Richard Alexander
@richardalexander.bsky.social
Astrophysicist at the University of Leicester | Dad | Cyclist | Exiled Scot
https://rdalexander.github.io
https://rdalexander.github.io
Waking up to dozens of spectacular pictures of the aurora taken by friends and colleagues in north America. Sadly it's pouring rain outside my window, and not going to stop until...<checks forecast>...some time next week, so I suspect no chance of anything similar here.😢 🔭
November 12, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Waking up to dozens of spectacular pictures of the aurora taken by friends and colleagues in north America. Sadly it's pouring rain outside my window, and not going to stop until...<checks forecast>...some time next week, so I suspect no chance of anything similar here.😢 🔭
Reposted by Richard Alexander
🔭🧪🎢 PhD Project focus: Understanding protoplanetary disc evolution
We're advertising this project with Prof Richard Alexander, making simulations of accretion of planet-forming discs onto their star.
For details of all our PhD projects look here: le.ac.uk/study/resear... 🔭🧪🎢
We're advertising this project with Prof Richard Alexander, making simulations of accretion of planet-forming discs onto their star.
For details of all our PhD projects look here: le.ac.uk/study/resear... 🔭🧪🎢
November 11, 2025 at 12:05 PM
🔭🧪🎢 PhD Project focus: Understanding protoplanetary disc evolution
We're advertising this project with Prof Richard Alexander, making simulations of accretion of planet-forming discs onto their star.
For details of all our PhD projects look here: le.ac.uk/study/resear... 🔭🧪🎢
We're advertising this project with Prof Richard Alexander, making simulations of accretion of planet-forming discs onto their star.
For details of all our PhD projects look here: le.ac.uk/study/resear... 🔭🧪🎢
See below for details of our Physics & Astronomy PhD admissions process in Leicester this year. I am advertising to recruit a new student to work on protoplanetary discs and planet formation, and my colleagues are offering a range of fascinating projects as well. 🔭
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 2:21 PM
See below for details of our Physics & Astronomy PhD admissions process in Leicester this year. I am advertising to recruit a new student to work on protoplanetary discs and planet formation, and my colleagues are offering a range of fascinating projects as well. 🔭
Reposted by Richard Alexander
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...
So happy to see this. Mills was the first place I got to see the night sky through a “real” telescope - it’s a fantastic facility. Best wishes for the big birthday celebrations. 🎉 🔭
Did I mention how much I love #Dundee! Having a super visit for the #Mills Observatory 90th b'day celebrations. Packed talk at the Steps Theatre last night, 🏴STV this morning, Ancrum Rd Primary asking lots of space questions at lunch, & tonight a party at Mills🥳. Crossing fingers for clear skies! 🔭
October 28, 2025 at 5:47 PM
So happy to see this. Mills was the first place I got to see the night sky through a “real” telescope - it’s a fantastic facility. Best wishes for the big birthday celebrations. 🎉 🔭
Reposted by Richard Alexander
With just under 12 hours to go, here's how JWST Cycle 5 proposal submissions are progressing according to our sampling of the star and planet formation people here in Leiden! We're well past the 1000 mark for the year (and 10,000 across all years!) now, but where will we end up?
October 15, 2025 at 12:29 PM
With just under 12 hours to go, here's how JWST Cycle 5 proposal submissions are progressing according to our sampling of the star and planet formation people here in Leiden! We're well past the 1000 mark for the year (and 10,000 across all years!) now, but where will we end up?
Reposted by Richard Alexander
Our annual PhD recruitment process @api.uva.nl is open!! Details of the process and projects are here, deadline November 3! 🔭 #astronomy #astrophysics
werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
Vacancy — PhD Positions in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Are you passionate about astronomy and cutting-edge research?Join our dynamic team and explore the universe through multiple PhD positions now open! Work on a range of exciting research topics in a co...
werkenbij.uva.nl
October 8, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Our annual PhD recruitment process @api.uva.nl is open!! Details of the process and projects are here, deadline November 3! 🔭 #astronomy #astrophysics
werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
Reposted by Richard Alexander
Great to see our paper on methanol in TW Hya finally come out today (with Catherine Walsh and Jenny Calahan). A quick overview.... 🔭 ☄️ #radioastro
arxiv.org/abs/2510.04106
arxiv.org/abs/2510.04106
October 7, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Great to see our paper on methanol in TW Hya finally come out today (with Catherine Walsh and Jenny Calahan). A quick overview.... 🔭 ☄️ #radioastro
arxiv.org/abs/2510.04106
arxiv.org/abs/2510.04106
Happy Father Dougal Day to those who celebrate. 🎉
(Admittedly that's basically just my third-year class, but we'll still have some fun with it.)
