The Winter Solstice marks the shortest day and longest night - it’s the precise moment when the Sun reaches its lowest point before the light returns. Why care? Because it reminds us that pauses matter, and even at our darkest point, the direction has already changed. #wintersolstice

Day at ESO’s Paranal Observatory: VLT, desert light, a sea of clouds at sunset, and lasers in the night sky. Unreal. ✨ #ESO #VLT #AtacamaDesert

From baking meringues to meeting an ESA astronaut — What a weekend! Baking in Space came to Dublin & Dundalk, ending with a packed house and families in awe as @ESA astronaut Rosemary Coogan took the stage. This is why we do what we do. 💫 #TownScientist #STEMForAll #ScienceWeek2025 #DreamBig

🌐 Tomorrow. 4.30pm-we’re LIVE from Antarctica. Jac Madsen joins us from Antarctica to share what it’s like living at the edge of the world… where the climate crisis is unfolding in real time. Part of #ScienceWeek Town Scientist 🔗 Webinar link bit.ly/3LVrI1n #Antarctica #TownScientist #COP30

My latest piece in today’s Irish Times- @esa.int’s John McFall challenges who gets to go to space. www.irishtimes.com/science/spac...

🌒 Eclipse confuses birds into dawn songs During the 2024 total solar eclipse, over half of bird species briefly sang as if it were morning, revealing how light shifts shape behaviour. 🔗 doi.org/10.1126/scie... #Birds #SciComm 🧪

From Arctic ice back to Dundalk 🌍 This Sunday (19 Oct, 12 p.m.) join me for a walk & talk honouring Dundalk’s own polar explorer, Leopold McClintock, and hear stories from my Arctic mission. 🎟️ Free via Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.ie/e/dundalk-mc...

On this day in 2021, William Shatner took part in the flight of Blue Origin NS-18 and became the oldest person to fly in space at 90 years 205 days. That record has since been surpassed. Shatner described experiencing the overview effect seeing the Earth from space.

Earlier this morning SpaceX completed the 11th test flight of the Starship mega rocket. A successful landing of the heavy rocket, deployment of test satellites & splashdown of the Starship rocket. A good mornings work by team SpaceX but the pressures on- all eyes on Lunar launches soon.

LAUNCH!!! Starship Booster 15-3 and Ship 38 have launched on Flight 11, the final light of V2 of Starship and the last flight to launch from Pad 1 at Starbase.

With Flight 11 in the history books, the Pad 1 Chopsticks lower for the final time, as the sun sets on another day at Starbase, and this Era of the Starship program, with the deluge system giving Pad 1 a watery sendoff. Launch livestream: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bcp...

🚀It’s almost time to shape the next chapter of Europe’s journey in space. The European Space Agency’s Council Meeting at Ministerial Level, known as #CM25, will take place in Bremen, Germany, on 26 and 27 November 2025. Journalists register here 👉 www.esa.int/Newsroom/Pre...

Check out the new trailer for @esa.int's proposed Ramses mission! 🍿📽️ Ramses would escort the cruise-ship-sized asteroid Apophis through its safe but exceptionally rare flyby of Earth in 2029: www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

🚀 Just 2 sleeps till our Family Space Day in Dundalk! So proud to bring this together with @researchireland.ie, Louth CoCo, Dundalk Credit Union, ABC & County Library. If you’re in town Saturday, drop by — we’re full, but we’ll make ‘space’ for you! 🌌✨

The Poems of Seamus Heaney review – collected works reveal his colossal achievement

As always, I hope Yuri Herrerra gets the nod. But either way it's a win. Unless of course they follow last year's science winners' sweep and just award the literature prize to an LLM..

Watch Blue Origin launch its 15th space tourism mission on Oct. 8 https://www.newsbeep.com/ca/196683/ Watch live! Blue Origin to launch NS-36 crew to suborbital space – YouTube Watch On Blue Origin plans…

We’ve signed another Electron multi-launch agreement: three dedicated missions for Japan-based Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (@iQPS_Inc)! This latest bulk buy brings the total number of upcoming missions for iQPS to seven. More info: bit.ly/4o7a2hd

🌎 🛰️ Check out the first data from the METimage instrument on board EUMETSAT's MetOp-SG-A1 satellite! This advanced instrument observes clouds, land, sea and ice, providing key insights into weather forecasting, nowcasting, and climate monitoring. eumetsat.int/metimage-del... 📸 @eumetsat.int

☄️ 🔭 #3I/ATLAS comet update! On 3 October, our ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) turned its eyes towards interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it passed close to Mars. Read more: esa.int/Science_Expl...

Space Science Goes To Congress nasawatch.com/activism/spa... Big space space science thing on Capitol Hill today. Last minute media event. announced. So much for making sure that this whole save space science thing gets exposure. #NASA #NSF #SaveNASAScience #WorldSpaceWeek #WorldSpaceWeek2025

Back from #IAC2025 in Sydney — capturing the human stories shaping our future in space. My North Star is to bridge those rooms with the world beyond. Next stop: home to Dundalk for Family Space Day, Oct 11 — bringing space down to Earth. 🚀🌍 #SpaceWeek

Good morning from Sydney excellent public transport! After a short 33hr hop from Dublin, I’m excited to share the best space stories this week from IAC, the largest annual gathering of all the major space players, incl our very own @esa.int. Looking forward to the week ahead. #australia #iac2025

I don't know where my road is going, but I know that I walk better when I hold your hand. -Alfred de Musset Friendships whatever form they take are everything, no? Happy weekend friends💕 #BlueSkyArtShow #TheRoad #Bluesky #Photography #Nature #Quotes

🚀 Dundalk & Louth families! Join us this Sat Oct 11 for FREE Family Day of Space — part of Space Week! 🌌 🪐 Planetarium shows 👩‍🚀 Space Talks 🎨 Crafts, telescopes & more 📍Dundalk Library & Credit Union 🕚 11–5pm | 🎟️ Free (registration essential) Hosted by #TownScientist supported by Research Ireland

In 6 hours, a Partial Solar Eclipse will begin in the South Pacific, New Zealand and Antarctica. Greatest eclipse will occur at 19:42 UT on 21 Sept. 🔭 More details including eye safety information and a Live Stream at: www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/sola...

