#Triathlon day yesterday. The #Wilmslow Spring Triathlon. Entered the double sprint: 800m pool swim, 48 km bike leg and 13 km run. Got round and felt not too bad. A good snapshot for training towards the #Bolton half #Ironman in June and then an attempt at my first full Ironman in #Leeds in August.

Finally some clarity on the #STFC budget: it's falling in real terms as UKRI spending rises. A conscious decision has been made to decrease UK funding for fundamental physics, despite all the evidence that our blue skies research is key for economic growth. Thank you @resprofnews.bsky.social!

Just to crib Jan's great chart here a little bit - here are just a few of the headlines that came out when growth somewhat slowed in 2024 Many, many media outlets do not really know how to handle technological change like this

I'm going to call it. On top of capturing the far side of the Moon, Earthshine on the far side, the solar corona (maybe some zodiacal light), Saturn, Mars and Mercury... this #artemis2 photo includes Neptune!! Just out of frame on the left were Venus and Earth. I mean, mind-blowing! 🧪🔭🚀🌙👩‍🚀

I'll be on the #BBCBreakfast sofa tomorrow morning at around 8:15 talking about all things #Artemis2. Nice to see the crew squeeze in some Galactic #Astrophotography as they journey home. #CarinaNebula #LMC #SpiralArms 🧪🔭🚀🌙👩‍🚀

And for those wanting to know more about the region of space in the background, here's the image superimposed on top of a #stellarium view.

What a view from #Artemis2. A solar eclipse by the Moon, with the outer solar corona surrounding the Moon's far side. The Earth-lit crescent of the Moon. Saturn (nearest to Moon), Mars and Mercury (farthest from Moon). A photo right up as one of the most stunning images of our solar system.

I just love that moments before the crew of #artemis2 set a new record for the farthest distance travelled from Earth, a jar of #nutella decides to get in on the party.

Fossil fuel chaos is harming the planet and putting us out of pocket. I’m calling on the UK government to go all in on renewable energy. Add your name too: action.friendsoftheearth.uk/petition/bre...

Reaching net zero by 2050 ‘cheaper for UK than one fossil fuel crisis’

Building up my training load at the moment as I prep for my first attempt at a full Ironman distance in August. However, I have a secret weapon - a superb support crew in the shape of my wife, Kate. Look at this amazing woolly hat she's just knitted for me!!

5 years ago today - one of the most remarkable landings of all time. youtube.com/watch?v=y8rY...

Today the astro-community discussed the devastating proposed 30% cuts to our research funding, cuts that will be offsetting (some of the) rising costs at UK facilities that we don't use. Hard not to feel victimised when those same facilities make a fanfare announcement about an expensive facelift. 🔭

📣"RAS Fellows urged to lobby against unprecedented cuts" 📣 🔭The @royalastrosoc.bsky.social is calling on its members to help force the Government to reconsider its proposed cuts to astronomy and space science.🧪⚗️🚀🛸🛰️🌌 #stfc #ukri #saveSTFC Read and share: www.ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

UK Solar Physics early career researchers rightly deeply concerned at the savage cuts to #STFC science (and I'd add apparent contempt for their plight by #UKRI). They have an open letter... uksolphys.org/general-news...

I'm a Dr in physics, but in the UK... 📣Many researchers are facing the same reality: contracts ending, careers cut short, talent lost. 👥📉 UKRI needs to change course — now. 🧪🔭⚗️ If you’re affected, post your own photo and share this message. Visibility matters. #stfc #ukri #saveSTFC

I've signed up to 4 mass participation events for 2026. In date (and insanity) order: April: Wilmslow Olympic distance Triathlon June: Bolton half Ironman August: Leeds full Ironman September: The North East Skinny Dip (charity fundraiser for MIND). Already starting to worry...

@iop.org found in 2019 alone #physics generated 11% of UK GDP. Now #STFC, which overseas much of UK physics public research funding, aims to cut curiosity-driven research by 30%. Robbing the future to pay for the present will never be a successful economic strategy. 🧪 www.science.org/content/arti...

A New STFC Funding Crisis The outlook for UK astronomy now looks even more bleak than the dark days of the funding crisis following 2008. It looks like a return to the Bad Old Days.

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...

Why #nasa #artemis is important and why today's words from Artemis II astronaut #ChristinaKoch really spoke to me. Segment from #BBCNews channel.

This letter could do with YOUR signature 🫵 superintelligence-statement.org

Proud to be part of this amazing team.

Attending (virtually) a @nasaromantelescope.bsky.social collaboration meeting this week where we are getting our heads around the science we'll do with 100,000 new exoplanets over its five year nominal mission. For perspective, the last 30 years has delivered 6000. Roman will be mind blowing! 🔭🧪🪐

How to hasten the AMOC collapse and make Britain uninhabitable (or at least really miserable).