(Admittedly that's basically just my third-year class, but we'll still have some fun with it.)
First time on this platform: it's "angular-diameter distances with Father Dougal" day. Looking at my notes, we're also doing luminosity distances with the muppets ("near", "far"...). 🔭
October 6, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Happy Father Dougal Day to those who celebrate. 🎉
(Admittedly that's basically just my third-year class, but we'll still have some fun with it.)
(Admittedly that's basically just my third-year class, but we'll still have some fun with it.)
Marvelling at a request for a letter of reference that specifies both a font size and a page limit. I understand the need for guidelines, but who are the people who need to be told that letters of recommendation shouldn't run to more than 3 pages? 🔭
October 1, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Marvelling at a request for a letter of reference that specifies both a font size and a page limit. I understand the need for guidelines, but who are the people who need to be told that letters of recommendation shouldn't run to more than 3 pages? 🔭
Reposting for the western time-zones...
👇🏻- thread about @simintong.bsky.social's excellent new paper on understanding turbulence and dust fragility in planet-forming discs. 🔭
👇🏻- thread about @simintong.bsky.social's excellent new paper on understanding turbulence and dust fragility in planet-forming discs. 🔭
New paper, led by @physicsuol.bsky.social PhD student @simintong.bsky.social. Simin looked at the rings we see in planet-forming discs, and combined new models with multi-wavelength ALMA observations to understand the underlying physical properties of the dust and gas. 🔭
arxiv.org/abs/2509.24818
arxiv.org/abs/2509.24818
September 30, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Reposting for the western time-zones...
👇🏻- thread about @simintong.bsky.social's excellent new paper on understanding turbulence and dust fragility in planet-forming discs. 🔭
👇🏻- thread about @simintong.bsky.social's excellent new paper on understanding turbulence and dust fragility in planet-forming discs. 🔭
New paper, led by @physicsuol.bsky.social PhD student @simintong.bsky.social. Simin looked at the rings we see in planet-forming discs, and combined new models with multi-wavelength ALMA observations to understand the underlying physical properties of the dust and gas. 🔭
arxiv.org/abs/2509.24818
arxiv.org/abs/2509.24818
September 30, 2025 at 6:48 AM
New paper, led by @physicsuol.bsky.social PhD student @simintong.bsky.social. Simin looked at the rings we see in planet-forming discs, and combined new models with multi-wavelength ALMA observations to understand the underlying physical properties of the dust and gas. 🔭
arxiv.org/abs/2509.24818
arxiv.org/abs/2509.24818
Very sad news. Ming Campbell was my MP when I was a kid, and he was a lovely man. I remember going to his surgery as part of a school project, and he talked with us - a pair of 12-year-olds - for half an hour, with the same earnestness as when he spoke in parliament.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell dies aged 84
Sir Menzies led the Liberal Democrats from 2006 to 2007 and was the MP for North East Fife at Westminster for 28 years.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 26, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Very sad news. Ming Campbell was my MP when I was a kid, and he was a lovely man. I remember going to his surgery as part of a school project, and he talked with us - a pair of 12-year-olds - for half an hour, with the same earnestness as when he spoke in parliament.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Richard Alexander
Academic family tree of descendants, beautifully calligraphed by a colleague, hung in a place of honour.
September 23, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Academic family tree of descendants, beautifully calligraphed by a colleague, hung in a place of honour.
Reposted by Richard Alexander
My periodic reminder for #astrosci #astrodon #exoplanets Early Career Researchers to please, please, please have a simple web site with your current email address on it - rationale here: kenworthy.space/advice/
September 12, 2025 at 4:22 AM
My periodic reminder for #astrosci #astrodon #exoplanets Early Career Researchers to please, please, please have a simple web site with your current email address on it - rationale here: kenworthy.space/advice/
Reposted by Richard Alexander
From guest author Rajat Saxena: Today’s bite looks at how planets are formed in the “bumps” of protoplanetary disks.🔭✨☄️
astrobites.org/2025/08/26/b...
astrobites.org/2025/08/26/b...
Build-A-Planet Workshop: Planet Formation, One Bump at a Time
Today's bite looks at how planets are formed in the "bumps" of protoplanetary disks.
astrobites.org
August 27, 2025 at 9:42 AM
From guest author Rajat Saxena: Today’s bite looks at how planets are formed in the “bumps” of protoplanetary disks.🔭✨☄️
astrobites.org/2025/08/26/b...
astrobites.org/2025/08/26/b...
