Alyssa Drake
@abdrake.bsky.social
Astrophysicist @ Herts. Brit who was lost in France, German forest & now Hatfield. Ex MNRAS AE. Worried about UK science & in general.
Interestingly, our 🔭 department at Herts has got a special room for milkshakes. Now, I've never managed to get in, so not sure if this is where you can get hold of a milkshake, or you just have to stand in there to drink one.
February 11, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Interestingly, our 🔭 department at Herts has got a special room for milkshakes. Now, I've never managed to get in, so not sure if this is where you can get hold of a milkshake, or you just have to stand in there to drink one.
Found myself in need of a spoon at the adopted Lancaster office, but don't worry! SPAR sold me these handy desert spoons, which thankfully seem to work in the rain too.
February 5, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Found myself in need of a spoon at the adopted Lancaster office, but don't worry! SPAR sold me these handy desert spoons, which thankfully seem to work in the rain too.
Reposted by Alyssa Drake
I've updated my post on the funding crisis heading for British astronomy: docs.google.com/document/d/1.... UKRI made clear that astro and particle physics are being subject to unique cuts due to rising costs elsewhere. This looks like a deliberate decision not to fund fundamental physics. 🔭 🧪
Funding piece
Modern astronomy is full of marvels. In recent years we have rejoiced in the success of the James Webb Space Telescope, and been puzzled by the surprisingly vibrant early Universe it is showing us. We...
docs.google.com
February 2, 2026 at 10:32 AM
I've updated my post on the funding crisis heading for British astronomy: docs.google.com/document/d/1.... UKRI made clear that astro and particle physics are being subject to unique cuts due to rising costs elsewhere. This looks like a deliberate decision not to fund fundamental physics. 🔭 🧪
Somewhere along the line turned into one of those people who will show you pictures of a baby you didn't want to see. Sorry about that.
January 29, 2026 at 12:42 PM
Somewhere along the line turned into one of those people who will show you pictures of a baby you didn't want to see. Sorry about that.
I am having a bad day 😂 - but nearly made it to Hatfield 🎉
January 27, 2026 at 11:56 AM
I am having a bad day 😂 - but nearly made it to Hatfield 🎉
Welcomed back to work by the small grant rejection of course. Writing it was all-consuming for a few weeks (even while quite pregnant) - can't help but feel we need a better system. #Astronomy
January 21, 2026 at 10:39 AM
Welcomed back to work by the small grant rejection of course. Writing it was all-consuming for a few weeks (even while quite pregnant) - can't help but feel we need a better system. #Astronomy
Back at work after ~7 months maternity leave. So happy to be back in the swing, but now with new dimensions of baby-missing and random complications. 🙂
January 21, 2026 at 10:36 AM
Back at work after ~7 months maternity leave. So happy to be back in the swing, but now with new dimensions of baby-missing and random complications. 🙂
Matleave thoughts 2... I've been re-watching all of the "Educating [insert location]" series. I'm now really anxious about my GCSEs. 😫
September 10, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Matleave thoughts 2... I've been re-watching all of the "Educating [insert location]" series. I'm now really anxious about my GCSEs. 😫
Matleave thoughts... thinking of starting a blog of nappy changing tales. Day 107: it's another Timmy-two-poos day 💩💩
September 10, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Matleave thoughts... thinking of starting a blog of nappy changing tales. Day 107: it's another Timmy-two-poos day 💩💩
Reposted by Alyssa Drake
For some reason all of the Chinese restaurants in town have been unavailable on delivery apps and/or closed for at least 2 days. Any ideas @beyond.radio ?
August 1, 2025 at 5:41 PM
For some reason all of the Chinese restaurants in town have been unavailable on delivery apps and/or closed for at least 2 days. Any ideas @beyond.radio ?
When did it become "fill out" instead of "fill in"? (Forms...)
July 28, 2025 at 2:55 PM
When did it become "fill out" instead of "fill in"? (Forms...)
Reposted by Alyssa Drake
Astronomers' chat here recently:
i) authors complaining that their referee report is late.
ii) referees complaining about how many review requests they get.
iii) editors complaining that it's hard to find referees.
No idea what the solution is, but it feels like the system is close to breaking... 🔭
i) authors complaining that their referee report is late.
ii) referees complaining about how many review requests they get.
iii) editors complaining that it's hard to find referees.
No idea what the solution is, but it feels like the system is close to breaking... 🔭
May 12, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Astronomers' chat here recently:
i) authors complaining that their referee report is late.
ii) referees complaining about how many review requests they get.
iii) editors complaining that it's hard to find referees.
No idea what the solution is, but it feels like the system is close to breaking... 🔭
i) authors complaining that their referee report is late.
ii) referees complaining about how many review requests they get.
iii) editors complaining that it's hard to find referees.
No idea what the solution is, but it feels like the system is close to breaking... 🔭
Guess who just wasted a few hours marking the model answers (that she wrote herself) instead of the student's work? At least I passed.
May 9, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Guess who just wasted a few hours marking the model answers (that she wrote herself) instead of the student's work? At least I passed.
Some kind of joke in here about Drakes too... 🦆
April 30, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Some kind of joke in here about Drakes too... 🦆
Final day of CPAD (enroute to our PGCerts/gaining FHEA as lecturers at Herts🤞)
April 29, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Final day of CPAD (enroute to our PGCerts/gaining FHEA as lecturers at Herts🤞)
:-)
Whenever Germans mistakenly think they hear German phrases in English lyrics, they’re sometimes referred to as “Agatha Bauer” songs. This comes from the 90s hit The Power by Snap! (who ironically are German), where many people in Germany misheard the famous line “I got the power!” as “Agatha Bauer!”
April 9, 2025 at 2:38 PM
:-)
"Cool" stuff from Lancaster
Our iceberg detector has made it into Seaways magazine #academicsky 🧪🧊🚢
March 19, 2025 at 1:50 PM
"Cool" stuff from Lancaster
Nice views across Hatfield tonight. First time for everything.
March 14, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Nice views across Hatfield tonight. First time for everything.
Congratulations to Isobel! :)
Tonight we'll be awarding the 2025 Caroline Herschel Medal to Professor Dr Isobel Hook for her "pioneering" work on distant supernovae and the accelerating universe! 🌌💫🏅
We'll share pictures from the ceremony later.
Read more at: ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
We'll share pictures from the ceremony later.
Read more at: ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
March 13, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Congratulations to Isobel! :)
One problem with giant hot-desking offices is that I am unable to control the volume of my sighs 😬😅
March 10, 2025 at 1:08 PM
One problem with giant hot-desking offices is that I am unable to control the volume of my sighs 😬😅
Look out for this session at NAM 2025! Exciting!
We're excited to chair the "A multi-scale and multi-tracer view of the cosmic web" session - with @emeegray.bsky.social @apontzen.bsky.social, @abdrake.bsky.social, Tianyi Yang, and me!
Abstract submissions are open for NAM 2025!
Here's what sessions are on offer as part of our Cosmology & Large-scale Structure strand!
Submit your abstracts here: conference.astro.dur.ac.uk/event/7/abst...
@royalastrosoc.bsky.social
Here's what sessions are on offer as part of our Cosmology & Large-scale Structure strand!
Submit your abstracts here: conference.astro.dur.ac.uk/event/7/abst...
@royalastrosoc.bsky.social
March 10, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Look out for this session at NAM 2025! Exciting!