Rhys Williams
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astrorhysmas.bsky.social
Rhys Williams
@astrorhysmas.bsky.social
100 followers 43 following 34 posts
Curious about all things astronomy and space. Avid reader. History buff. Outdoorsy.
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Reposted by Rhys Williams
astroroyalscot.bsky.social
Well it's not every day that you get to stand on the site of a brand new Observatory! This is Clatteringshaws loch, in the Galloway Forest #DarkSky Park, home of the 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Scottish Dark Sky Observatory. Construction starts soon and like a phoenix SDSO will rise from the ashes! Re-opening mid-2027. 🥳🔭🧪
It's a dreich cloudy Autumnal day, but Catherine is nevertheless smiling in front of a very scenic loch with mountains in the distance. This patch of grass is about to have two observatory domes built on it. An old white stone brick single story building that will become the Scottish Dark Sky Observatory visitors centre. The trees in the distance have red autumn leaves on them. In the scrub a sign reads Welcome to The Scottish Dark Sky Observatory, and then below that a rather unwelcome "Private Land" :)
October 18, 2025 at 7:05 AM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
astroroyalscot.bsky.social
Today I salute Elizabeth Brown (1830-1899) who "with the gentle persistency which characterised her...would not take 'No' for an answer", was a key architect in the founding of the British Astronomical Association at a time when the Royal Astronomical Society was not admitting women! Pure legend 🤩👩‍🔬🔭
An old black and white picture from the 1800's of a very austere woman (Elizabeth Brown) in an awesome dress that has a plane floor-length skirt but wonderfully puffy and layered sleeves and bodice. She is standing next to a mid-size telescope inside a telescope dome. This picture is from the The Journal of the British Astronomical Association, vol. 9, pp.214-215. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Brown_(astronomer)#/media/File:Astronomer_Elizabeth_Brown.jpg
October 2, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
ukspaceagency.bsky.social
We haven’t been able to observe the Sun’s poles. ☀️

Until now…

With Solar Orbiter, we can, for the first time, observe how the solar wind flows around the poles - unlocking vital clues about the 11-year solar cycle, which is key to advancing space weather forecasting. ☀️

Learn more 👇
science.esa.int ESA Space Science @science.esa.int · Jun 11
Ready to see the Sun like we never have before? 😎

#SolarOrbiter has just released the first views ever of the Sun’s poles!

Thanks to its newly tilted orbit, the mission will uncover details about the Sun’s magnetic field, the solar cycle & space weather 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

🔭 🧪 ☄️ ☀️ 1/
June 11, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
esa.int
Fifty years ago this month, the ESA Convention was signed at the Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Paris - 30 May 1975 - and ESA was operational the following day. But that wasn’t the last of the procedures that had to be followed... 🤔

Read the full story from #ESAArchives 👇

#50YearsOfESA
Discussions between European ministers and delegates at the signature ceremony of the ESA Convention in Paris on 30 May 1975 - ESTEC-PHOTO-1975.05.402-003
May 21, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
profaliceroberts.bsky.social
I’m so sad to hear the news that Richard Fortey is no longer with us. He was a brilliant palaeontologist, writer and tv presenter - and a lovely person. I had the pleasure of interviewing him and working with him. He was so passionate about sharing his science.
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Richard Fortey obituary
Palaeontologist at the Natural History Museum who was also a bestselling science writer and accomplished TV presenter
www.theguardian.com
March 23, 2025 at 10:21 AM
astrorhysmas.bsky.social
What hold does Elon Musk have over the Royal Society? I cannot find a single reason for them to continue his Fellowship, indeed I think they should remove it from him post haste.
February 12, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
aussiastronomer.bsky.social
Walking in to NASA’s JPL today as a woman in science leadership felt almost like a protest. They can take us off the webpages and the walls, but we will still be here, absolutely crushing it, and supporting our community while we do it.