Global investment in new renewable energy a record $386bn in first half of 2025, according to BloombergNEF - Global offshore wind and small-scale solar spurred growth about.bnef.com/insights/cle...

I like the way that the four #exoplanet detection methods are relatively well separated when plotting their bulk properties as ratios relative to their host. The scatter shape also reminds me of a hovering #hummingbird. So, I'm going to call this plot the hummingbird plot. 🧪🔭🪐

Been bad mouthing #AI engines recently. So, for balance, i got #GPT4 to do some useful #exoplanet stuff today. From a csv i downloaded from the #NASA #ExoplanetArchive it made a clickable version of the plot below that takes you to the info page on that planet. Damn useful! 🧪🔭🪐

I guess some are better than others - Claude Opus 4.1 is not so easily fooled, it seems. Not on this test anyway.

Something else #GPT5 is really bad at is updating the content of lecture slides on #exoplanets. I thought it might actually do a reasonable job on this type of task, so i fed it one lecture of content. Nope, it was awful! It either made no changes whatsoever, or it completely ruined everything.

So, #GPT5 is supposed to have "PhD level" intelligence, according to the hype. Every time a new #AI chatbot is released, I test it with a fictitious situation in which I attempt to con a friend out of £5. A ten year old could easily spot the con. GPT5, like its predecessors, cannot.

And here's what it looked like - magical!

I mentioned on #BBCBreakfast yesterday that I would see in the #SturgeonMoon with a moonlight dip. Being in water is a wonderful vantage point to observe the sky. #nightswimming #fullmoon

If you're in the UK and hoping to catch the #PerseidMeteorShower over the next few days, here's some pointers from my chat on #BBCBreakfast this morning with Charlie and Naga.

My daughter did this sketch a few years ago. Seems an appropriate evening to give it an airing. #OasisLive25

The Met Office is currently looking for people to suggest up to 5 names for storms... It would be great if thousands all suggested the same 5 names (in alphabetical order as that's how storm names appear): BigOil, BP, Equinor, Exxon, Shell. www.metoffice.gov.uk/forms/name-o...

Whilst Top Gear is not on our screens, I'm think there's a gap for Sky At Night to have its own version of #TheStig. What do you think @chrislintott.bsky.social ? 👽

Beautiful swim at Combs Reservoir near Buxton this morning. But the large sandy looking shore line area certainly testifies to the effects of the recent dry weather spell.

Another orbit complete, and a lovely card from my daughter, showing some family moments over the last 23 orbits. I'm not tearing up, honest, I just sweat a lot...

How's your day at work been? #UniversallyManchester #UniversityOfManchester #Aliens #TheyAreAmongUs #TheThingsIDoForMyJob

Never saw myself doing something like this, so it's weird seeing these pictures. Yesterday I took part in the Ironman Bolton 70.3 triathlon. A 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, then a 13.1 mile half-marathon run. Finished in 7hrs 34min, 56 min before the cutoff. A mere 3 hrs 30min behind the winner.

If you burn down a forest, you don't miss out on lumber for just that season. You have to replant all the trees, nurture them, and wait for them to grow. The science and research budget cuts happening now are wanton, senseless arson. Recovery, if it ever happens, will take generations.

These proposed US budget cuts on NASA, if enacted, would be devastating not just for US astrophysics, but for astrophysics generally. Have to hope that there will be strong pushback on this within Congress. But it's difficult to be optimistic of this in the current times.

Wow. An honest review of an SUV. www.irishtimes.com/motors/revie...

Just sorting through old books i don't need anymore. But this one is definitely staying!

On June 8th I'm doing the Bolton 70.3 half Ironman. 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and 13.1 mile run. I'm fundraising for Doctors In Distress, which helps medical professionals (not just doctors) through mental health struggles. If you can, please donate here: www.justgiving.com/page/eamonn-...

This is unbelievable. Thermodynamics can be a bit challenging at times, but I've never thought of it as a political hot potato. We installed a heat pump over a year ago in our stone house. It works brilliantly. www.theguardian.com/media/2025/a...

Happy 35th birthday to the Hubble space telescope! 🎉 Since its launch in 1990, Hubble has beamed thousands of images back to Earth, revolutionising our view of the cosmos. 🔭 🌌 Check out the Top 100 images taken by Hubble here. 👉 esahubble.org/images/archi...

On vacation this week in #Cornwall. Staying at an AirBnB with two huge #swimming ponds! Just me and my wife, Kate, using them at the moment. So, one each!

Our home is now battery powered for 16 hours a day thanks to this unit. It charges from the grid for 8 hours per day during the cheapest tariff times. On current usage and electricity costs the ROI is under 5 years - battery is guaranteed for 12. As a bonus, it's also a UPS if we suffer power cuts.