Kevin Olsen

www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happen...

We learned today that the slender billed curlew is confirmed extinct 😓.
In honour of all curlews, we present the Whimbrel. Closely related to the Eurasian curlew, but smaller and maybe less threatened.
These big, beautiful shorebirds roam widely and are long-lived, but disappearing from our world🪶🦉

Wow, our observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS with ExoMars TGO turned out better than expected!
I have seen the dot observed with perseverance, and the weak signal in our spectrometer data, but the tracking and coma from CaSSIS are sure to impress!
🔬🧪 #planetsci
www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

I have that Paleozoic Pal!

@esa.int @science.esa.int made a nice web release to promote the story. Fave line:
"For the chemists reading, the newly detected molecular fragments included aliphatic, (hetero)cyclic ester/alkenes, ethers/ethyl and, tentatively, nitrogen- and oxygen-bearing compounds."
www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

Detection of organic compounds in freshly ejected ice grains from Enceladus’s ocean - Nature Astronomy Fresh ice grains from Enceladus’s plume were analysed during the highest-speed fly-by of the Cassini spacecraft. Organic compounds with a range of chemical structures were discovered, suggesting comprehensive subsurface chemistry on Enceladus.

Years in the making, a new paper details organic molecules in Enceladus' plumes that were collected by Cassini when it flew through them!
This keeps the icy moons at the forefront of interest and high priority targets!! Can't wait for Juice!
🔭🧪 #planetsci
doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Red eyed dove, anyone?
🪶🦉

Blue cranes of the overberg

Flocking Blue cranes

As summer ends and I contemplate a cozy morning of coffee, thick wool jumpers, and catching up on some photo editing.....
Nothing like getting back into the birds of the Western Cape to remind us of sunshine!!
These are blue cranes! Rare and huge, but found in the farmland of the Overberg region. 🪶🦉

Ethiopian beer in Oxford at Lula's
#beersky #bskybeer

Lord Huron at the Apollo, London

Ctrl Alt Deleaf wins public vote to name track cleaning train Other names on the shortlist included Leaf-Fall Weapon, Pulp Friction and The Autumn Avenger.

Welcome, Ctrl Alt Deleaf!
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Fun!
EPSC press office covered my poster from #EPSCDPS #EPSC2025!!
www.europlanet.org/epsc-dps2025...

Fabrizio Oliva.
This is my co-author!!!🤘🤘🤘
#EPSCDPS #EPSC2025
!!🤘Neurosphere🤘!!

Colin Wilson, our ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter project scientist at @esa.int showing off Mars Express, TGO, and LightShip updates. First TGO science story was our chlorine work!! Over 11 publications and counting!!
#EPSCDPS #EPSC2025 #planetsci #Mars 🔭🧪

Bethan Gregory showing off her hard work getting reactions on dust and ice surfaces for the chemistry of chlorine and ozone into the Planetary Climate Model!!
#EPSCDPS #EPSC2025 #planetsci #Mars 🔭🧪

Daniel Mège going over the HCl detections I made in the Martian atmosphere in the non-dusty times with hypotheses about surface seeps from a dormant volcano!!! 🌋
These are strange, found 'em every year, same place!
#EPSCDPS #EPSC2025 #planetsci #Mars 🔭🧪

Frank Montmessin giving a big overview of the very long lived and very successful SPICAM instrument on Mars Express.
That's over twenty years of data!!!
#EPSCDPS #EPSC2025 #planetsci

Lead author, Constantinos Charalambous, is presenting at #EPSCDPS #EPSC2025 on Friday about impact events

Seismic evidence for a highly heterogeneous martian mantle A planet’s interior is a time capsule, preserving clues to its early history. We report the discovery of kilometer-scale heterogeneities throughout Mars’ mantle, detected seismically through pronounce...

Hot on the heals of the inner core paper in Nature comes another InSight paper in @science.org from a team at @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
A single plate planet preserving characteristics of its formation, highly heterogeneous Martian mantle!
🔭🧪 #planetsci
doi.org/10.1126/scie...

Hi! Add me please?

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS will fly by Mars 1 month from now — and Europe's Red Planet orbiters will be ready The interstellar visitor will pass just 30 million kilometers from Mars on Oct. 3 — far closer than it comes to Earth.

www.space.com/astronomy/co...
As a follow up, article on space.com with quotations from our project scientist Colin Wilson
🧪🔭 #planetsci

Seismic detection of a 600-km solid inner core in Mars - Nature An analysis of seismic data acquired by the InSight mission demonstrates that Mars has a 600-km solid inner core.

This is significant because it shows the state of crystallization in the core and will tell us a lot about the history of Mars' magnetic field.
Here's the link to the paper:
doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Mars has a solid inner core, resolving a longstanding planetary mystery — new study It turns out that Mars has a similar interior structure to Earth.

@mhairireid.bsky.social and I put together an article for @theconversation.com about yesterday's @nature.com paper on the detection of a 600 km radius solid core in the interior of #Mars! 🧪🔭 #planetsci
Early InSight results didn't quite have the sensitivity for this!
doi.org/10.64628/AB....

Bob Thirsk previously worked with Tsimshian artist Bill Helin for mission patches in '96 and '09

The new mission patch for Jeremy Hansen's Artemis II mission that will fly around the moon!
🔭🧪
The animals designed by Anishinaabe artist Henry Guimond represent seven sacred teachings
www.supercluster.com/editorial/ca...

Southern double-collared sunbird, female taking off

Here's the female in flight!!
🦉🪶 #birds

Southern double-collared sunbird

Southern double-collared sunbird

These were shot in the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town
#birding 🪶🦉

Southern double collared sunbird

Southern double collared sunbird

At last! The Southern double-collared sunbird from South Africa!!! The male is colourful, while the female is grey (last photo). The yellow pectoral tufts come out for presenting!!
🪶🦉 #bird #birding #SouthAfrica

Fish and chips

Another #Oxfordpubreview.
A punt up to the Victoria Arms is a dream, no matter the weather.
The food is great and they serve Butcombe Breeding ale.
The battered sausage is a work of art!