Prof. Jonathan Nichols
@jnic.bsky.social
Space scientist at Leicester, amongst other things. All views my own, yada yada.
Great to put a face to a name!
BREAKING: This is Richard Carrington, the first person to document solar flares on the Sun & suggest their influence on aurora at Earth. The largest solar storm on record, the Carrington Event, bares his name. But, there has been no photograph available of Carrington – until now!
February 1, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Great to put a face to a name!
Reposted by Prof. Jonathan Nichols
This letter more or less confirms that once again the need to fund the ‘fixed’ costs of STFC - essentially the labs - those of us who work in areas funded by the council can go swivel. So stupid and shortsighted.
I am sorry. We all knew the three buckets were coming. We are all prepared for a shift in priority. But this message does nothing for all the UK scientists dependent on project grant funding. It doesn’t actually give any information
www.ukri.org/news/open-le...
www.ukri.org/news/open-le...
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.
www.ukri.org
February 1, 2026 at 7:29 PM
This letter more or less confirms that once again the need to fund the ‘fixed’ costs of STFC - essentially the labs - those of us who work in areas funded by the council can go swivel. So stupid and shortsighted.
What is most irritating is that all Governments say the same thing: “UK science super power blah blah”, “we need STEM graduates blah blah”, “Strategic and blue skies research are vital to our vision for a UK at the forefront of tech blah blah” but all they ever do is cut funding. And then cut more.
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...
Read our statement 👉 ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
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 (...
ras.ac.uk
January 29, 2026 at 3:17 PM
What is most irritating is that all Governments say the same thing: “UK science super power blah blah”, “we need STEM graduates blah blah”, “Strategic and blue skies research are vital to our vision for a UK at the forefront of tech blah blah” but all they ever do is cut funding. And then cut more.
Reposted by Prof. Jonathan Nichols
![Comic. My experience seeing the Northern Lights: [Graph: x axis is increasing time, y axis is increasing aurora coolness, going from visible glow on the horizon, color only visible in photos -> sheets and pillars of light, colors faintly visible -> “oh wow, it’s getting really bright now.” -> spectacular ribbons of color spanning the sky and illuminating the landscape. Graph shows dips and peaks over many hours with the topmost peeks for only around 5 or 10 minutes.] [caption] Aurora tip: If you get good views of the aurora, keep watching the sky; you might suddenly get great ones.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreiaobzgmrzo7wpvwm3z7h334szdf42salbn6skjuhfcxgsoeu7qjya@jpeg)
January 22, 2026 at 10:17 PM
Reposted by Prof. Jonathan Nichols
Goldfinger: A case study in concrete brutalism
Also:
Goldfinger: Mistakes in early medieval alchemy
Also:
Goldfinger: Mistakes in early medieval alchemy
December 27, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Goldfinger: A case study in concrete brutalism
Also:
Goldfinger: Mistakes in early medieval alchemy
Also:
Goldfinger: Mistakes in early medieval alchemy
Make a Bond movie academic.
Dr No: the outcome of your grant application.
Dr No: the outcome of your grant application.
Make a Bond movie academic.
A View to a Kill: An Introduction to Crime Scene Photography.
A View to a Kill: An Introduction to Crime Scene Photography.
Make a Bond movie academic.
Moonraker: A Concept Study for a Lunar Regolith Explorer
Moonraker: A Concept Study for a Lunar Regolith Explorer
December 27, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Make a Bond movie academic.
Dr No: the outcome of your grant application.
Dr No: the outcome of your grant application.
Well, now the days are drawing in…
December 22, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Well, now the days are drawing in…
Reposted by Prof. Jonathan Nichols
'The Emerald Sea'
4,427 images from 3 sequences by Don Pettit are remastered & retimed to create this stunning 10m54s 4k UHD video with music by Chris Zabriskie.
Experience on a large screen if you can, its worth it.
Credit: Don Pettit / ISS / NASA / ESRS / Seán Doran
youtu.be/bEWAHP31UGc
4,427 images from 3 sequences by Don Pettit are remastered & retimed to create this stunning 10m54s 4k UHD video with music by Chris Zabriskie.
Experience on a large screen if you can, its worth it.
Credit: Don Pettit / ISS / NASA / ESRS / Seán Doran
youtu.be/bEWAHP31UGc
December 14, 2025 at 4:39 PM
'The Emerald Sea'
4,427 images from 3 sequences by Don Pettit are remastered & retimed to create this stunning 10m54s 4k UHD video with music by Chris Zabriskie.
Experience on a large screen if you can, its worth it.
Credit: Don Pettit / ISS / NASA / ESRS / Seán Doran
youtu.be/bEWAHP31UGc
4,427 images from 3 sequences by Don Pettit are remastered & retimed to create this stunning 10m54s 4k UHD video with music by Chris Zabriskie.
Experience on a large screen if you can, its worth it.
Credit: Don Pettit / ISS / NASA / ESRS / Seán Doran
youtu.be/bEWAHP31UGc
There are important practical reasons why we study space plasma physics, in addition to its being super cool! (Or hot, rather…)
www.bbc.co.uk/weather/arti...
www.bbc.co.uk/weather/arti...
How solar storms that cause the Northern Lights have the power to wreak havoc on Earth
The aurora borealis can bring stunning night skies, but hidden dangers can accompany the Northern Lights to disrupt life on earth as Chris Fawkes explains.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 7, 2025 at 8:34 AM
There are important practical reasons why we study space plasma physics, in addition to its being super cool! (Or hot, rather…)
www.bbc.co.uk/weather/arti...
www.bbc.co.uk/weather/arti...
