Will Gater
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willgater.bsky.social
Will Gater
@willgater.bsky.social
440 followers 250 following 83 posts
Astronomer, author, astrophotographer. Former science journalist now working in the UK space sector to promote research, exploration & innovation.
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Reposted by Will Gater
wildernessvagabonds.com
This is the nicest shot of the night, via two different cameras that captured the same meteor.

Crestone, Colorado USA November 12, 2025 at 2:36am MST

#astronomy #astrophotography #meteor #aurora
A meteor streaks diagonally on the top right side of the frame, with a couple pulses of brighter light. The meteor is above a red/yellow/green aurora borealis. The scene is moonlit and chamisa and cottonwood trees are visible in the foreground, along with a house. The Rocky Mountains are in the background. The sky is full of stars. A meteor streaks diagonally in the center of the frame, with a couple pulses of brighter light. The meteor is above a red/yellow/green aurora borealis. The scene is moonlit and chamisa and cottonwood trees are visible in the foreground, along with a house. The Rocky Mountains are in the background. The sky is full of stars. There are some moonlit streaks of cloud on the right side, and some puffier clouds low on the left.
November 12, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Reposted by Will Gater
ridingrobots.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 1:48 AM
willgater.bsky.social
Substantial geomagnetic activity underway now with naked-eye aurora being reported down to US mid latitudes. Aurora has been building in this live cam view from Northumberland over the past hour with bright isolated patches up to 20+° above the horizon. m.youtube.com/watch?v=8vZZ...
Northumberland Aurora Cam LIVE Stream (Cresswell, UK)
YouTube video by Northumberland Astro
m.youtube.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:29 AM
willgater.bsky.social
Just stepped outside as the sky had cleared and saw a beautiful (I’m guessing from direction Taurid) meteor fireball at 23UT. Brilliant turquoise & white then a really vibrant blue with two white fragments continuing then fading. About 15° long from near Mira down to Theta Ceti area. @ukfall.org.uk
November 8, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Reposted by Will Gater
ryanjfrench.bsky.social
A trio of monster active regions have rotated into view over the Sun’s eastern horizon. Whilst the front of the Sun has been quiet for a while, these regions were producing significant activity on the Sun’s backside. They will rotate to face Earth later this week. #spaceweather
November 3, 2025 at 6:20 PM
willgater.bsky.social
So long Comet Lemmon! Here’s a moonlit shot taken from Dartmoor tonight with the tail pointing straight up from the western horizon. Blustery up on the moor, so this is just a 5 second single exposure at high ISO, hence the noise.
A photograph of a comet over a rocky tor outcrop and moorland landscape lit by moonlight. The comet appears as a fuzzy spot of light two thirds of the way up the frame with a diffuse tail extending above it into a starry moonlit sky.
October 29, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Reposted by Will Gater
ridingrobots.bsky.social
Auroras on the planet Jupiter, imaged by the star tracker camera aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft. nasa.gov/juno
landru79.bsky.social Landru79 @landru79.bsky.social · 21d
Algunas imágenes recientes con la SRU de la Juno

#Juno Stellar Reference Unit #SRU
Target: #JUPITER #IO
ORBIT 69 70 71

planetarydata.jpl.nasa.gov/img/data/jun...

NASA/JPL/SelexGalileo/j. Roger
October 27, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Reposted by Will Gater
operations.esa.int
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) spacecraft is ready to aim its instruments at interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS! 🪐☄️

Here’s what’s happening and why it’s such a rare opportunity 🧵
Artist's impression of ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) spacecraft Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS seen by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope
October 24, 2025 at 2:22 PM
willgater.bsky.social
Here’s a wider shot, taken with a 50mm lens, showing Comet Lemmon (along with numerous bright satellite trails) over Dartmoor tonight. #astrophotography
A photograph of a hillside in darkness with clouds billowing on the horizon and up to the centre of the frame. Above is a blueish twilight starry sky with a comet above centre. Numerous satellite trails appear as lines at various angles across the frame.
October 21, 2025 at 8:44 PM
willgater.bsky.social
Comet C/2025 A6 glowing through thin cloud tonight over Dartmoor National Park, Devon. Single 8s exposure at ISO2500. #CometLemmon
A photo of a comet against a starry twilight background that is speckled with innumerable stars. The comet appears as a bright swathe of light in the centre of frame and is composed of a bright turquoise green-white head and two tails - one whitish and curving slightly, the other pointing straight away from the comet’s coma. A handful of brighter stars in Bootes are visible near the comet.
October 21, 2025 at 8:39 PM
willgater.bsky.social
Had some brief cloud gaps on Dartmoor around 8pm and was able to see the head of Comet Lemmon clearly by eye (with direct vision) as a fuzzy star just below Sigma Bootis. With averted vision could make out the tail extending about 1.5° up and to the right. #CometLemmon
October 21, 2025 at 7:43 PM
willgater.bsky.social
We’re lucky at the moment to have a comet visiting the inner Solar System that’s bright enough to see with a pair of binoculars, and it may in the coming week or so just reach naked-eye visibility.

