Tim O'Brien

Admit to being a bit disappointed that the age verification tool on here didn't tell me what age it thought I was from the scan of my face. 🤔😱

Headline from an article in Nature this week that states "Prizes must recognize machine contributions to discovery. The future of science will be written by humans and machines together. Awards should reflect that reality."

Lol the Nobels can't even acknowledge women's contribution to discovery. But sure let's acknowledge The Machines.

Edgar Neufeld obituary Other lives: Scientist who began working at IBM in the early days of computers and rose to become the company’s director for Europe

Edgar Neufeld, who has died aged 92, was a Jewish refugee from the Nazis who did his PhD here before pursuing an illustrious career at IBM and working in education and social justice. He was here when we tracked the carrier rocket of Sputnik 1 in October 1957. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Something to look forward to with @chrislintott.bsky.social

In Conversation with Hannah Peel and Tim O'Brien - Jodrell Bank Join us for an exclusive evening with award-winning musician Hannah Peel, uncovering new ways of understanding the Universe through sound.

At recording of new @hannahpeel.bsky.social composition celebrating 80 yrs of @jodrellbank.bsky.social with the BBC Philharmonic. We'll be discussing it all on 30 Oct www.jodrellbank.net/events/in-co...

Well I propose that the United Nations name ME the Director General of Dark Energy Studies and gift ME 500 hours of over-subscribed telescope time a year, if this is how we're doing things now.

This is complete and utter pompous bullshit. It's telling that of the people proposing it wants to anoint themselves director general when every one of his claims of having discovered technosignature interstellar objects has been debunked by the planetary community. arxiv.org/pdf/2510.01405

Extremely fortunate to be able to take a team of writers to @jodrellbank.bsky.social, visit the SKAO, learn about the work being done there and even walk on the dish! 📡

Can’t wait to share the end result of this project with you, so watch this space… get it? 🔭🪐

Hannah Peel, a woman with red hair and a white shirt, performs on stage. Caption reads: ‘In conversation... with Hannah Peel and Tim O’Brien. Thursday 30 October, 19.30 - 21.00.’ The Jodrell at 80 and Real World Record logos are featured.

🎵 Bluedot headliner Hannah Peel returns to #JodrellBank for an exclusive evening of music and discussion!

In conversation with Prof. Tim O’Brien, this event fuses science and storytelling to explore new ways of understanding the Universe through sound.

🎟️ www.jodrellbank.net/events/in-co...

A and C aren't explained by dark energy. B can be, although not exclusively, of course. Perhaps they should have said the way in which Hubble's constant changes with time.

40 years ago, as a new PhD student, I'd talk to colleagues. Sometimes, I'd write or telephone. Very occasionally, send a fax. Then emails appeared and, eventually, overwhelmed. Now, we've added other channels, Teams and Slack, for example. Taking overwhelming to a whole new level. 😔

Hi, sorry to say, almost certainly not. Keep an eye on our other events at Jodrell as we continue to do interesting things but, not at the moment, in the form of weekend festivals.

Terrible events in US but this guy really needs to reconsider his approach

Lovely!

Perhaps in some form. Been a bit out of our hands.

"Are you Scunthorpe in disguise?"

A screenshot of the landing page for Reflect Orbital, promising "Sunlight on demand" in large, friendly orange letters.

Well I, an astronomer, can obviously think of no downsides to a company promising to launch a constellation of reflective mirrors into low-Earth orbit to increase daylight for folks on the ground.

Grab a pint in the Thomas Tallis alehouse

So, you mean 80% of graduates have benefited financially from it?

And, whisper it quietly, but *UNIVERSITY EDUCATION ISN’T JUST ABOUT SALARY*

Macclesfield on Mars? Legacy of Stargazing Live... daily.zooniverse.org/2016/04/04/m...

It's a bit like fitting cosmological models. They ought to agree with the present, but they tend to diverge into the future and into the past.

Predicting the future is a mug's game.

Me too 🌍

Premier League predictions 2025-26: BBC Sport pundits pick their top four We ask 32 BBC Sport football pundits to predict who will win the Premier League title, and which clubs will finish in the top four this season.

Not one of these pundits predicted united finishing in top four. They're going to look very silly come May. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Fuck around and find out. Frequent heatwaves are a direct consequence of decades of inaction, when not complicity, of western governments so that oil and gas companies continue making billions. But none of these "leaders" will have to face consequences.

Derbyshire leader says special needs 'overdiagnosed' in schools Alan Graves says there should be a national debate on the issue but is criticised by parents.

Ignoramus. Reform of course. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I’m pleased to see the Archives Basics guidance I wrote for The National Archives appear on their website. It’s designed for those with no experience at all, that may have been given responsibility for archives and need a quick overview. please share www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archive-basi...

Second edition....

Dismay as north of England universities miss out on share of £54m talent fund Exclusive: MP presses minister for explanation as thinktank says omission undermines innovation in the north

Nothing new. 🙄

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Indeed. I was wondering why they thought emoji updates were more important than security updates.