Dr. Nick Attree
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nickattree.bsky.social
Dr. Nick Attree
@nickattree.bsky.social
1.3K followers 630 following 720 posts
Planetary scientist @iaacsic.bsky.social, working on @esa.int's Rosetta & @cometinterceptor.bsky.social. Prev @TUBraunschweig, @LAM, @QMUL & @UoLeicester 🇬🇧🇪🇸🇪🇺
https://sites.google.com/view/nickattree
ORCID: 0000-0003-3344-6693
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nickattree.bsky.social
Dr. Nick Attree @nickattree.bsky.social · Jul 3
In other #PlanetSci news, my latest paper on modelling ☄️ #comet #67P's activity is now online #OpenAccess in Monthly Notices of the @royalastrosoc.bsky.social.
We found sublimating ices can overcome the weak material strength and eject particles, roughly matching...
academic.oup.com/mnras/advanc...
Constraints on the ejecting-crust activity model on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Abstract. Reproducing the observed activity of comets with thermophysical models remains a primary challenge of cometary science. We use a pebble-based the
academic.oup.com
Reposted by Dr. Nick Attree
mjibrown.bsky.social
Want to know why your mobile phone photos of the Moon look like crap?

I have a new @aunz.theconversation.com article explaining why, how you can take better(ish) photos, and what astronomical sights your phone can photograph well.

theconversation.com/why-is-it-so...
Why is it so hard to take a good photo of the Moon with my phone?
Phones can often take great photos, but why photos of the Moon typically disappointing? The Moon itself and camera design are both part of the answer.
theconversation.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:50 AM
nickattree.bsky.social
#Saturn and a #SmallBody together in one image! Excellent 🪐🥔
hourlycosmos.bsky.social Hourly Cosmos @hourlycosmos.bsky.social · 1d
Phobos and Saturn - Mars Express - From Aster Cowart (terrasabaea.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/DiMyu1
HRSC Super-Resolution Channel image of Phobos and Saturn acquired during Mars Express' 13,320th orbit of Mars on June 28, 2014. Image Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/J. Cowart, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
November 10, 2025 at 10:10 AM
nickattree.bsky.social
Excellent, I'll have to tell my intern! He's been doing great work on #comet ☄️ orbits perturbed by non-gravitational forces from their outgassing. We have already presented results to the @cometinterceptor.bsky.social team, and hopefully we will write a #PlanetaryScience paper on the subject!
ec.europa.eu European Commission @ec.europa.eu · 1d
🙌🏼Today is International Interns Day!

Do you remember your traineeship?

🚀 Internships are an opportunity to develop new skills, build friendships, gain professional experience, or even move to another EU country!
Visual showing that 78% of young Europeans have completed an internship, and that 21% of those internships took place in another EU country. The illustration depicts young people working together at a shared table, with items like laptops, notebooks, and pens to convey a collaborative work environment.
November 10, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nick Attree
p-s-v.bsky.social
Right after sunset, Milky Way, Comet Lemmon, countless artificial satellites, and Japan all together.

📸 Kimiya Yui
x.com/Astro_Kimiya...
November 8, 2025 at 12:09 PM
nickattree.bsky.social
So 3 weeks ago I 'travelled' to #Rio one Thursday night to give a seminar on #comets ☄️. Tonight I 'travelled' to #Orlando for a PhD committee meeting of a University of Central Florida student studying #Saturn's rings 🪐 (takes me back to my own PhD on #Cassini 🛰️🙂)!
November 6, 2025 at 7:40 PM
nickattree.bsky.social
🚀🇪🇸🇪🇺
transport.esa.int ESA Space Transport @transport.esa.int · 5d
Spain is one of @esa.int's founding states and home to our space science centre, ESAC, and contributes 4.7% to the Ariane 6 programme.

