Richard de Grijs
@tallstarman.bsky.social
Astrophysicist. Historian of Science. Academic skills trainer. Publishing consultant. Maritime enthusiast. Motivational speaker.
I was pleasantly surprised and honoured to learn that I had been nominated by my students for the "2025 Students' Choice Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and the Student Experience" at Macquarie University!
December 3, 2025 at 4:08 AM
I was pleasantly surprised and honoured to learn that I had been nominated by my students for the "2025 Students' Choice Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and the Student Experience" at Macquarie University!
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
Join us on Wed. 10 December at 4pm (Beijing time) for the next #ISSIBJ "Infinite Horizons" webinar. Prof. Wei Feng from the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, will discuss "Tracking Water from Space: the Role of Satellite Gravimetry" (zoom ID on poster).
December 1, 2025 at 3:57 AM
Join us on Wed. 10 December at 4pm (Beijing time) for the next #ISSIBJ "Infinite Horizons" webinar. Prof. Wei Feng from the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, will discuss "Tracking Water from Space: the Role of Satellite Gravimetry" (zoom ID on poster).
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
Join us on Wed. 19 November at 4pm (Beijing time) for the next #ISSIBJ "Infinite Horizons" webinar. Prof. Wenya Li (NSSC, China) will discuss Tianwen-1/MINPA” science results from Mars! (zoom ID on poster).
November 12, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Join us on Wed. 19 November at 4pm (Beijing time) for the next #ISSIBJ "Infinite Horizons" webinar. Prof. Wenya Li (NSSC, China) will discuss Tianwen-1/MINPA” science results from Mars! (zoom ID on poster).
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
#OnThisDayInSpace in 2021 China launched its CHASE solar mission---the Chinese Hα Solar Explorer. With maximum solar activity in 2024 and 2025, this is indeed an opportune time to try and understand our nearest star in ever more detail. #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
October 14, 2025 at 7:55 AM
#OnThisDayInSpace in 2021 China launched its CHASE solar mission---the Chinese Hα Solar Explorer. With maximum solar activity in 2024 and 2025, this is indeed an opportune time to try and understand our nearest star in ever more detail. #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
Join us on Wed. 15 october at 4pm (Beijing time) for the next #ISSIBJ "Infinite Horizons" webinar. Dr. Primoz Kajdic (UNAM, Mexico) will discuss “Space Weather During Solar-Quiet Times: the Role of Upstream Transients” (zoom ID on poster). www.issibj.ac.cn/sytw/202509/...
October 7, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Join us on Wed. 15 october at 4pm (Beijing time) for the next #ISSIBJ "Infinite Horizons" webinar. Dr. Primoz Kajdic (UNAM, Mexico) will discuss “Space Weather During Solar-Quiet Times: the Role of Upstream Transients” (zoom ID on poster). www.issibj.ac.cn/sytw/202509/...
"When will humans return to the moon? NASA's new mission is offering clues" by SBS News (Australia) includes liberal quotes from me: www.sbs.com.au/news/article...
When will humans return to the moon? NASA's new mission is offering clues
The last time humans landed on the moon was in December 1972.
www.sbs.com.au
September 25, 2025 at 5:54 AM
"When will humans return to the moon? NASA's new mission is offering clues" by SBS News (Australia) includes liberal quotes from me: www.sbs.com.au/news/article...
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
#OnThisDayInSpace Today is the anniversary of the first human-made object to reach interstellar space: Voyager 1 left the solar system in 2012, 19 billion kilometres from the Sun, travelling at 17 kilometres per second. Go Voyager! #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
August 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
#OnThisDayInSpace Today is the anniversary of the first human-made object to reach interstellar space: Voyager 1 left the solar system in 2012, 19 billion kilometres from the Sun, travelling at 17 kilometres per second. Go Voyager! #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
#OnThisDayInSpace in 2019, India’s golden spacecraft Chandrayaan 2 entered lunar orbit. With this mission, India became the fourth nation to execute a soft landing on the Moon and the first country ever to land on the Moon's southern half. #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
August 20, 2025 at 9:43 AM
#OnThisDayInSpace in 2019, India’s golden spacecraft Chandrayaan 2 entered lunar orbit. With this mission, India became the fourth nation to execute a soft landing on the Moon and the first country ever to land on the Moon's southern half. #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
Join us on Wed. 20 August at 4pm (Beijing time) for the next #ISSIBJ "Infinite Horizons" webinar. Prof. Dedalo Marchetti (Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology) will discuss, What We Can Understand About the Preparation Phase of Earthquakes from Satellites? (zoom ID on poster)
August 11, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Join us on Wed. 20 August at 4pm (Beijing time) for the next #ISSIBJ "Infinite Horizons" webinar. Prof. Dedalo Marchetti (Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology) will discuss, What We Can Understand About the Preparation Phase of Earthquakes from Satellites? (zoom ID on poster)
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
#TodaysLaunch: India successfully launched the NASA–ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. NISAR will provide critical data for understanding natural hazards, climate change and agricultural dynamics on a global scale. #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/Outreach/...