Happy International Day of Women in Science, everyone.
Selfie of Jessie in a pink blazer in front of a cabinet of spacecraft models labeled DARE MIGHTY THINGS.
February 11, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
This is a particularly lovely animation of our gravitational lens discovery, posted by the ESA Director General 🧪🔭
josefaschbacher.esa.int Josef Aschbacher @josefaschbacher.esa.int · Feb 10
🌌Einstein Ring Discovered by @esa.int's Euclid in galaxy NGC 6505 "just" 590 million light-years from Earth, which relatively speaking, is quite close! The newly discovered ring is made up of light from a previously unobserved galaxy 4.42 billion light-years away.
February 10, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
Very happy to have been part of the @ec-euclid.bsky.social discovery of a jaw-droppingly beautiful gravitational lens in our cosmic back yard. Here's an explainer video I made for the @openuniversity.bsky.social and I'll post a few more links in this thread 🔭🧪
February 10, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
astrojaz.bsky.social
i know rose and adore her.

her story is so admirable and inspiring.

this is what they’re taking from us, these are the stories they’re erasing.
mc2x.bsky.social Mónica C. Camacho @mc2x.bsky.social · Feb 8
This profile has been scrubbed from the site. Rose Ferreira grew up without reliable electricity, immigrated to NY, then survived homelessness and cancer on her way to NASA. She was so moved by images from the Webb telescope she wept. This is what’s at stake

web.archive.org/web/20231206...
NASA Intern Found Hope in the Moon - NASA
Lee esta historia en español aquí
web.archive.org
February 8, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
royalastrosoc.bsky.social
Prof Lockwood concludes his talk by discussing Starlink satellites, which are causing problems for ground-based astronomy.

He sums up by saying it is clear "how crowded and dangerous low-Earth orbit has become", adding: "We need to do something about it or we're in trouble."

#RASPublicTalk
Professor Mike Lockwood offers conclusions to his Public Talk. Professor Lockwood discusses Elon Musk's Starlink satellites. Professor Lockwood talks about how Musk's Starlink satellites are launched.
January 21, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
esa.int
📷 This NASA/ESA #Hubble Space Telescope image shows a dusty yet sparkling scene from one of the Milky Way’s satellite galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud. This is a view of the outskirts of the Tarantula Nebula 🔭

More info and hi res 👇
🔗 esahubble.org/images/potw2...
A section of a nebula, made up of layers of coloured clouds of gas, of varying thickness. In the background are bluish, translucent and wispy clouds; on top of these are stretches of redder and darker, clumpy dust, mostly along the bottom and right. Small stars are scattered across the nebula.
January 20, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
esa.int
The ESA #Gaia mission has delivered the best Milky Way maps to date and taken its last starlight before spacecraft retirement 🔭

www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
A model image of what our home galaxy, the Milky Way, might look like face-on: as viewed from above the disc of the galaxy, with its spiral arms and bulge in full view. In the centre of the galaxy, the bulge shines as a hazy oval, emitting a faint golden gleam. Starting at the central bulge, several glistening spiral arms coil outwards, creating a perfectly circle-shaped spiral. They give the impression of someone having sprinkled pastel purple glitter on the pitch-black background, in the shape of sparkling, curled-up snakes. A model image of what our home galaxy, the Milky Way, might look like edge-on, against a pitch-black backdrop. The Milky Way’s disc appears in the centre of the image, as a thin, dark-brown line spanning from left to right, with the hint of a wave in it. The line appears to be etched into a thin glowing layer of silver sand, that makes it look as if it was drawn with a coloured pencil on coarse paper. The bulge of the galaxy sits like a glowing, see-through pearl in the shape of a sphere in the centre of this brown line
January 15, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
esa.int
📷 This NASA/ESA/CSA James #Webb Space Telescope image shows NGC 346, one of the most dynamic star-forming regions in nearby galaxies, and the study of which recently solved a puzzle by proving a controversial finding made using NASA/ESA #Hubble over 20 years ago!

www.esa.int/Science_Expl... 🔭🧪
January 12, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
esa.int
📷 Here's an image we shared just before Christmas: it could be a winter wonderland scene, with layers of snow hugging hilltops, but it's actually a summertime view of the martian south pole, taken in June 2022 by ESA's #Mars Express (pic: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin)