Spanish companies Airbus, @thalesaleniaspace.bsky.social, Sener, GTD, Inventia Kinetics and HV Sistemas all contribute to Europe’s heavy-lift launcher.
November 6, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nick Attree
iaacsic.bsky.social
✔️ El 50 aniversario del Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, protagonista de un décimo de la Lotería Nacional

El sorteo del 13 de noviembre conmemora medio siglo de investigación, tecnología y divulgación científica del IAA-CSIC

🌐 www.iaa.csic.es/noticia/el-5...
November 6, 2025 at 11:14 AM
nickattree.bsky.social
Just gave our @iaacsic.bsky.social journal club summarising the @europlanetmedia.bsky.social #EPSCDPS2025 meeting in Helsinki (now nearly 2 months ago!) . Now looking forward to welcoming a couple of guests from the @oeaw.bsky.social Space Research Institute, Graz for some collaborative discussions!
November 4, 2025 at 11:06 AM
nickattree.bsky.social
Just a ridiculously big moon hanging in the sky on the way back to Granada
A pale white moon hangs in the blue sky above rolling green hills and a white village perched on the side of a mountain.
November 3, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nick Attree
science.esa.int
☄️ Comet #3I/ATLAS is currently making its closest approach to the Sun.

#ESAJuice might catch the best view of this comet in a very active state. Juice will attempt observations in November 2025, with data received on Earth in February 2026 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
🔭🧪
Infographic showing the path of comet 3I/ATLAS, the third known interstellar object to enter our Solar System. It displays the orbits of Earth, Mars and the Juice spacecraft around the Sun, along with key dates and events as comet 3I/ATLAS travels through the inner Solar System in 2025. Coloured and numbered dots mark important observation points by telescopes and spacecraft.
October 30, 2025 at 2:05 PM
nickattree.bsky.social
Phewph, now that's out of the way (after EPSC, project supervision, JWST deadline, grant applications, and visitors) things will calm down, right? *sees more visitors arriving, CoCa team meeting, and then Christmas coming up fast..* ...right?
nickattree.bsky.social Dr. Nick Attree @nickattree.bsky.social · 14d
Day 2 of the SWT. I will shortly be presenting the work of my internship student, Pieter, on analysing trajectories of incoming comets ☄️
He's done some great work!
October 30, 2025 at 10:57 AM
nickattree.bsky.social
This is super cool. Cubesats heading off into deep space by themselves! Soon for #PlanetaryScience missions??
technology.esa.int ESA Technology @technology.esa.int · 13d
🛰️ @esa.int’s first stand-alone deep-space CubeSat #Henon takes shape!

⚡A tailor-made propulsion system will take this small but mighty satellite into an orbit around the Sun, where the CubeSat will detect solar storms, improving our current warning time ☀️ www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...
ESA's upcoming Henon CubeSat mission Henon's new propulsion system Henon's orbit
October 29, 2025 at 12:08 PM
nickattree.bsky.social
Now this is how to attend a meeting! Listening in to the @cometinterceptor.bsky.social ☄️SWT whilst waiting to pick up my son from sports. Luckily the sports centre is down by the river, with this view 😀🏞️ #Granada
Selfie of a man in a black t shirt with moon and record, with glasses and earbuds on. Behind is a river and distant sunlit mountains.
October 27, 2025 at 4:18 PM
nickattree.bsky.social
I'd never heard of a meteor train before! Interesting.
I guess it zigzags because the atmosphere is now moving the dust and debris around? Can you track high altitude wind shear with meteor trains?!
apod.shinyakato.dev Astronomy Picture of the Day 🪐 @apod.shinyakato.dev · 15d
🔭 Two Tails of Comet Lemmon

