Tim O'Brien

Sheep graze on a grassy field with the Lovell Telescope in the backdrop. Text interwoven with the dish reads: 'Spring into space: Easter at Jodrell Bank, 3-19 April.'

🌱 From growing your own sunflower to filling your space passport, there’s plenty to do this Easter at Jodrell Bank:

🌍 Explore hands-on activity stations
🔭 Learn the Lovell's secrets in 'Discover the Dish'
🧸 Travel the Solar System with 'Ted’s Space Adventure'

...and more: https://ow.ly/rvR650YsPIS

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" 💪🔭⚛️🧪

Open letter from Ian Chapman to research and innovation community UKRI Chief Executive outlines changes to UKRI investment approach, addressing concerns about research funding and the financial position of STFC.

... reminder www.ukri.org/news/open-le...

...interesting comments from one of our researchers. Also Michele Dougherty's remarks are reminiscent of those of UKRI's Ian Chapman's "I hope this helps assuage some of the concerns that have been raised" that effectively says it's all on STFC, no-one else need worry. Very comforting. Not.

Concerns over funding for science in the UK | Letter Letters: In response to an article by Jon Butterworth, Prof Michele K Dougherty writes that the council is putting its portfolio on a sustainable footing

www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

This should be getting better as we leave solar maximum. Here's an update of HST altitude vs. sunspot number.

A pheasant looking in a window against the backdrop of the Lovell Telescope. Caption reads: 'Meet Maurice'.

Maurice the pheasant looking in the window of the Star Pavilion, with the Lovell Telescope in the backdrop. Caption reads 'Frequently caught trying to join our daily Telescope Talks...'

Maurice the pheasant looking at his own reflection in the window, captioned: '... and regularly spotted gazing lovingly at his own reflection!'

👋 Meet Maurice!

If you’ve visited Jodrell recently, you might have noticed a rather persistent guest tapping at the windows of the Star Pavilion…

Maurice, our resident pheasant, has become a regular (if entirely uninvited!) presence at Jodrell’s daily, free Telescope Talks and other events.

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...

The Earth at night from orbit, taken from a satellite. Text reads: 'Last tickets - Building a sustainable space future; with Dr Ciara McGrath, Thursday 19 March, 19.30-21.00.'

With satellite launches accelerating at an unprecedented rate, humanity has a responsibility to ensure a sustainable space future.

In this #LovellLecture, join Dr Ciara McGrath to explore the opportunities and challenges that define modern space exploration: https://ow.ly/upLY50YkcZw

Open letter on astronomy cuts from UK physics teachers drupal-media[data-view-mode=half_page_width] { display: inline-block; width: 50%; } The Royal Astronomical Society is encouraging physics teachers in the UK to sign ...

Are you a physics teacher in the UK? We need your help! 🧑‍🔬🧑‍🏫

We've created an open letter for teachers to sign and express their grave concern at the devastating proposed cuts to astronomy, space science and particle and nuclear physics.

✍️ 👉️ ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

#STFC #UKRI

PM tells Sir Jim Ratcliffe to apologise for saying UK 'colonised by immigrants' Sir Keir Starmer says comments by the businessman and Manchester United co-owner are

Jim Ratcliffe needs to get out of our club asap www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The STFC Funding Crisis – Guest Post by George Efstathiou The following guest post by George Efstathiou is a response to the current STFC funding crisis I blogged about here, and specifically to a letter by the Executive Chair of STFC, Professor Michele D…

And incase you missed it, here is George Efstathiou (recently retired STFC Science Board member) going on the record about why it's come to this...

telescoper.blog/2026/02/06/t...

STFC funding crisis ….. again! When I first came to work in the UK, Astronomy research was mostly funded through the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC). In 2007, PPARC was merged with the Council for the Cen…

I wrote something .... andthentheresphysics.wordpress.com/2026/02/08/s...

