Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans
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astroroyalscot.bsky.social
Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans
@astroroyalscot.bsky.social
Astronomer Royal for Scotland, Professor of Astrophysics, Edinburgh University. Director of the German Centre for Cosmological Lensing, RUB. #LongCovid (She/her)
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Lovely to wake up to so many new arrivals 🤗 It takes a bit of effort to collate your timeline & find your feeds, but it's 💯worth it!

As a welcome, here is my favourite pic of the May24 #Aurora on Portobello beach #Edinburgh, where I live with my 2 sons, 2 cats & partner (eldest child is at Uni).🔭
Feeling very pleased with myself: made bread and butter pudding out of stale stolen #WasteNotWantNot. It's a whole new level of xmas gluttony 😋
December 28, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Reposted by Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans
Plenty of time left to apply to the Astro PhD program in Edinburgh! (Deadline in 2 weeks)
December 22, 2025 at 3:20 PM
On this darkest solstice day of the year, my heart has dimmed, waking up to learn of the loss of dear colleague and mentor, Yannick Mellier. Yannick will be known to most as the lead of the amazing Euclid Space Telescope which will revolutionise our understanding of the Dark Universe 🧵🔭
December 21, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Wishing you all a very happy holiday (as and when it starts for you) with this, the best-christmas-card-of-the-year, a gorgeous lino print of the Euclid Space Telescope! @eucliduk.bsky.social 🔭🎄

🙏👩‍🎨: @notverymedieval.bsky.social
December 20, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Anyone want to send their name around the moon with Artemis-II? Sign-up before Jan 21st (it's all free). 🧪🔭
ℹ️: www3.nasa.gov/send-your-na...
December 19, 2025 at 8:28 AM
How have I only just discovered google maps for space? If you, like me, did not know about this little piece of internet treasure, you must check it out! You can fly over moons and planets - and it's all real data 🤗 🔭🧪
👉: www.google.co.uk/maps/space/
👇: Dwarf planet Pluto!
December 18, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Reposted by Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans
“We wouldn’t have the Rubin Observatory today if [Tony Tyson] hadn’t had that vision, and also that dogged determination,” says @astroroyalscot.bsky.social. Find out why Tyson is on @nature.com's list of people who shaped science in 2025. 🔭

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The visionary physicist who gave us a new way to view the cosmos
Tony Tyson is part of Nature’s 10, a list of people who shaped science in 2025.
www.nature.com
December 18, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Working on an exciting & secret project with my good friend comic artist Edward Ross. What do we think of the first draft rough image of Cartoon Catherine 😂
December 14, 2025 at 9:13 AM
I'm now an officially Big fan of #Biggar! Loved the xmas lecture vibe in the packed theatre - and so many cool questions in the Q&A 🥳. Huge thanks to the Biggar Science festival
@biggarsciencefest.bsky.social team for organising!
December 12, 2025 at 10:09 PM
🔊Big in #Biggar!

If you're in the #Lanarkshire area, the Biggar Science Festival's Christmas lecture in the Corn Exchange, will be featuring yours truly. We'll be discussing the 4 questions that I'm most often asked! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🔭

⏰: 11th Dec @ 19:30
🎟️: biggarce.yapsody.com/event/index/...
December 6, 2025 at 12:20 PM
A big shout out to the P7 class of Stockbridge Primary who took these utterly awesome photos last night on their residential visit to the Lagganlia outdoor learning centre in the 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Highlands. Lagganlia is part of the Scottish Youth Telescope Network and I'm so proud of these kids! 🥳 🔭 #SYTN
December 4, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Stonking sunspots photobombed by a departing flight this lunch break #Seestar 😎🔭. #AR4294
December 2, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Pinch Punch first day of the month! And a🎄🎅 xmas month too! Here is your December Sky Diary courtesy of @astronomyedinburgh.bsky.social. Time to start planning your night jaunt away from the streetlights to appreciate the upcoming #Geminid Meteor Shower. Peaks Dec 14th! 🔭
December 1, 2025 at 7:21 AM
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Wishing Scots all around the world a happy St Andrew's Day! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Note, you don't need to be Scottish to celebrate! How about a nice bowl of porridge for breakfast or a wee dram of whiskey at the end of your day? 🥃