Reposted by Prof. Jonathan Nichols
I still can’t believe they said my name!! I got the Global Space Award 2025 in the category of Science Breakthrough for my leadership of the M-MATISSE mission concept to Mars! A really wonderful night! Next step is to do our super best for the mission to be selected in June 2026!
December 6, 2025 at 4:21 PM
I still can’t believe they said my name!! I got the Global Space Award 2025 in the category of Science Breakthrough for my leadership of the M-MATISSE mission concept to Mars! A really wonderful night! Next step is to do our super best for the mission to be selected in June 2026!
The sun is a miasma of incandescent plasma @tmbg.bsky.social
Gracefully carving through the solar corona, a mini eruption of filament plasma erupted from the Sun earlier today! Beautiful.
December 4, 2025 at 7:59 AM
The sun is a miasma of incandescent plasma @tmbg.bsky.social
Huh. Curious as to what they mean by “intense radiation from the Sun” www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cv...
Flight disruption warning as Airbus requests modifications to 6,000 planes
The European aerospace giant said it had found that intense radiation from the Sun could corrupt data crucial to flight controls.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 28, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Huh. Curious as to what they mean by “intense radiation from the Sun” www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cv...
Microsoft Copilot in Word just helpfully told me how to adjust the format of a document… in LaTeX. After I told it that I was not using LaTeX, that it was Microsoft Copilot in Word, it said “Ah, thanks for clarifying! In Microsoft Word…” 😖
November 24, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Microsoft Copilot in Word just helpfully told me how to adjust the format of a document… in LaTeX. After I told it that I was not using LaTeX, that it was Microsoft Copilot in Word, it said “Ah, thanks for clarifying! In Microsoft Word…” 😖
Just come out of a lecture and idly checked the cricket score. What on Earth? 😮
November 21, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Just come out of a lecture and idly checked the cricket score. What on Earth? 😮
Jupiter with an apparently very large GRS in 1879, although I suppose it could be enhanced by the particular photographic process used. What do you think, @leighfletcher.bsky.social? Likely real or artefact?
The first surviving successful image of Jupiter was taken in 1879 by Andrew Ainslie Common in Ealing, London, using his 36-inch Newtonian reflector and the wet collodion process invented in 1851 by portrait photographer Frederick Scott Archer
November 10, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Jupiter with an apparently very large GRS in 1879, although I suppose it could be enhanced by the particular photographic process used. What do you think, @leighfletcher.bsky.social? Likely real or artefact?
Very not surprised. (You get compensated if the delay is 30 min or more.)
November 9, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Very not surprised. (You get compensated if the delay is 30 min or more.)
November 9, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Very not surprised. (You get compensated if the delay is 30 min or more.)
Reposted by Prof. Jonathan Nichols
Looking to start a PhD in Physics & Astronomy in 2026? The team @physicsuol.bsky.social have announced their STFC-funded projects on offer next year, spanning astrophysics, planetary science, and space instrumentation. Deadline: Jan 18th, contact us to learn more!
le.ac.uk/study/resear...
le.ac.uk/study/resear...
November 7, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Looking to start a PhD in Physics & Astronomy in 2026? The team @physicsuol.bsky.social have announced their STFC-funded projects on offer next year, spanning astrophysics, planetary science, and space instrumentation. Deadline: Jan 18th, contact us to learn more!
le.ac.uk/study/resear...
le.ac.uk/study/resear...
Funnily enough I gave a lecture today showing this. A student piped up “what, you personally took these?”. Yep*!
*as personally as it gets with a space telescope that is.
*as personally as it gets with a space telescope that is.
In 2023, #NASAWebb observed a spectacular light show on Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. The planet’s auroras are hundreds of times brighter and more energetic than Earth’s. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, J. Nichols (University of Leicester), M. Zamani (ESA/Webb). 🔭 🧪
November 4, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Funnily enough I gave a lecture today showing this. A student piped up “what, you personally took these?”. Yep*!
*as personally as it gets with a space telescope that is.
*as personally as it gets with a space telescope that is.
Reposted by Prof. Jonathan Nichols
In 2023, #NASAWebb observed a spectacular light show on Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. The planet’s auroras are hundreds of times brighter and more energetic than Earth’s. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, J. Nichols (University of Leicester), M. Zamani (ESA/Webb). 🔭 🧪
November 4, 2025 at 3:23 PM
In 2023, #NASAWebb observed a spectacular light show on Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. The planet’s auroras are hundreds of times brighter and more energetic than Earth’s. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, J. Nichols (University of Leicester), M. Zamani (ESA/Webb). 🔭 🧪
Reposted by Prof. Jonathan Nichols
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
November 3, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
Going for that Only Connect vibe by having a cornéd beef sandwich @vcorenmitchell.bsky.social
November 2, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Going for that Only Connect vibe by having a cornéd beef sandwich @vcorenmitchell.bsky.social
I’ve seen commentators this morning adamant that it was not a red card and some adamant it was. That indicates a problem with the rules that requires clarity. For me it was never red, Tadgh had like 30 milliseconds to supposedly drop, open his arms and wrap again. Nuts!
Afternoon watching rugby. Thought the Scotland USA game was ridiculous enough but that red card against Beirne in the Ireland NZ game was another level. How can “being run into” be a red card offence?
November 2, 2025 at 9:28 AM
I’ve seen commentators this morning adamant that it was not a red card and some adamant it was. That indicates a problem with the rules that requires clarity. For me it was never red, Tadgh had like 30 milliseconds to supposedly drop, open his arms and wrap again. Nuts!