Image Credit: Massimo Penna

star.ucl.ac.uk/~apod/apod/a...
A dark sky shows bright comet with its tails extending diagonally from the lower left. Two tails are visible for the comet -- a long blue tail and a shorter wider white tail. Oddly, a wiggly tan stream appears to be a third tail -- but is actually the dust from a dissipated meteor. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.
October 27, 2025 at 8:49 AM
nickattree.bsky.social
Advert for Uber on every YouTube video and I've just realised the one where the bridal party breaks down uses 'Under Pressure' when 'Modern love' was right there!... 'gets me to the church on time'...!
October 25, 2025 at 8:23 PM
nickattree.bsky.social
Helpful safety guide...
October 24, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nick Attree
hourlycosmos.bsky.social
Dione and Rhea - From Gordan Ugarković (ugordan.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/9ZbYVx
Cassini NAC RGB. 2010-07-27. Magnified 2x from original pixel scale.
October 24, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nick Attree
landru79.bsky.social
#ROSETTA INTERNATIONAL MISSION
COMET #67P/CHURYUMOV-GERASIMENKO

Date 23 jan 2015
Distance 27.9 km
OSINAC Orange green blue ortho fe203

rosetta-osiris.eu/image/NAC_20...

ESA/Rosetta/OSIRIS/j. Roger
October 23, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nick Attree
iaacsic.bsky.social
​🗞️​ El Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía culmina su 50 aniversario con un gran acto conmemorativo

🌐 www.iaa.csic.es/noticia/el-i...

IAA-CSIC/Toni Juárez
October 23, 2025 at 8:49 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nick Attree
iaacsic.bsky.social
Hoy celebramos nuestros 50 años por todo lo alto, con un evento que une arte y ciencia ✨

@csic.es
October 22, 2025 at 6:25 PM
nickattree.bsky.social
And now the big event: celebrating 50 years of @iaacsic.bsky.social at Caja #Granada Cultural Centre
A modern building with sweeping ramps is lit in various pastel colours at night. Lit courtyard of a modern building with people gathering. Lit signs saying 50 years of IAA and "El viaje". A crowd of people sit in a theatre with one woman on stage infront of a brightly lit backdrop.
October 22, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nick Attree
coreyspowell.bsky.social
Astronomers have discovered rings forming around a Centaur. For real: Chiron (a comet-asteroid hybrid orbiting beyond Saturn) has set of rings that seem to be changing by the year.

Regardless of what's happening on Earth, space continues to be amazing. 🧪🔭

iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
Sky-plane view of the equatorial disk model of Chiron's rings. The gray circle (98 km radius) marks Chiron itself. Black ellipses show the three narrow rings; dashed blue ellipses mark the 1/2 and 1/3 resonant zones; red ellipses indicate Roche limits.
October 21, 2025 at 4:13 PM
nickattree.bsky.social
An excellent space potato 🥔
setiinstitute.bsky.social SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 21d
#PPOD: This color picture was created from images taken by the imaging system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft approximately 14 minutes before its closest approach to asteroid 243 Ida on August 28, 1993. The range from the spacecraft was about 10,500 kilometers. Credit: NASA/JPL 🧪 🔭
On the left is a potato-shaped asteroid called Ida, which is seen as oblong and tilted from upper left to lower right. To the right of Ida is a much, much smaller rock called Dactyl, which is a moon of Ida and the first such moon ever discovered.
October 21, 2025 at 5:14 PM
nickattree.bsky.social
Now that I've sorted all my SPICE issues, I can play around dropping comets on different orbits and see what happens! #comet 67P, you are now hyperbolic ☄️😀
nickattree.bsky.social Dr. Nick Attree @nickattree.bsky.social · Oct 8
successfully created my own reference frame definition in #SPICE! Huzzah! #methods
(SPICE is the NASA ephermerides system for computing the positions and orientations of solar system bodies. I basically can now make up local body coordinates of an arbitrary body, but it's a start 🙂)
October 21, 2025 at 9:41 AM
nickattree.bsky.social
Saw the Perspectiva exhibition of #astronomy and #space images for @iaacsic.bsky.social 's 50th anniversary on the way into #Granada today. Very nice
Picture of a comet on a board in a sunlit street Infront of a church Picture of planets on a board Infront of a church Picture of Saturn and it's rings saying neuvas perspectivas on a board infront of a church
October 18, 2025 at 11:22 AM