📷: @tomduffinphotos.bsky.social "Saltire on the Moon"
November 30, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Wishing all my American chums a very happy thanksgiving with this absolutely awesome image of the ❤️👾 Pacman Nebula! It was captured by the fab Gilmerton Primary School P7s on their recent residential visit to Benmore, which is part of our Scottish Youth Telescope Network. #SYTN 🔭🧪
November 27, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Have you e-signed @sciencecentres.bsky.social's letter to the UKGov? Today is your last chance before it goes to Downing St! Join 1000s of us in calling for fairer funding for the UK's science centres currently excluded from UKGov infrastructure funding.🧪🔭
✍️ www.sciencecentres.org.uk/openletter20...
The fantastic UK network of science and discovery centres needs your help to survive and thrive! Sign this letter urging the UKGov to stop excluding science from the financial support that is available for other museums, art galleries & theatres 🙏🧪🔭👩‍🔬🎢

👉✉️: www.sciencecentres.org.uk/openletter20...
November 23, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Perks of the job: sneak previews of awesome books! This is a beautiful blend of travel & adventure; wonder & awe; 🧪STEM, #histsci, astronomy, art & nature. If you've ever looked up and wondered "what is that?", then the inimitable @drlucyrogers.com has written this for you!
I am very excited to report that my book is now available for pre-order!!

If you like things that fly – be it aircraft, bugs or birds, then this book is for you!

I am also so delighted with the beautiful cover art by @Rachelhillustrates.bsky.social :)

www.penguin.co.uk/books/461507...
November 22, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Whole household is buzzing this morning - disagreements however over which one was the greatest 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Scottish goal of all time! McTominay Scissor kick or McLean from the halfway line? Glorious! #Scotland #WorldCup
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...
November 19, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Enquiry from an 8yo asking what the Fulton Orrery planets were? Apparently the #Kelvingrove museum staff didn't know, so he e-mailed the Astronomer Royal to find out! I also didn’t know, but the AstroSociety of #Glasgow did (after watching an old VHS recording on the topic!) 🔭 #histsci 1/2🧵
November 17, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Want to make a wish on a shooting star? #DoLookUp! The #Leonids meteor shower is peaking, courtesy of the Earth ploughing through the debris left by Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. 🔭🧪

1 Get away from streetlights
2 Take blanket ☕
3 Lie back - 10 mins 👁️ dark adapt
4 🌠Wow
www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/me...
Look Up to See the Leonids Light Up the Night Skies
Check out our meteor shower animation to find out how, where, and when to see these shooting stars.
www.timeanddate.com
November 16, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Had a few enquiries recently about #Seestar smart-telescopes for #scicomm or xmas gifts for keen-kids. If you are lucky enough to have the cash (£369), these are a great investment & super easy to use.
👇These images were all taken in just a few mins in the light polluted city of Edinburgh. 🤩🔭
November 16, 2025 at 9:42 AM
What a happy sunshine-filled lunch break with the #Seestar telescope: the Sun is extra spotty today! 🔭🧪
November 14, 2025 at 12:56 PM
🥳 Huge congrats to @sherwoodobs.bsky.social! Their hugely successful creation of the Sherwood Observatory and Planetarium has been recognised with a King's Award for Voluntary Service! If you're in the Nottingham/Derby/Sheffield area, they are well worth a visit! 🔭
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Sherwood Observatory volunteers celebrate King's Award
The award goes to a group of volunteers who have helped others experience the wonders of space.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Reposted by Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans
Astrophysics applications for this scholarship are open and due 24 November!
ifa.roe.ac.uk/phds-jobs-fe...
November 13, 2025 at 3:59 PM