Interested in space and in Manchester on Thursday 17th July? This may be of interest. osc.supernovalabs.co.uk Yes, there is an agenda and a list of speakers but you don't have to just listen - you can put your name down and speak too. It is in the centre of Manchester and completely free.

Heading to #COSPAR2026 in Florence (1–9 Aug), then chasing totality. The 12 Aug total solar eclipse crosses Spain — I fly in on the 10th, aiming for #Zaragoza's clear skies. Anyone else on a similar path? Travelling with my Seestar S50. #Eclipse2026 #SolarEclipse

"The next time humans go to the Moon, they will go to stay" That is the mantra these days. What will that look like? A free online webinar via Zoom. No need to sign up - Zoom link in this page internationalmoonday.org/event/moon-a...

I am playing with Claude Code and came across something unusual. Not a major issue, just a little quaint. What Claude Code called "the language-model equivalent of a typo". Out of the blue, it included a Chinese character in a response. I am familiar with hallucinations but .. not this.

El Niño returns in November 2026 with high risks of devastation (flooding, wildfires and drought) around the globe. A relatively easy-to-read report with lots of graphics and data on the "coming storm" this autumn. www.bbc.co.uk/news/resourc...

A great read. Combines an intro to Space Law, value of international collaboration in space and current geopolitics open.substack.com/pub/spacecit...

share.google/Fi0ueZHgY02B... potential Aurora tonight...

In a two-part interview with Nicol Wistreich (author, filmmaker, and more), he reflects on the early days of #OpenSource and its enduring value. @wordpress.org was founded with Matt Mullenweg. Mike asserts, “I am perfectly content with the way it has gone”. 25.netribution.co.uk/nic/mike-lit...

Increasing rate of Starlink satellites - 627 in 2025. Does anyone know why there is such an increase? www.spaceweather.com/starlink/sta...

..and three months later Gagarin came to #Manchester

This talk is on Wednesday, 15th April - Next Wednesday. Tickets here www.manlitphil.ac.uk/events/explo...

By Friday, 10th April, the #ArtemisII mission should be over, and the four crew members should be back with their families. But what kind of Earth will they be returning to? A short blogpost, in this troubled moment. astrotalkuk.org/are-we-moral...

If you are in the northwest of England, this talk by Professor John Zarnecki may be of interest. 15 April 2026 6:30pm - 8:00pm @nasa #Hugyns #dragonfly #saturn #Titan www.manlitphil.ac.uk/events/explo...

Where will you be on 12th August this year? I plan to be in the Spanish city of Zaragoza. Why, because shortly before sunset on that day, the shadow of the Moon will bring the spectacle of a Total Solar eclipse. #TotalsolarEclipse More details and links here astrotalkuk.org/total-solar-...

Space Weather has never been more important. During @cospar.bsky.social in #Cyprus, I spoke with Professor Pallam Raju a space scientist from #India 's #PRL in Ahmedabad Here is a short audio clip - full episode via link below. astrotalkuk.org/episode-131-...

The USA withdrawing from International Organizations, Conventions, and Treaties - @unitednations1945.bsky.social and non #UN. If we can't work cooperatively on Earth, do we deserve to be a multiplanetary species..? www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Geopolitics was bad last year and, in all likelihood, will get worse in 2026. Best of luck for 2026 – we need it! In the meantime, some pictures from last week. It is a beautiful universe and we are part of it. Pictures form a #seestarS50

Hi @planet4589.bsky.social and a happy new year to you too. I can imagine your deep resentment and pain at this announcement www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/c... I don't know how this will actually pan out, but does your library have the capacity to rescue some items destined for the trash?

#Cyprus recently became an Associate Member of @esa.int. What is Cyprus doing in Space? I discussed this with George A Danos, president of the #CyprusSpaceExplorationOrganisation Recorded in Nicosia during @cospar.bsky.social cospar2025.org Listen or download here astrotalkuk.org/cyprusinspace/

Want to learn about the Space Elevator and #Graphene role in helping realise it? Wednesday 19th Nov at 18:30, Adrian Nixon and Rob Whieldon will be speaking at #Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. Tickets here www.manlitphil.ac.uk/events/the-s...

Yesterday’s launch of #Shenzhou-21 carrying a crew of three to the #Tiangong Space Station took just over three and a half hours. Previous crewed launches took almost double that, six and a half hours. Pictures from @cgtn.bsky.social astrotalkuk.org/shenzhou-21-...

The #UniversityofManchester set up the #NGI & the #GEIC in #Manchester. Prof James Baker outlines some of the Graphene-based products, services, and companies achieving commercial success in #Manchester with #Graphene A short clip below. Full interview here astrotalkuk.org/episode-126-...

Around 15th November 2025, #Voyager will be 1 light-day away from Earth. Recorded at #Cospar 2022 in #Athens. Professor Stamatios Krimigis, in his role on the 1977 Voyager mission, carried this plaque. astrotalkuk.org/episode-99-p... cospar2025.org starts on Monday in #Nicosia, Cyprus.

Recorded during #Cospar2022 in #Athens. A deep dive into the Antikythera mechanism astrotalkuk.org/episode-109-...

#Cospar2025 starts next Monday here in #Nicosia, organised locally by the #Cyprus Space Office and Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation (#CSEO). Is anyone arriving (arrived) early and would like to meet up?

Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown (20 Jan 1920 – 21 Feb 2016) was one of Britain's Best Pilots. Encouraged to choose flying by a German Flying Ace, Ernst Udet An interview from Jan 2011, containing segments not previously published. astrotalkuk.org/episode-125-... @theaviationist.com @theaviation.show

The Breakthrough Foundation has taken on the challenge of addressing some of humanity's most pressing questions. Based on interviews conducted during Breakthrough Discuss in June 2025 in Oxford. First published by (i4is.org) astrotalkuk.org/breakthrough... #BreakthroughPrize #BreakthroughFoundation

An interesting read. One tidbit: the risk of collisions is space does NOT increase linearly with the number of satellites - "The collision rate is the square of the number of satellites, which means that if you have 10 times as many satellites, then there’s going to be 100 times as many collisions."

In 2023, India joined the Artemis Accords, led by the USA. China and Russia never joined, offering instead the International Lunar Research Station. Could India switch sides later this year? An interesting piece from EurAsian Times by Prakash Nanda www.eurasiantimes.com/nuclear-race...

Just under two hours for the launch of @isro @nasa #NISAR mission. Over a decade in the making. Livestream links for NASA and ISRO and much more here www.reddit.com/r/ISRO/comme...

Not just @esa.int astronauts. #Shubhanshushukla from #ISRO took some gajar halwa (a sweet, carrot-based "pudding") to the #ISS last month. Try it next time you go for an indian meal. Here is India's PM @narendra-modi.bsky.social‬ talking about it - (in Hindi) www.youtube.com/shorts/wZE5m...

Yesterday was day one of the UK Space Conference here in the heart of Manchester. All three of the UK's selected astronauts, along with the head of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher, were present. A bit more here astrotalkuk.org/ukspace-conf...

Today on Manchester Science on @allfm.bsky.social, Jocelyn Bell-Burnell on her advocacy for women in science & the discovery of Pulsars. Listen live on allfm.org at 13:00 today or download and listen anytime from astrotalkuk.org/manchesterscience #radioastronomy #pulsars #stem #Breakthroughprize

Thanks for your time yesterday @manchesterhistory.uk Recording available here astrotalkuk.org/manchestersc....

Today on Manchester Science, the story of a young German writer with radical ideas - Friedrich Engels and his 1845 book, The Condition of the Working Class, with urban historian, journalist, and author Dr Dean Kerby. Live at 13:00 allfm.org

Interested in aviation history? Heard of Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown? If so you may be interested in radio program on @allfm.bsky.social at 1pm today or a longer version coming as a podcast episode soon on astrotalkuk.org. Here is a two-minute clip @theaviationist.com @areonautical.bsky.social @

Congratulations @mikelittle.com and @ma.tt . A good time to share this interview from 2010. Neither of you has aged a bit! wordpress.tv/2010/03/09/m...

An image and a story that will echo through the ages..

The Toliman Space Telescope will image the Alpha-Centauri System from Earth orbit in exquisite detail. Dr Karel Valenta, Project Manager describes the current mission status. Live on @allfm.bsky.social at 1 pm today or download astrotalkuk.org/manchestersc.... #breakthroughdiscuss #AlphaCentauri

Soaring over the surface of Titan: #NASA #Dragonfly Mission. Want to know the latest on @nasa’s #Dragonfly mission to hashtag#Saturn’s largest Moon - #Titan? Listen live at 13:00 today on @allfm.bsky.social or download & listen anytime astrotalkuk.org/manchestersc... @astrobiology.bsky.social

The #Breakthrough Discuss conference, held on 23rd and 24th April 2025 in Oxford, overseen by Dr Pete Worden, Chairman of the #breakthroughPrizeFoundation. A former Brigadier. General and astrophysicist in this interview, he talks about @setiinstitute.bsky.social astrotalkuk.org/the-breakthr...

A Brown Dwarf, something between planets and stars was discovered at the Mount Tiede Observatory in 1995. The full story in episode 121 astrotalkuk.org/episode-121-... with Zhang Jerry. A short audio clip below, where Jerry explains that free-floating brown dwarfs could host primitive life.

The #BBC News piece is an interesting read, but it overeggs the story. There is no smoking gun here - no imminent discovery! Check out reports BBC Report= www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Press release= www.cam.ac.uk/stories/stro... The Astrophysical Journal= iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...

What is the difference b/w a planet and a star? Are there objects that end up somewhere between stars and planets? Yes, they are called Brown dwarfs. The first was discovered in 1995 in the Pleiades cluster. Listen at 13:00 today online at allfm.org. listen anytime astrotalkuk.org/manchestersc...

This was one element of the deal that GOI/ISRO cut with the USA/NASA when signing up to the Artemis Accords in 2023. www.etvbharat.com/en/!technolo...

Manchester was home to an influential German community until WW1. One of the few who left his mark was Arthur Schuster. Who was he? Why did he end up in Manchester, and what was his scientific and educational legacy? @allfm.bsky.social @uniofmanchester.bsky.social astrotalkuk.org/manchestersc....

Two men, Rudolf Peierls and Hans Bethe, who, in 1933, lived on Stockton Road in #Didsbury, #Manchester, went on to work in the USA’s secret #Manhattan Project to develop the Atomic Bomb during WW2. Manchester Science today at 13:00 on allfm.org or download from astrotalkuk.org/manchesterscience

This week's lunar eclipse in the UK- it's early in the morning and low in the sky! If you want to see the lunar eclipse this Thursday night - you will need to get up earl and have a really good view of the western horizon. astrotalkuk.org/lunar-eclips...

Prof Robert Poole, historian, discusses Arthur C Clarke’s 1946 seminal paper “The Challenge of the Spaceship”. Live at 1pm today on @allfm.bsky.social 96.9 FM, DAB or live online at allfm.org. Alternatively, download and listen at any time from astrotalkuk.org/manchesterscience