is thriving with involvement in many international missions and collaborative projects...

Overview of the STFC funding crisis. the cuts will also have significant detrimental effects on blue skies planetary science research (space mission data analysis, sample analysis, lab experiments, astrobiology) www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

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" 💪🔭⚛️🧪

If you want to watch the hearing in full it's here. The UKRI/STFC discussion is the first ~30minutes. parliamentlive.tv/event/index/...

Astronomers take note: The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee are having another session on Wednesday, taking evidence from (among others) the Prof Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social and STFC Executive Chait Prof Michele Dougherty. committees.parliament.uk/event/26683/...

The UK atmospheric research aircraft (the FAAM) will cease operations in one month's time due to a research 'pivot' by UKRI... www.ukri.org/news/nerc-pi...

Very well referenced & well argued summary of where we are on the latest STFC funding crisis. I'd only add two more: George Efstathiou's analysis of STFC's governance problems telescoper.blog/2026/02/06/t... and @ersatzben.com's forensic analysis of the 'buckets' 🔭🧪 www.ersatzben.com/p/the-bucket...

If you are an early-career researcher worried about the threats to funding in Astronomy, nuclear and particle physics, you should consider signing this open letter👇

The Sunday-night letter from the UKRI chief hardly laid physicist's fears to rest, describing the need for a "reset." As others have noted, #STFC facilities serve science across UKRI, but it seems astro, particle, solar, planetary physics will suffer in the short term. www.ukri.org/news/open-le...

Basically as we know : STFC is also funding a bunch of facilities (many which are not even STFC remit!) and those costs have gone up (a lot). So to balance the books, they have to cut (sorry I mean reduce costs) grants to scientists.

You can check the list of MPs here: committees.parliament.uk/committee/13... and use www.writetothem.com to send a message. We want to ask them to ask Ian Chapman tomorrow about cuts to STFC's research areas, particularly astrophysics.

Today is a full Moon! Let’s celebrate with some art. In some cultures the February full Moon is the “Snow Moon”. #linocut #Moon #FullMoon

Many thoughts about this, but the doublespeak of the phrase "building on last year’s 15% reduction" is mind-boggling. 🔭🧪

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...

It's going to be ugly 😕

MAJOR naked-eye aurora visible through cloud gaps from Dartmoor in Devon right now. Vibrant red and green colours easily visible to the eye with direct vision. Here’s back of DSLR view from a few moments ago.

We have an STFC-funded PhD project at the @nhm-london.bsky.social. Work with me, @joemcneil.bsky.social, @katie-h-joy.bsky.social, and Gareth Collins, and share in the fun of secondary impact craters and landing sites! tinyurl.com/nez8dzsy

Are you (or do you know of) an undergrad with an interest in solar physics? Check out the Leiden/ESA Astrophysics Program for Summer Students (LEAPS 2026). Myself, Andy To and Henrik Eklund invite you to come work with us at ESTEC on "Catching the Solar Wind in Action". leaps.strw.leidenuniv.nl#none

If you want to reduce plastic use in 2026, make this simple swap. Yellow kitchen sponges like these don’t break down in landfill, and they release microplastics that end up in the sea, harming marine animals. Eco-friendly alternatives are available – see: littlegreenspace.org.uk/reviews/seep...

Join the team !

An interesting #spaceweather story developing. Airbus has made a statement saying that “Analysis of a recent event involving an A320 Family aircraft has revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls” www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I find this image remarkable. It's of the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, photographed by the ESA Rosetta spacecraft. That bright white plume is a jet of dust and water ice blasting from the nucleus—helping form the comet's long, dusty tail as it approaches the Sun.

Open position: Scientific Editor for The Planetary Science Journal Note that this is a paid position via a stipend. As a current PSJ editor, I’d be happy to answer questions. aas.org/jobregister/...

We have a PhD opportunity at the University of Reading focused on analysing Jupiter and Saturn auroral observations! Title: Investigating Earth-like responses to the Solar Wind in Gas Giant Upper Atmospheres Supervisor: me! Full description/application portal: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

We're hiring!!! Come join our faculty!!! ⚒️🧪🔭🌊

We have upgraded our geomagnetic forecast today (12 November 2025) to the highest intensity level amid an ongoing solar storm. Current predictions suggest that the activity will result in potentially the largest solar storm to hit our planet in over two decades.

Astonishing when you see it like this.

Fake cobwebs like these may look spooky – but what's really scary about them is that they can trap & injure wildlife, including birds, insects & small mammals. And fake webs aren't recyclable – so will end up in landfill for many years. More: littlegreenspace.org.uk/features/5-i... #Halloween