To find out more, see the @ukspaceagency.bsky.social blog: space.blog.gov.uk/2025/10/21/c...
Catch Comet Lemmon in autumn’s night sky
Comet Lemmon is paying our inner Solar System a visit and may reach naked-eye visibility in the coming week.
space.blog.gov.uk
October 21, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Reposted by Will Gater
imometeors.bsky.social
🛑 Fireball Alert - Spain 🇪🇸 🛑
An extremely bright fireball ☄️ was observed and video recorded over North-West Spain on Oct 15 evening, around 18h 38min UT (20h 38min, CEST).

If you observed and/or recorded it, please share your observation with the international community: fireballs.imo.net
October 16, 2025 at 10:29 PM
willgater.bsky.social
Lucky to get some brief glimpses of Comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6) from Dartmoor this evening around the end of astronomical twilight. This is a single 13s shot taken with a tracking mount at 135mm focal length.
Looked great in binoculars too with a grey-green coma and short section of the tail visible.
A long exposure photograph of a starry twilight sky with the blurred silhouettes of a treeline forming the foreground along the bottom of the frame. Above on the left hand side are the bright star Cor Caroli (shining through thin cloud giving it a misty appearance) and just above it Comet Lemmon. The comet has a bright greenish coma at its head and there is a faint, white, misty tail extending far across the frame up and to the right.
October 16, 2025 at 8:26 PM
willgater.bsky.social
A great opportunity for experienced amateur astronomers in Europe to help refine the orbital ephemerides for Ganymede, and so help ESA’s mission to the icy Jovian moons.

Anyone in the UK going to try it?
science.esa.int ESA Space Science @science.esa.int · Oct 7
On the night of 13-14 October, Jupiter's moon #Ganymede will pass in front of star HIP37442.

Observing this occultation pinpoints Ganymede's position even more precisely, helping our Juice mission reach its target.

Can you help?

Details from @obs-paris-psl.bsky.social 👉 bit.ly/4hcPguB
Illustration of the Juice spacecraft seen in space, at Jupiter. Text reads 'Juice needs you'.
October 7, 2025 at 7:12 PM
willgater.bsky.social
Summer skies giving way to autumn as the the Great Cygnus Rift and the Milky Way dip toward the western horizon. Taken a few nights ago from Dartmoor National Park in Devon. #astrophotography
A photograph of a star filled sky over a silhouetted treeline. The trees fill the bottom third of the frame while above them the diffuse band on the Milky Way meanders through the star flecked background. A dark weaving band appears within the Milky Way - these are the dust clouds of the Great Cygnus Rift.
October 3, 2025 at 7:56 AM
willgater.bsky.social
☀️🛰️ Last week the NASA IMAP mission launched to study the heliosphere & make crucial space weather measurements.

But did you know one of the key science instruments on board was developed & built in the UK with @ukspaceagency.bsky.social funding?

Find out more at: www.gov.uk/government/n...
An artist’s impression of the IMAP mission against a stylised backdrop depicting the heliosphere as a bubble on a starry purple background with the orbits of the planets at centre. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Princeton University/Steve Gribben. A photograph of the IMAP spacecraft and the MAG magnetometer in the clean room. The spacecraft is wrapped in various insulating/protective fabrics on the left of frame in a brightly lit, white-walled space. The MAG instrument extends from the side of the spacecraft across much of the centre and left hand side of the frame. An engineer sits working in a protective white suit at the bottom of the frame. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins/Princeton/Ed Whitman
September 29, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Reposted by Will Gater
operations.esa.int
🌔 Every day, Earth is bombarded by tiny asteroids, most too small to even be detected. But what if we could study those impacting the Moon?