It's a Sunday #Sun Day! Eleven groups of active sunspots. #astronomy #astrophotography @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

UPDATE: Save NASA” Protest Expected speakers include: - Rep Suhas Subramanyam - Monica Gorman Area Vice President GESTA - Colette Delwalla Exec Director, Stand Up For Science - Dr Mollie Manier National Institutes of Health - Matthew Biggs President, IFPTE nasawatch.com/activism/ano...

Just back from a week in Helsinki where I hosted the morning briefings at #EPSCDPS2025 Congress. The city surprised me - quiet beauty, gentle light, and time to walk, think, and reconnect with science, art and family.✨ #SpaceMedicine #WomenInSTEM #DreamBig #Helsinki #IrishScience #AnEngineerLikeMe

I wrote my latest Irish Times piece on space medicine while sailing in the Arctic — a place that felt like another planet. What we learn about keeping astronauts alive in space helps us care for each other better here on Earth. 🌍✨ 🔗 www.irishtimes.com/science/spac... #SpaceMedicine #Exploration

A free careers magazine in today’s Independent from Engineers Ireland, all about what it means to be an engineer. Engineering was my foundation and it’s the mindset that fuels my North Star mission: to travel to space and share that perspective with the world. #Engineering #STEM #NorthStarMission

😶‍🌫️ The MIRI instrument on the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has detected hints of a hidden supermassive black hole in the heart of M83! Read more 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl... 🔭 🧪

Rare ‘smiley face’ planet alignment to light up night sky this week

After Pope Francis’ death on Monday, Vatican officials sealed the doors to the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace using a red ribbon and wax. Though this was his formal residence, Francis chose to live in a Vatican guesthouse. Read more: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/w...

Another night of celebrating incredible women in STEM. @theexplorersclub.bsky.social #GB&Ireland #FrontlineClub With @irishspacegal.bsky.social , Eloise Moulton #PolarAcademy & Kate Inman @plymuni.bsky.social Hosted by Sophie Redlin & featuring Fanya Rose - 1st female president of Explorers Club.

SPACENEWS: In today’s @irishtimes.com I went to the @esa.int ’s Astronaut Centre last February to check out their new lunar analogue facility, called LUNA.Irish scientist Aidan Cowley spent 10 years making this happen. www.irishtimes.com/science/spac... #space #spaceinsociety

Happy St Patrick’s Day to Blue Sky peeps across the world!!! Sending shamrock love from Ireland! ☘️❤️ #stpatricksday2025

Space news! Tune in to @rte One Prime Time from 9.30pm tonight March 13th. We’ll be discussing why a mission for 2 astronauts went from 8 days to 9 months. #spacenews #crew9 #starliner #crew10 #nasa #spacexlaunch #rtept

International Women’s Day Here’s an excerpt of a speech from Antonio Guterres, Sec Gen of UN. This is our time to strive for a society which is equitable and just for all. #internationalwomensday #IWD #womeninSTEM #womeninspace #stemcommunicator #scienceinsociety

Feb 12th 2025 Two years today we made it official. And my life exploded with joy, adventure and more space and science. Thank you for bringing so much happiness, love & your gorgeous family into my life. Happy Anniversary, hubby 💕🌎🚀

Feb 11th is International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Sharing with you a project about a quilt honouring Irish women in science making its way to the Antarctic continent in Nov 2023. #womeninstem #internationaldayofwomenandgirlsinscience

Good morning from @rte.ie 2FM where the always happy Laura Fox & I chatted all thing Mythbusting! Do we really only use 10% of our brains? Does Cheese give your nightmares? Find out if these are true and lots more this lovely sunny Wednesday morning in Dublin! #scienceinsociety

Yup- new launch date for Blue Origin New Glenn rocket to be announced soon. First launch attempt was scrubbed on 8.09am Irish time to allow engineers more time to work in a subsystem issue on the rocket. #spaceishard @rtenews

NEW GLENN LAUNCH: Blue Origin have a 3 hr launch window. It’s common for maiden launches of new rockets to take up the full window so that they have every assurance that launch will be successful. Clock reset again to T-35 mins. Will keep you posted. #spaceishard

T minus 20 mins to launch of Blue Origins NEW New Glenn reusable rocket ! Watch live www.youtube.com/live/7YBAsi5... #spaceinsociety

Just 30 mins to launch of Blue Origins brand new New Glenn big rocket!! Watch live on Blue Origins YouTube channel !! Good luck!! #spaceinsociety.

Happy Nollaig na mBán, the official end of Christmas & a day to champion those who blazed a trail for us all. I wanna highlight Annie Maunder as my inspiration. Who is your inspiration? #NollaignamBan

Happy New Year everyone! As I sit down & reflect on my 2024, I’m grateful for the opportunities this year gave me. A lot done but a whole lot more still to do. Thank u for your interest & pls join me on the adventures ahead in 2025! dreambig #space #sciencecommunication #townscientist #newyear

Almost one in five children live in conflict zones, says Unicef

Santa spotted from planet Mars earlier today- photo taken by the NASA Perseverance Rover