July 31, 2025 at 8:29 AM
#TodaysLaunch: India successfully launched the NASA–ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. NISAR will provide critical data for understanding natural hazards, climate change and agricultural dynamics on a global scale. #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/Outreach/...
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
#TodaysLaunch: SpaceX launched TRACERS
(Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites), two identical satellites operating in tandem as they orbit Earth and investigate magnetic reconnection and its impact on our planet’s atmosphere. #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/Outreach/...
(Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites), two identical satellites operating in tandem as they orbit Earth and investigate magnetic reconnection and its impact on our planet’s atmosphere. #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/Outreach/...
July 24, 2025 at 5:10 AM
#TodaysLaunch: SpaceX launched TRACERS
(Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites), two identical satellites operating in tandem as they orbit Earth and investigate magnetic reconnection and its impact on our planet’s atmosphere. #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/Outreach/...
(Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites), two identical satellites operating in tandem as they orbit Earth and investigate magnetic reconnection and its impact on our planet’s atmosphere. #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/Outreach/...
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
Join us on Wed. 16 July at 4pm (Beijing time) for the next #ISSIBJ "Infinite Horizons" webinar. We will welcome Dr. Frédéric Auchère (University of Paris-Sud, France), who will discuss New Views of the Sun from the Solar Orbiter Mission. (zoom link on poster) campaign-statistics.com/browser_prev...
July 9, 2025 at 3:08 AM
Join us on Wed. 16 July at 4pm (Beijing time) for the next #ISSIBJ "Infinite Horizons" webinar. We will welcome Dr. Frédéric Auchère (University of Paris-Sud, France), who will discuss New Views of the Sun from the Solar Orbiter Mission. (zoom link on poster) campaign-statistics.com/browser_prev...
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
#OnThisDayInSpace Today we're celebrating Asteroid Day, which was established in 2016 by the United Nations. Scientists hope to create awareness of the non-negligible possibility of a large asteroid hitting the Earth... #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
June 30, 2025 at 6:12 AM
#OnThisDayInSpace Today we're celebrating Asteroid Day, which was established in 2016 by the United Nations. Scientists hope to create awareness of the non-negligible possibility of a large asteroid hitting the Earth... #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
#OnThisDayInSpace in 2013 NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph mission was launched. IRIS has studied "space weather" from the solar corona to the far heliosphere. We now understand how these processes operate, gather energy and heat up #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
June 27, 2025 at 8:48 AM
#OnThisDayInSpace in 2013 NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph mission was launched. IRIS has studied "space weather" from the solar corona to the far heliosphere. We now understand how these processes operate, gather energy and heat up #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
#OnThisDayInSpace Today is the launch anniversary of NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (2012). NuSTAR was the first mission to study the X-ray sky at energies above 10 keV, aiming to research black holes and map supernova explosions. #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
June 13, 2025 at 2:53 AM
#OnThisDayInSpace Today is the launch anniversary of NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (2012). NuSTAR was the first mission to study the X-ray sky at energies above 10 keV, aiming to research black holes and map supernova explosions. #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
#OnThisDayInSpace in 2008 NASA launched the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (originally GLAST). The mission's first 5 years were so successful that its operational lifetime was extended by a further 5 years. Black holes galore! #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
June 11, 2025 at 7:05 AM
#OnThisDayInSpace in 2008 NASA launched the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (originally GLAST). The mission's first 5 years were so successful that its operational lifetime was extended by a further 5 years. Black holes galore! #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
Join us on Wed. 18 June at 4pm (Beijing time) for the next #ISSIBJ "Infinite Horizons" webinar. We will welcome Dr. Shingo Kameda (Rikkyo University, Japan), who will discuss his work on the LAPYUTA mission. (zoom link on the poster below)
June 9, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Join us on Wed. 18 June at 4pm (Beijing time) for the next #ISSIBJ "Infinite Horizons" webinar. We will welcome Dr. Shingo Kameda (Rikkyo University, Japan), who will discuss his work on the LAPYUTA mission. (zoom link on the poster below)
The result of a fairly long interview? just one quote: www.nature.com/articles/d41... Oh well... Shame that the craft didn't make it though!