ESA's NELIOTA-III #HorizonEurope project closely monitors Moon impact flashes and just released its first observations.

www.esa.int/Space_Safety...
ESA’s new project to keep an eye on Moon strikes
Every day, Earth is bombarded by tiny asteroids and meteoroids, most too small to even be detected. But what if we could study these space rocks by watching their impacts on the Moon? A new ESA projec...
www.esa.int
September 23, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Reposted by Will Gater
ukspaceagency.bsky.social
With £1.5 million of funding from us, 6 innovative projects will use satellite technology and AI to deliver real-world impact across a range of Britain's sectors. 🛰️🚅🌱

We're bringing the benefits of space down to Earth. 🌍🔭

👉 www.gov.uk/government/n...
September 15, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Reposted by Will Gater
stim3on.bsky.social
The sun was just 10 degrees above the horizon when NASA's Perseverance rover captured this morning view of Nili Planum yesterday. The rim of Jezero crater is casting a long shadow over the rover and foreground landscape. 🔭

Full res: flic.kr/p/2rt54pJ

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Simeon Schmauß
The morning sun shines it's first rays over the Nili Planum region on Mars revealing small hills with sand ripples in between. The wall of Jezero crater behind the camera casts a long shadow that stretches over the foreground and the rover itself.
September 13, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Reposted by Will Gater
ukspaceagency.bsky.social
Plato has arrived!

ESA's planet-hunting spacecraft has safely arrived at ESTEC, where engineers will attach its solar panels and sunshield before running critical tests to ensure everything's ready for launch. 🚀
science.esa.int ESA Space Science @science.esa.int · Sep 11
Welcome, Plato! 🤗

On 1 September, the spacecraft arrived in the Netherlands by boat from Germany via the Rhine River.

In the coming weeks, engineers will add the sunshield & solar arrays and carry out tests to confirm Plato is ready for launch 🚀
www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

🔭 #Exoplanets
A large cargo ship named VAARWEL, painted in blue and white, is sailing through a canal. The ship has a flag at its front and is passing under an open drawbridge in the background. The canal is lined with trees on both sides, and the sky above is bright blue with scattered white clouds. A few people are visible on the bridge and near the water’s edge. In the foreground, at the bottom right, a small boat with a single person inside floats near the ship. A large green truck from Kübler Spedition is transporting a massive container wrapped in a protective tarp. The container displays several logos and text, including the logo of the European Space Agency (ESA), indicating it is part of a specialised transport operation. In the background, there is an industrial building with large metal silos under a blue sky. In a cleanroom environment, two individuals wearing blue lab coats and hairnets are working around a large spacecraft. The spacecraft is covered in protective plastic sheeting and mounted on a white transport platform labelled with technical instructions. In a cleanroom environment, a group of engineers wearing protective coats, gloves, and face masks are working on a large spacecraft component. The component is mounted on a white wheeled platform. The top of the spacecraft carries 26 cylindrical cameras. The workspace is surrounded by structural supports and white fabric walls, creating a clean and controlled environment.
September 11, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Reposted by Will Gater
ukspaceagency.bsky.social
The UK is playing a huge role in the mission, from leading on the science to the design and build of the camera electronics. 📸

Read more about the UK's involvement in the mission 👉 gov.uk/government/c...
An artist impression of Plato. Credit: OHB System
September 11, 2025 at 12:53 PM
willgater.bsky.social
The umbral shadow slipping away as the Moon rises during tonight’s lunar eclipse. Photographed from Teignmouth, Devon. #lunareclipse
A photograph of the Moon rising over a seascape. A wave-filled horizon and a golden glitter path from the overexposed Moon fills the bottom two thirds of the frame. Above sits the Moon’s disc, itself above thin wisps of colourful clouds scattering its light. The coppery-red colour of the Earth’s umbral shadow appears on the right of the Moon’s disc while the overexposed portion of the disc on the left appears as a thick, glowing crescent.
September 7, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by Will Gater
marymcintyreastro.bsky.social
Here are the track-stacks from our #GMN #UKMON #MeteorCameras from overnight 12/13 Aug 2025. Despite the moonlight, they captured so many #meteors! Most of them are #Perseids but there are new Kappa Cygnids + sporadics. Dotted lines are aircraft #Perseids2025 #MeteorShower
August 13, 2025 at 11:28 AM
willgater.bsky.social
Despite it being a poor year for the #Perseid meteor shower with the very bright Moon up all night, still worth popping out for a look. We’ve just seen an incredible Perseid fireball across about 30° of sky with a highly structured persistent train that lingered for a good 10 seconds. #Perseids
August 12, 2025 at 10:15 PM