www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed... 🔭🧪
January 12, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
astrojaz.bsky.social
another small cleanse before i go to bed 🌌
A spiral galaxy. It has a bright core with light spilling out. Its disk holds thick clumps of dark reddish dust, which swirls around the galaxy following its rotation. Brighter and hotter stars, shown in blue, speckle parts of the disk. A halo of faint gas wraps around the galaxy, extending beyond the edges of the image. A small grouping of large stars shines brightly with diffraction spikes, against a background full of smaller stars, glowing reddish and blue gas, and dark dust. A bright star with four diffraction spikes shines at the center of the image, surrounded by a dark blue ring of gas and dust. Other stars fill the image, all against black space. Intricate clouds of gas and dust fill the image. Dark brown dust is concentrated on the left side of the image, along with the lower portions of the rest of the view. Glowing green and blue gas fills the rest of the image, with pink stars visible throughout.
January 10, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
ukspaceagency.bsky.social
Check out these new images from the European/Japanese #BepiColombo mission on its final Mercury flyby. 👇

The spacecraft, with UK-built instruments, will increase our understanding of Mercury's composition, structure, and atmosphere. 🌕

Learn more 👉 gov.uk/government/c...

📷 ESA/BepiColombo/MTM
Part of spacecraft with Mercury close in background. Part of spacecraft with Mercury close in background. Part of spacecraft with Mercury in background.
January 9, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
royalastrosoc.bsky.social
🚨 Reminder 🚨

The winners of the 2025 RAS awards will be announced later. 🔭🪐💫

Check back here at 1600 GMT to find out who has won the coveted prizes, including the illustrious Gold Medal previously won by Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking & Jocelyn Bell Burnell.

#RASAwards2025
RAS Awards 2025 graphic, including the medals that are handed out, on a starry background with information in when they will be announced on Friday 10 January.
January 10, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
royalastrosoc.bsky.social
The RAS is very sad to hear of the passing of Professor Dr Karl Martin Menten, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy and an Honorary Fellow of the RAS. 🔭

The Society offers its sincere condolences to Professor Menten's family, friends and colleagues ⤵️

https://buff.ly/423Wz1P
Professor Dr Karl Martin Menten, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany.
January 6, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
royalastrosoc.bsky.social
🚨 Exciting announcement alert! 🚨

We'll be revealing the winners of the #RASAwards2025 this Friday (10 January). They will be announced by Royal Astronomical Society President Mike Lockwood at the A&G Highlights meeting at 16:00 GMT and shared on our social media accounts at the same time.
RAS Awards 2025 graphic, including the medals that are handed out, on a starry background.
January 7, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
philplait.bsky.social
Happy perihelion! At 13:28 UTC, Earth reached its closest point to the sun in its orbit, a mere 147,104,000 million km distant, about 1.5% closer than average. It's all uphill now until aphelion in July.
January 4, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
royalastrosoc.bsky.social
Want to know more about the Royal Astronomical Society Fellows recognised in the New Year Honours list? Read more here ⬇️
Two RAS Fellows awarded New Year Honours
A cruise ship astronomer and Dark Sky ambassador – both Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) – have been recognised in the New Year Honours list. Paul...
buff.ly
January 2, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
astroroyalscot.bsky.social
Happening right now (11:53 GMT)! The #Parker solar probe has just passed within 3.8 million miles of the surface of our Sun 🥵 We'll need to wait until Friday before we know if it withstood the heat! 🧪🔭
science.nasa.gov/mission/park...
Parker Solar Probe - NASA Science
On a mission to “touch the Sun,” NASA's Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to fly through the corona – the Sun’s upper atmosphere – in 2021. With every orbit, the probe faces brutal heat a...
science.nasa.gov
December 24, 2024 at 11:56 AM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
itsjustjules123.bsky.social
Last boost for a couple days.❄️🧵
@bohemianmelody.bsky.social
@michaelkauter.bsky.social
@carlissagilliam.bsky.social
@harryprinceharry.bsky.social
@mytrain666.bsky.social
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@rmz1961.bsky.social
@airbasealmighty.bsky.social
@pitfriend.bsky.social
@paisleynclouds.bsky.social
December 23, 2024 at 1:40 PM
Reposted by Rhys Williams
royalastrosoc.bsky.social
📅 Date for the diary 📅

Are you passionate about tackling light pollution in the night sky? 🌃

The Royal Astronomical Society will be holding a free one-day conference to discuss the issue on 30 January 2025 at Burlington House, London ⤵️
Trails caused by the deployment of satellites making up the Starlink constellation.
December 18, 2024 at 11:57 AM