Japanese spacecraft has probably crash-landed on Moon — again
Early investigations by the Japanese company ispace identified issues with speed and a sensor measuring the craft’s altitude.
www.nature.com
June 6, 2025 at 11:32 AM
The result of a fairly long interview? just one quote: www.nature.com/articles/d41... Oh well... Shame that the craft didn't make it though!
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
Xinhua News published a good article about the Tianwen-2 mission following an interview we did earlier this week: english.news.cn/20250529/702...
Scientists in Australia watch closely as China launches Tianwen-2 probe
english.news.cn
May 29, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Xinhua News published a good article about the Tianwen-2 mission following an interview we did earlier this week: english.news.cn/20250529/702...
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
#TodaysLaunch: China successfully launched its Tianwen-2 mission today. This is the first Chinese sample-return mission to a near-Earth asteroid. It will also perform a flyby of a main-belt comet, marking another milestone in China’s deep-space exploration. #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/Outreach/...
May 29, 2025 at 5:35 AM
#TodaysLaunch: China successfully launched its Tianwen-2 mission today. This is the first Chinese sample-return mission to a near-Earth asteroid. It will also perform a flyby of a main-belt comet, marking another milestone in China’s deep-space exploration. #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/Outreach/...
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
#OnThisDayInSpace Four years ago today, the Chinese Tianwen 1 spacecraft, carrying the Zhurong Rover, made a rare successful landing on Mars. The mission’s main goal was a search for water or ice on the Red Planet. issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/... #ISSIBJ
May 14, 2025 at 4:31 AM
#OnThisDayInSpace Four years ago today, the Chinese Tianwen 1 spacecraft, carrying the Zhurong Rover, made a rare successful landing on Mars. The mission’s main goal was a search for water or ice on the Red Planet. issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/... #ISSIBJ
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
Join us on Wed. 21 May at 4pm (Beijing time) for the next
#ISSIBJ "Infinite Horizons" webinar. We will welcome Dr. Andrew Battisti (ICRAR, Australia), who will cover his work on the Ultraviolet Extinction Sky Survey (UVESS). us06web.zoom.us/j/86453751422
#ISSIBJ "Infinite Horizons" webinar. We will welcome Dr. Andrew Battisti (ICRAR, Australia), who will cover his work on the Ultraviolet Extinction Sky Survey (UVESS). us06web.zoom.us/j/86453751422
May 13, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Join us on Wed. 21 May at 4pm (Beijing time) for the next
#ISSIBJ "Infinite Horizons" webinar. We will welcome Dr. Andrew Battisti (ICRAR, Australia), who will cover his work on the Ultraviolet Extinction Sky Survey (UVESS). us06web.zoom.us/j/86453751422
#ISSIBJ "Infinite Horizons" webinar. We will welcome Dr. Andrew Battisti (ICRAR, Australia), who will cover his work on the Ultraviolet Extinction Sky Survey (UVESS). us06web.zoom.us/j/86453751422
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
#OnThisDayInSpace Today is the launch anniversary of China's Tiangong ("Heavenly Palace") space station. It will soon also welcome the Chinese Space Station Telescope -- rivalling the Hubble with a larger field of view. #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
April 29, 2025 at 6:57 AM
#OnThisDayInSpace Today is the launch anniversary of China's Tiangong ("Heavenly Palace") space station. It will soon also welcome the Chinese Space Station Telescope -- rivalling the Hubble with a larger field of view. #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
#OnThisDayInSpace 35 years ago, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched, allowing us to view the Universe like never before. Scientifically, #HST data have enabled us to make many breakthroughs, and there is no end in sight! #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
April 24, 2025 at 4:46 AM
#OnThisDayInSpace 35 years ago, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched, allowing us to view the Universe like never before. Scientifically, #HST data have enabled us to make many breakthroughs, and there is no end in sight! #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
Reposted by Richard de Grijs
#OnThisDayInSpace in 2018 TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, was launched. What a phenomenal haul of exoplanets and beautiful asteroseismological data it has so far delivered! #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...
April 18, 2025 at 5:43 AM
#OnThisDayInSpace in 2018 TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, was launched. What a phenomenal haul of exoplanets and beautiful asteroseismological data it has so far delivered! #ISSIBJ www.issibj.ac.cn/os/outreach/...