An image of Earth at night, taken from a satellite. Text reads: 'Lovell Lecture - Building a sustainable space future; with Dr Ciara McGrath, Thursday 19 March, 19.30-21.00.'

🛰️ Though largely invisible to the naked eye, over 12,000 operational satellites currently circle Earth, delivering countless essential services. Yet with launches accelerating at an unexpected rate, we face the question – how can we ensure a sustainable space future?

🎟️ https://ow.ly/7JHs50Y9V3O

UK government proposes 30% budget cut to astronomy and physics research: 'It's pretty disastrous' "You can't have a cut of that scale and not expect to see a massive impact."

More on catastrophic cuts to UK astronomy & particle physics. Costs of facilities & international subscriptions go up so grants line and individual projects are cut. If the Government is serious about backing science & technology, they need to fix this. www.space.com/astronomy/uk...

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.

Black and white copy of the original Luna 9 Moon image.

Black and white photograph of members of the press looking at the intercepted Luna 9 Moon photos, at a press conference at Jodrell Bank.

🌙 On this day in Jodrell’s history...

In 1966, the first close-up photographs of the lunar surface - taken by the Soviet #Luna9 spacecraft - were received at Jodrell Bank, with help from an early type of facsimile machine (a picture receiver) borrowed from the Daily Express newspaper.

📸: JBO / UoM

UKRI shelves physics infrastructure projects worth £280m - Research Professional News Exclusive: Major international collaborations with Cern and US Department of Energy in jeopardy

BREAKING: UKRI shelves physics infrastructure projects worth £280m

Major international collaborations with Cern and US Department of Energy in jeopardy, as agency pulls back funds

Scoop by @francesjones.bsky.social

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

These cuts to blue sky research in the UK remind me of the words of Sir J.J. Thomson, who is the discoverer of the electron, that can be found in "A Random Walk in Science" an Anthology compiled by R L Weber. Thomson's words come from a speech: 🧵 🔭 🧪

Grim news for particle physics, astronomy & nuclear physics research in UK. 30% cut overall with projects asked to consider options ranging to a 60% cut. These areas are a huge success for the UK internationally and a great inspiration to the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Proposed budget cuts a catastrophe for UK astronomy The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is gravely concerned at the drastic cuts to support for UK astronomy outlined by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (...

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...

Sadly, cloudy here. If its clear for you, worth a look for #aurora aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk

Another article which fails to mention that men are the abusers.

Erasmus scheme to return for UK students, BBC understands The UK ended its participation in the scheme in 2020 after agreeing a Brexit deal with the EU.

Some good news www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Black and white photograph of two people setting up military equipment out of a military trailer, next to the botany huts. Photo credit: The University of Manchester / The Lovell Family.

On the 14th December, we celebrate Jodrell Bank’s 80th anniversary by sharing our final #JodrellAt80 heritage photo – taking us back to where it all began.

This black and white photo is one of the first ever taken at Jodrell, back when the site was still the @manchester.ac.uk botany station. [🧵1/4]

So sorry to hear this Robin. I applaud your principled stand. I can only imagine how much this has hurt you. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication making this joyful experience. I am proud to be part of its huge family of listeners and contributors.

Went out with the dogs, beautiful clear night, looked up to see if I could spot a Geminid meteor, and right then a very bright one shot overhead 🤩 #watchtheskies #geminids

A photo of a starry sky captioned: 'Lovell Lecture: BE THE ASTRONOMER, a choose-your-adventure discovery in the sky! with Professor René Breton, Thursday 29 January, 19.30 - 21.00.' René Breton, a brunette man who is smiling and wearing a black checked shirt, is in the bottom right-hand corner.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be an astronomer, this #LovellLecture is for you! ✨

Join Prof. René Breton in our interactive ‘Be The Astronomer’ lecture, where you'll investigate an astronomical transient from the thrill of discovery to follow-up observations: https://ow.ly/a28550XFGor