Michael Merrifield

Pseudo-science — a drama in four acts. #GrandSolarMinimum 🧪🔭

I think I may have been the only person who ever published data from the Faint Object Grism Spectrograph.

I was observing on the MMT with the unfortunately-named FOGS spectrograph, which could obtain six whole spectra simultaneously!

Time for a little solar astronomy with the #Dwarf2. So much for that Grand Solar Minimum, eh?

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Any positive stories to share about PhD supervisors?

Mine is the restraint he showed when he woke me at 3AM on my first observing trip to tell me the clouds had cleared so we could get back to work, and I told him exactly where he could stick the telescope.

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My digital doppelgänger needs to work on his standup routine.

I can recommend the Helarctos camera by @naturespy.bsky.social that I was given for Christmas, from which I’ve been posting shots from our yard. All solar powered, so no issue with charging, though you do have to be reasonably close to it to download content using its WiFi.

Inspired by @tronicsfix.bsky.social’s latest video, I went nosing through a dusty drawer and found this. Happily, apart from needing a new charging cable, it didn’t require any work at all.

Doing my best!

A friend has had a recent provisional cancer diagnosis overturned, when further imaging showed the lung lesions were due to Covid.

Yay!

But also, fucking Covid!

Very pleased with this final edit of the video of the tawny owl who posed so nicely for my back yard trail camera. 🪶

One other very positive thing to pick up on is the disquiet expressed by the Committee on the volume of concern that it had received in correspondence from the Learned Societies, echoed and conceded by the Minister.

One suspects they wouldn’t be scrabbling so hard to fix things without it!

Someone should tell UKRI…

Being ancient, I remember the disquiet when SERC was split into PPARC and EPSRC, with astronomers deeply concerned that we were being segregated because we competed too successfully against mainstream physics when tensioned against it…

They’re baaaack! 🪶

For example, most strategically-focused initiatives require significant buy in by universities through matching funds or availability of high-quality lab space; where does UKRI think the money for this comes from?

@chionwurah.bsky.social @kitmalthouse.bsky.social @adamthompsonmp.bsky.social

Universities use QR funding for a wide array of costs to support their research. The idea that it all goes to “curiosity driven research” is totally wrong.

Either UKRI knows this and is deliberately misleading Parliament, or, perhaps worse, it doesn’t.

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committees.parliament.uk/publications...

Commemorating the Unnamed Day:

There seems to be some confusion between “curiosity driven” and “used to fund whatever we need.”

Not sure it is always the same one…

(In case unclear, this is a joke. No boxing gloves provided.)

Has someone tipped off the Select Committee that they should keep the Astronomers Royal apart?

(committees.parliament.uk/event/26683/...)

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Good luck!

On such occasions, I am always reminded of this:

Garden camera catches my usual nocturnal friend.

I take your point but respectfully disagree — a good science communicator should put across not only the flavour of the science, but also the basic fact that the full truth requires the full maths.

That is an… interesting definition of “rapid.” 🔭🧪

(www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...)

Messing with the 1:500 scale remote-control car that I designed and built.

Cute-ickle.

Garden camera: At least this regular visitor has some respect for the daffodils and sticks to the path.

Finally the skies cleared. Only for twenty minutes, but just long enough to make sure my telescope still works. Will definitely be back for a longer look at the Cone Nebula if the skies ever clear again! 🔭