Advertising email about a camping equipment sale doesn't even come close to using the phrase "Now is the summer of our discount tents". I'm so disappointed.
August 12, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Advertising email about a camping equipment sale doesn't even come close to using the phrase "Now is the summer of our discount tents". I'm so disappointed.
Bonus holiday activity - an afternoon watching the Tour de France from the roadside. 🤩 🇫🇷
August 3, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Bonus holiday activity - an afternoon watching the Tour de France from the roadside. 🤩 🇫🇷
Reposted by Richard Alexander
With Tom Lehrer's passing, I suppose this is a moment to share the story of the prank he played on the National Security Agency, and how it went undiscovered for nearly 60 years.
July 27, 2025 at 9:01 PM
With Tom Lehrer's passing, I suppose this is a moment to share the story of the prank he played on the National Security Agency, and how it went undiscovered for nearly 60 years.
Today, in "old man learns Python": having written a 1-D accretion disc code from scratch in a Jupyter notebook, I managed to vectorise it so it runs only moderately slowly. 🎉
Didn't even ask ChatGPT! Still lots to figure out, but I guess old dogs can sometimes teach themselves a new trick or two. 😂
Didn't even ask ChatGPT! Still lots to figure out, but I guess old dogs can sometimes teach themselves a new trick or two. 😂
July 1, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Today, in "old man learns Python": having written a 1-D accretion disc code from scratch in a Jupyter notebook, I managed to vectorise it so it runs only moderately slowly. 🎉
Didn't even ask ChatGPT! Still lots to figure out, but I guess old dogs can sometimes teach themselves a new trick or two. 😂
Didn't even ask ChatGPT! Still lots to figure out, but I guess old dogs can sometimes teach themselves a new trick or two. 😂
Snow Patrol at Glastonbury on TV. Don't want to say I'm old, but the first time I saw them live wasn't in this century, and the last time was...<checks>...18 years ago. 🫣
June 29, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Snow Patrol at Glastonbury on TV. Don't want to say I'm old, but the first time I saw them live wasn't in this century, and the last time was...<checks>...18 years ago. 🫣
As an old dog in need of new tricks, I've finally bitten the bullet and installed Python. Installation smooth; actual coding fine so far. But also some real "WTAF?" discoveries, which I plan to list here.
First up - slicing lists. The start value is inclusive, but the end value is exclusive. 🤦🏻♂️
First up - slicing lists. The start value is inclusive, but the end value is exclusive. 🤦🏻♂️
a man in a brown shirt is asking why why would you do that
Alt: GIF of Ross from Friends, asking "why, why would you do that?"
media.tenor.com
June 17, 2025 at 3:41 PM
As an old dog in need of new tricks, I've finally bitten the bullet and installed Python. Installation smooth; actual coding fine so far. But also some real "WTAF?" discoveries, which I plan to list here.
First up - slicing lists. The start value is inclusive, but the end value is exclusive. 🤦🏻♂️
First up - slicing lists. The start value is inclusive, but the end value is exclusive. 🤦🏻♂️
Reposted by Richard Alexander
International or UK researcher looking for a #fellowship in #astrophysics, #planetaryscience, and/or space instrumentation? Leicester @physicsuol.bsky.social is inviting expressions of interest for this year's STFC 5-year Ernest Rutherford Fellowships (deadline June 26th):
le.ac.uk/physics/rese...
le.ac.uk/physics/rese...
June 2, 2025 at 2:36 PM
International or UK researcher looking for a #fellowship in #astrophysics, #planetaryscience, and/or space instrumentation? Leicester @physicsuol.bsky.social is inviting expressions of interest for this year's STFC 5-year Ernest Rutherford Fellowships (deadline June 26th):
le.ac.uk/physics/rese...
le.ac.uk/physics/rese...
Reposted by Richard Alexander
Twelve ALMA/AGE-PRO papers just out! Exploring how gas and dust evolve in disks 🌟🌀 — Congrats to all authors! 🎉
NRAO press release: public.nrao.edu/news/alma-pl...
NRAO press release: public.nrao.edu/news/alma-pl...
June 13, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Twelve ALMA/AGE-PRO papers just out! Exploring how gas and dust evolve in disks 🌟🌀 — Congrats to all authors! 🎉
NRAO press release: public.nrao.edu/news/alma-pl...
NRAO press release: public.nrao.edu/news/alma-pl...